Interview on Collaboration with Noll Griffin and Beth Sherman
Sometimes the hardest part of collaborating is getting started. Here are some tips from creators that have collaborated — sometimes with an absolute stranger — and made something wonderful!
Did you know your partner in collaboration beforehand? Explain how you got together.
We were paired in the Spin the Bottle section of Icebreakers Lit, which matches collaborators who didn’t know one another before. We both filled out a form about what it is we do, what we might be looking for, etc. and then introduced ourselves once we received an email that we’d been matched.
How did you collaborate? What was your process?
We had an initial meeting to plan via Zoom. After that we decided to make a list of possible locations and events our story could be set in. This included a zoo, beach, park, hiking in the woods, an airport, summer camp, frozen lake, hospital waiting room, beauty salon, empty street at night, attic, abandoned motel, and many more. We went with airport. The tricky part was adding subtext and emotional layering to the physical objects and experiences left behind, and choosing between a lot of ideas that all have some good potential before the deadline.
What were some challenges you faced during the collaborative process, and what did you learn?
The collaborative process actually went quite smoothly. We would write a little and then send what we’d written to the other person, adding and editing as we went along.
Any final words of advice for future collaborators?
It’s a great experience that broadens your writing, from hearing out ideas you may have never considered before to the process of creating around parts that your writing partner already put down or will put down instead of just building up your own outline. You should definitely try it!
Read Noll Griffin & Beth Sherman’s piece, “Left Behind at LaGuardia Airport”
Noll Griffin is a visual artist and writer located in Berlin, Germany. His poetry has been featured in Reap Thrill, The Purposeful Mayonnaise, and The Wild Word among others. When not doing something creative, he enjoys making fermented food at home and gaming.
Beth Sherman has an MFA in creative writing from Queens College, where she teaches in the English department. Her stories have been published in Portland Review, Blue Mountain Review, Tangled Locks Journal, 100 Word Story, Fictive Dream, Flash Boulevard, Sou’wester and elsewhere. Her work will be featured in The Best Microfictions 2024 Anthology. She’s also a Pushcart and a multiple Best of the Net nominee.
