Some of the most iconic screenplays of all time were written by screenwriting duos. Here are just a few examples:
- The Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things)
- Scott Beck & Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place)
- Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Avengers: Endgame)
- Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
- Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, among many others)
- Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor (Sideways)
- Nat Faxon & Jim Rash (The Descendants)
- Karen McCullah & Kirsten Smith (Legally Blonde)
- Bobby Farrelly & Peter Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber)
- Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (The LEGO Movie)
Writing with a screenwriting partner can amplify your strengths, plug your weaknesses, and spark creative choices that you may have never made on your own. But collaboration isn’t always easy. Sometimes it isn’t even necessary.
Here we’ll discuss the dynamics of partnering with another screenwriter, the best practices to make the collaborative process between two screenwriters work, and whether or not you need a screenwriting partner in the first place.
1. Know Why You’re Partnering Up To Write A Script
For beginner screenwriters, the initial appeal of teaming up is clear - you’ve got someone in the trenches with you. But that can’t be the sole reason why you decide to partner with another screenwriter. That decision can’t come out of desperation and self doubt.
Ask yourself this before you consider teaming with another writer: ”Why do you want to co-write a script with someone?”
If the answer is, “I’m stuck,” “I need someone to motivate me,” or “I need someone to cover up my flaws,” you need to pump the brakes and reassess your reasoning.
Writing partnerships work best when each writer is a competent and confident screenwriter on their own. You should never be looking for a savior. Instead, you should be looking for synergy.
There’s nothing wrong with needing help. But that help shouldn’t come at the cost of your personal growth as a screenwriter.
- You need to make mistakes.
- You need to write bad scenes.
- You need to write bad dialogue.
- You need to write bad scripts.
That is how you learn and evolve. You need to fail before you can prevail.
A good writing duo is greater than the sum of its parts. But if one part is doing all the heavy lifting, that sum starts to sink the whole collaborative ship.
It’s always best to start with a solo experience.
- Come up with an amazing concept.
- Outline the structure of the script.
- Write it.
- Rewrite it.
- Hit some creative walls and then find ways to climb over them or crash through them.
Being an accomplished solo screenwriter first ensures that when you enter a writing partnership, you bring something substantial to the table. And, in turn, when you’re considering other screenwriters to partner with later on, be sure that they can do the same.
2. Pick the Right Writing Partner
Talent alone doesn’t make someone the right fit for a screenwriting team-up. You need to consider someone whose working style, process, communication habits, and long-term goals align with you and yours.
Ask yourself:
- Can I handle disagreement with this person without things getting personal?
- Will they respect deadlines?
- Can I trust them with my ideas?
- Can I trust them with my insecurities?
- Do we want to write the same kinds of stories?
You don’t need to be best friends. Sometimes that makes it even harder to effectively collaborate. They key thing is that you need to be compatible creatives who can challenge each other without egos being bruised.
You’re not just partnering with a writer; you’re entering a long-term creative relationship. So, choose wisely.
3. Talk Writing Process Before You Talk Story
Many screenwriting duos fall apart not because of bad writing or lackluster ideas, but because of mismatched processes and skewed expectations.
- Will you split scenes down the middle?
- Will one of you outline while the other writes the script?
- Will you pick and choose scenes to take on?
- Will you be writing live together (in-person or on Final Draft Collaboration)?
- Will somebody handle the dialogue while the other handles scene description?
These (and many more) details are what need to be discussed before you start talking about story, characters, structure, etc. Agreeing on a workflow avoids later resentment, and making sure you decide what your revision protocol is will be essential.
- Does every draft need to be signed off by both of you before moving forward?
- Who has final say when it comes to disagreements on a scene or line?
You don’t need rigid rules — but clear expectations need to be non-negotiable before you start writing.
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One of the true benefits of writing with a screenwriting partner is division of labor. Maybe you have a natural ear for dialogue, while your partner is a plot structure pro. Maybe you write fast and messy while they revise slow and sharp.
The key in any screenwriting duo relationship and process is playing to each other’s strengths. But the even greater collaborative relationship is learning from each other and not staying locked in your comfort zones. The best collaboration has both screenwriters growing and getting better.
Let your dialogue-savvy partner try their hand at a cool sequence or story act change. If one of you always handles the comedy or action, try flipping roles occasionally. Collaboration should always stretch both writers, not box them in.
5. Create a Safe Space for Critique — But Always with an Accompanying Suggestion
Filmmaking is a collaborative medium, as is screenwriting. Feedback and notes are crucial in any collaboration. You need to be able to take notes — and you need to be able to give them as well. But how you give and receive them can make or break a partnership.
Here’s a simple rule: Never criticize without offering a solution.
It’s very easy to pick apart anyone else’s work. And since screenwriters can often be very self conscious and self-critical, it’s tempting to stand on a pedestal and critique someone else’s work harshly to elevate one’s own self esteem.
So, you always need to accompany any constructive criticism with potential solutions to whatever “problem” you’re bringing up.
It’s all about the delivery as well.
Instead of saying, “This scene isn’t working,” bring a solution to the table and make it a more collaborative statement by saying, “I think the tension dips a little here — what if we raised the stakes by having her walk out instead of stay?”
That can help shift the tone. Instead of shutting down their work, you’re fostering solutions and collaboration to better the project.
6. Do Multiple Solo Passes
When you finish a script and get to THE END, you’re not done yet. Each writer should take a turn doing a full solo pass with no interruptions and no approvals needed.
This allows both of you to fully immerse yourselves into the material. You can catch inconsistencies, tighten moments, and elevate scenes without the back-and-forth of live edits.
Once both of you do your passes, regroup. Take what you’ve each learned and make the necessary tweaks. You can debate the differences, merge the best of both, and polish the script together to get to a final draft worthy of submission to contests, production companies, and representation.
7. Every Script Needs a Project Lead
You can have the healthiest collaborative relationship with your screenwriting partner, but there still needs to be a tie-breaking vote: that is where the Project Lead comes into play.
This is the person who makes the final call on any creative deadlocks. Not because they’re the “boss” or person-in-charge, but because decision fatigue can slow the writing process down and stall any creative momentum.
A project lead ends stalemates. That’s it. And when stalemates are ended, you can continue on together and get to the end of the script.
But a screenwriting duo has no dictators. The ideal situation with picking a project lead is that this is a role that can rotate with each project you work on.
Hopefully along the way during your collaboration, you’ll create a vibe where you can both come to the right decision together. But that takes work and time. The key is to respect each other enough where whoever is the designated project lead doesn’t let that position get to their head.
It’s a creative marriage that requires trust, compromise, and vulnerability. You’re going to disagree. You’re going to be rewriting each other’s work. You’ll have difficult conversations and debates about cuts, character arcs, story arcs, dialogue, etc. But if the foundation is mutual respect, you’ll come out stronger and better writers for it.
The screenwriter’s journey is hard enough as a solo writer. A screenwriting partner should lighten the load, not add to it.
8. Compromise, Compromise, Compromise
Even when you have a project lead set, there will be times when the stalemate is too strong to leave to one person’s tie-breaking vote.
Here’s the single solution: compromise. If you both can’t go one way or the other, find a third solution that works. This is where much of the magic of screenwriting collaboration happens, when you’re both against a creative wall and are forced to get even more creative.
- Perhaps it’s a merger of both of your pitched solutions?
- Maybe you discover something even better?
- You could even decide to go the furthest way from both of your ideas and find something brilliant.
When in doubt, even with a project lead set, always try to compromise with solutions brought to the table.
9. Know When It’s Not Working — But Always End It Respectfully
Not every partnership is meant to last forever.
- Sometimes your goals, wants, and needs will change.
- Sometimes life will change and pull you in different directions.
- Sometimes the chemistry fades, or you discover it wasn’t always there to begin with.
It happens. And there’s nothing wrong with going your separate ways. But always remember to handle it well.
- Never burn bridges.
- End it like a professional.
- Talk honestly.
- Decide how to split or shelve any scripts.
- Set boundaries for future use of the scripts.
- Never cheat the other writer out of the success they deserve if you dust off the script and find a buyer for it.
- Walk away with respect and appreciation for the creative time you shared together.
Screenwriting is a journey you always take with others, whether it’s a writing partner, a director, a studio exec, or the myriad collaborators you encounter in your road to production. Respect is key, and will make the process of creation much more fun too. Utilize the above tips, and your co-writer will thank you for it as you write the next big spec screenplay together!