Since I'm a writer, my work requires a lot of alone time. Who ever heard of a novel written by collaboration? Still, I've commissioned photography, illustration, and design, and written checks to pay these artists. I also belong to a writers collective that does not receive funding. These friends from my MFA are there to talk shop and dream big with me, and we're putting out an anthology this year called The Trout Family Almanac. Lately, it's been getting harder to come together when school, work, and marriage is scattering us around the world, but for writers, email is a godsend. Still, there's nothing like a paying project to keep artists working together. Henson and Oz became one of the greatest comedy duos in history, in part because Henson paid Oz to stick around long enough to become that.
Who has been the best collaborator in your life? How did you find him? Do you pay him or her? If not, what keeps the snowball together?
Are you a freelancer? How do you deal with the uncertainty of that lifestyle?
Are you a Henson or a Spinney? What's your story?