Jeff Walker asked P.J. Tracy:

I was at your talk in Chanhassen on 9/14. I am interested in details on the Monkeewrench book "construction". Did you create an outline or diagram, then fill in the details? How did you as authors divide up the work? Who typed the most? :-)

P.J. Tracy Thanks for coming to the event, Jeff, and for the really great question. I didn't get into that in Chanhassen. PJ and I have never been able to outline. Our brains just never worked that way. The creation process and the writing process were always very organic and dynamic for us, and they still are for me solo. PJ and I always came up with a concept first and roughed out a general direction, but the characters have always been the most important element. We let them do the plotting and they always surprise! I can't tell you how many times PJ and I have written chapters individually, thinking we know what's going to happen, and then as the writing flows, something unexpected comes up and turns the entire plot in a different direction. In Monkeewrench, the killer changed at the very end of the writing. We've always felt that an outline restricts the movement of the characters and the plot and takes away any spontaneity. And the division of our work was always pretty equal. We both enjoyed all aspects of conception, development, execution. It was a true fifty-fifty collaboration and we both typed our fingers off! I think for every 400 page book we ever wrote, we each typed at least 800 pages!

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