DUNE 7 BLOG

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Some Kind of Monster

In the previous blog I talked a little about how Brian and I work together as collaborators, and I should eventually devote a full entry to our entire process, because after nine massive books together, we've got the wrinkles ironed out fairly well.

I recently watched a fascinating DVD, Metallica's documentary "Some Kind of Monster," which chronicles the creation and recording of ST. ANGER, their first new studio album in six years. I'm not overly fond of that album, but the documentary was extremely revealing. You get to see the creative process of how a team of very diverse personalities pulls something as complex as an album out of the air and puts all the pieces together. Sometimes it's like a stock car race, with collisions and wipeouts everywhere; the clash of egos and "creative differences" make one wonder how even a single song gets done, not to mention an entire CD. Meltdowns, reconciliations, incredible stresses from producers and promoters while band members won't even speak to each other.

I highly recommend the documentary, if you like Metallica or even rock music. (If you can't stand the music, then the "noise" will probably get in the way of witnessing the creative process.)

And all the while, watching it with the fascinated horror of a spectator at Roman gladiator games, I kept shaking my head. I don't think I've ever appreciated Brian as a collaborator more. We love to brainstorm, to exchange ideas, to veto each other's suggestions as long as we throw something better into the pot. We shore up each other's weaknesses in the writing arena and provide a cheering section and a support system, ready to take up the slack if we need to.

After a full decade of working together, nine novels written -- almost a million and a half words -- as well as six gruelling book-signing tours, we've honestly had *one* argument that lasted about seven minutes. (And it wasn't even about DUNE.) Metallica, eat your heart out!

--KJA