Guessing Game: How Beth and Talia write RCBG

Hey everyone! Our readers have shown a keen interest in trying to figure which of us wrote which bits of RCBG, so we'd like to indulge that and also talk a little bit about our writing process.

Our first chapter together was actually Chapter 8, and it remains our least-blended chapter, with each of us mostly sticking to character's POV and lightly editing the other. This changed as early as 'Ovisaturation Any%', because building on each others' work is just that much more fun.

So here's a quick, illustrative example.

We work color-coded, not because we want to meticulously keep track of how much we're contributing, but because knowing who changed what inline helps us adapt and get used to each others' styles, write more like each other, establish joint writing conventions, and enjoy expanding on each others' jokes or work. Sometimes we leave bits for each other to finish, because we know the other will be better suited to it.

Beth is green (which is purely a contrasting color choice and certainly has nothing to do with anything else), while Talia is red.

So, before you take a look at which of us wrote which section of the above excerpt, think about our humorous and writing styles from social media, if you follow us there.

Over here, it's somewhat clear that Beth takes the lead in determing Katherine's voice. Talia happily admits that writing Katherine is somewhat beyond her, not due to loquaciousness, but due to a certain outlook and approach to conversations that she struggles to mirror. (Though she's getting better at it!)

Here's another snippet from the same chapter.

The answer to this one is below.

Here, Talia wrote the conversation initially, and Beth decided to add more of Katherine's internal monologue, as is signature to her, to better develop the tone and feel of her thought processes and lead into the subsequent Jeffrey POV with a reminder of just how little attention Katherine pays to her roommates who aren't Nichole.

Our final offering is an Emmy section, who is a character we both like working on (for perhaps slightly different reasons).

Emmy is also loquacious, but in a subtly different way from Kathy, written as more of a STEM-head and trying to achieve a very particular intellectual affect that probably sounds more impressive in her head than out loud. Both Beth and Talia find it rather easy to write her.

The answer for this one is below.

Surprise! All Talia.