A collaborative writing environment allows for freedom of creative ideas to pass between writers. Multiple writers have the benefit of brainstorming with their fellow collaborators to propose new ideas and further expand on the ideas of their colleagues. This process can be beneficial if all of the writers have similar interests and expertise, or if each member brings a specific knowledge of a subject matter to the table. According to Writing Across the Curriculum, group writing is an opportunity to contribute as well as learn new information from the other writers. You should consider appointing a group leader or moderator to set the tone and guide the group writing process.
It is pivotal in the writing process to be able to bounce ideas around and see a topic from a fresh perspective to increase and round out the content. This can also help if you are experiencing writer's block or if you are trying to find a resolution to a problem in your writing. When collaborating with other authors, it is important to find individuals with complementary writing and working styles to ensure a positive and constructive writing environment. It can be beneficial to have different viewpoints to give a comprehensive view of your topic, but if the viewpoints or writing styles of the collaborators clash, the project could be doomed.
Working together with other writers will also prove beneficial once the actual writing is over and you have reached the proofreading process. The benefit of having multiple eyes reading over the material will help to speed up the process and it can also lead to catching more of the mistakes before the work is published or turned in. Oftentimes, when reading your own work, it is easy to miss minor mistakes because you have read the material so many times. It is also important during the proofreading process to make sure the final product is a consistent and cohesive blend of the voices of all of the authors, so the work does not seem choppy and segmented.