Walking and writing seem to go together for me really well. I wrote The Spy who Sank the Armada, the first book of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures during lockdown. Whenever I got stuck over a scene, I went for a long walk. I hasten to add that this was the part of lockdown where we were allowed out for exercise, yet I could cross a duel carriageway without really looking. I almost always found that the scene I was stuck on was acted out by the characters in my mind. I’d then find a bench for a while so that I could note the dialogue in my phone.
I had a similar experience on Sunday. I had been struggling with the ending of The Favourite Murder, book 5 in the series. I went for a long walk and it played out for me again. I’ve heard of writers who keep a notebook by their bed because they have ideas in their dreams. That hasn’t happened for me yet, but I’m quite happy with the walking effect. I get the scene I want and some exercise too.
I had another title for book 5 which was The Scent of Death. It’s relevant to the book, but perhaps not quite as relevant as The Favourite Murder. Another advantage of the latter is that The Scent of Death has been used by both Andrew Taylor and Simon Beckett. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t use it, since you can’t copyright a title.
I’ve been asked to prepare a talk on Self Publishing for the next meeting of the Writers Circle I attend, Milktown Writers. Did you know that 43.8% of Indie authors make revenue greater that $20k per annum, and 28% over $50k. I’m not there yet. But the top earning genre is romance and the $100k + authors have 50 or more books out. Apparently having 5 to 7 books, particularly in a series is where things get interesting. So fingers crossed I’m near the breakthrough. I’ll just keep walking and writing.