S is for Speed

 

I’m fortunate in that I can work very quickly. When I think of a novel, it pops out of my head almost fully formed. I have only to write and tweak it. Here again I’m fortunate in that my typing speed, while nothing near secretarial standard, is nevertheless quite fast: 35-40 wpm. The genre, too, doesn’t demand great length. Anywhere from 60,000-80,000 words is sufficient for a cosy whodunit.

I refute the idea that there is a formula to whodunits. There is a broad pattern, certainly, but a formula would turn out precisely the same story every time, only with different the characters. A pattern on the other hand, lets me play with the system to produce work that I sufficiently varied to keep the readers happy and guessing, and I can vary that pattern any time I wish, as indeed I did with My Deadly Valentine.

All these factors come together to let me turn out the books quite quickly. If I seriously applied myself, I’m sure I could produce one every 4-5 weeks, but I do have a life to lead beyond STAC, thank you very much.

Do we pay a price for speed? Yes. The result of, say, two months work is not going to challenge the depth of larger works such as my novel, Voices, but then I’m not trying to. In Voices, it takes 800 words (2-3 pages) to get Chris from the gates to the front door of Moor Grange. In The Chocolate Egg Murders it takes 26 words (about two lines) to get Joe from the bus to the hotel reception. I’m turning out light-hearted mysteries, not commenting on the human condition.

I don’t set out to write fast. It just happens. Are the results worth it? All seven STAC Mysteries are still in the UK Kindle Crime, Mystery & Thriller/British Detectives top 100, and one of them, The Chocolate Egg Murders, has never been out of it.

But I’ll have a bit more to say about that tomorrow.

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The STAC Mysteries are available as paperbacks and as e-book downloads in all formats, or direct from Crooked Cat Books in MOBI, EPUB and PDF formats