I haven’t posted here on my site in quite a few months. However, I have been writing a lot in 2020. I have not missed one post in my Monday morning slot over at BlackGate.com this year. And I’ve even put up a couple bonus posts. At about 1,000 words a post, we’ll just say 25,000 words there.
And, starting with a chance post at The Wolfe Pack’s FB group page, I almost became an old-school pulp writer. Sort of. I live in Columbus, OH, and Ohio was one of the first states to respond to the not-yet-Pandemic. Stay at Home started here in Ohio early, and one day, I wrote up a short scene of Archie Goodwin complaining to Nero Wolfe about having to shelter in place. Then, a couple days later, when Ohio called off Voting Day, I wrote another scene with the same happening in New York; Wolfe always votes.
And that gave me the idea to do a series of ‘excerpts’ from Archie’s notebooks, as he deals with being in lock down with Wolfe. Which wouldn’t be easy! And I posted every day for 43 consecutive days, covering 41,580 words. It’s the most concentrated writing I’ve ever done.
I finally ran out of ideas and was straining at coming up with almost a thousand words every day, while working a temp job all day (I was not at home during stay at home), and took a day off. I did write a post each of the next two days, but I’ve only done four posts in the past fourteen. It’s on an intermittent break.
My other Wolfe writings have all been set between the thirties and the sixties. I like vintage Wolfe. But, due to the nature of the series, these are set today. But I didn’t incorporate very much modern day technology, and I think it’s got the classic feel. That’s what I like to read, so that’s what I tried to write. And I think I have Archie’s voice, along with Wolfe, Cramer, and the others, down fairly well.
I have bundled up the first thirteen posts into five essays over at Black Gate. If you are fan of Rex Stout’s gargantuan detective, check them out. Here’s the most recent, with links to the earlier ones at the bottom of the post.
As soon as I slowed down on the daily Notebooks posts, I started fooling around with a story, set back in the forties, with Groucho and Chico Marx coming to Wolfe’s office about a body found at The Big Store. I’m winging it, and it’s mostly just excuses to write some Groucho bits. But it’s fun. That’s also at The Wolfe Pack FB Group page.
Heck – I’ve written a novel’s worth of words this year. Maybe I should actually write a novel!
Almost Holmes 