David Soul of Starsky & Hutch fame died recently. I just checked the date, January 4th, and discovered that we shared the same birthday, which makes it all the more interesting – for me – that I seemed to be channelling Starsky & Hutch while making a cover today.

More about that later.

I’ve been a bit sidetracked of late, and have far too many projects on the go, many of which are in the closing stages, but have yet to be finished. Others are side projects that I dip into every now and again. Side projects are good. But the really fun thing about a good side project, is how they accumulate over time.

When Jane and I were in the UK over Christmas, we picked up a few things, including a packet of three dinosaur dice, and the latest mutation of Covid. The first two weeks of January were dominated by Covid, but I used the dice as a kind of remedy to stop me from wallowing in misery with man flu.

Okay, so maybe I did wallow a bit, and there was that one night when I had three duvets and an electric blanket to beat the shakes.

Much wallowing ensued, as Jane will tell you.

But back to the dice.

I’ve been using the dice as a challenge. Each side of the dice has an image of a dinosaur, or a volcanoe, or a fossil, etc. Basically, I roll the dice and document the outcome – video or a photo – and then I start the clock. Rather, the clock starts when I post the outcome of the dice on Patreon, and the clock stops when I upload the final, lightly edited, short story. I usually complete a story within forty-five minutes to an hour, but if a story breaks 2,000 words, I take a little longer, as happened last night.

The dice act as a prompt, giving me three “things” that need to be in the story. I have to incorporate all three things – them be the rules – but each thing is open to interpretation. I’ve written four stories so far, and managed to hit a couple of different genres, from all out dinosaur romp to septuagenarian romance in the bookstore.

Yep.

Varied is the word. Weird is another.

But on this Meta Monday, I realise that I’m simply doing what I was once encouraged to do on my Masters, and in several other incarnations of writing courses or groups I have taken in my early days of writing. So with each roll of the dice and the subsequent time-limited challenge, I engage in a novice writer activity, four million published words later on in my writing career.

My writing has changed. Clearly, I’m faster at getting words and ideas down, but I’m still learning and still practicing. The time aspect might stress some young writers out (young, not necessarily in age) but for me it’s the buzz to get me going. Carving time out of one’s day to write can sometimes be a challenge, even for someone writing for a living. There’s always something to be done, such as marketing, or publishing paperbacks, etc. So a timed writing challenge is a nice way to squeeze a story into the day.

If you’re a writer – budding or beleaguered – you might already be familiar with writing exercises including prompts and sprints, etc. You might have heard of the Pomodoro technique of breaking work tasks into twenty-five minute intervals with the aid of a kitchen timer to track the time. I know of it, have heard writers talk about it, but I don’t do it. Rather, I use a timer, and it just so happens to be the oven timer, but I set it for forty-five minutes. I know I can write about 1,500 words – when I’m really cooking – in that time. The difference is, I don’t stop when the time is up.

Finishing is key for me.

I finish what I started.

If I’m writing to a deadline, I use either forty-five minutes, or double that for a chapter, depending on the project and desired chapter length. Some of my short stories can easily be several thousand words, with each part being about a thousand, which is thirty minutes on the clock. But with the dice challenge, I write a short story to “The End”, and continue past the beep if needs be.

I finish what I started.

Chapter, part, or story.

Finished.

When people wonder at my productivity, I think the key is that I don’t stop in the middle of something. I write until the end. And then I write the next chapter, part, or story.

So on this Meta Monday, I’ve lifted the hood of my writing engine, which brings me back to Starsky & Hutch, and the iconic red Ford Torino with the white flash. I’ve never really understood how undercover cops could get away with driving such a distinctive car, but hey ho, it’s a great car! As for me channelling Starsky & Hutch, here’s a sneak image of the cover for the Dino Dice collection. It’s volume 1, because I anticipate several volumes of dino dice stories, ‘cos I’m on a roll! 😉

Chris