Walk the Talk

We used to be really good about taking daily walks. As we stretched our legs we would discuss whatever writing project we were in the middle of. Brainstorming, plotting, troubleshooting, we did it all. And then for some reason — possibly weather-related, possibly laziness — we stopped. Our collaboration talks took place in the car or one of the Writing Caves. Kent got his exercise playing soccer. Jen went to the pool.

But now there’s a pandemic, and unless we wanted our asses to fuse to our office chairs, we had to get ourselves moving. Luckily we have two furry overlords to provide our motivation. The daily walks are back. Have been for a couple of months now. And, just recently, the writing talks are back.

When we’re not talking to our neighbors from opposite sides of the street, we’re talking about our Ghost Novels. So far we haven’t read through the notes we already have. We find it helpful sometimes to see what we remember without prompting, as those are usually the most important elements. We’re happy to announce that we remembered pretty much everyone’s names, as well as the majority of the plot and a lot of cool little details. We’ve been talking about the setting, fleshing out some ideas. Kent is getting itchy to draw up some maps. We even came up with a really nifty bit of world-building.

Soon, possibly even this weekend, we need to read through the existing notes. It’ll be good to make sure our new ideas aren’t veering wildly off the path, and if they are, we’ll need to decide which direction to pursue.

A good coauthor is someone you never get tired of talking to, even during quarantine.