HOW NURSERY RHYMES HELPED MY WRITING.

As I was studying and honing my skill as a writer, I sought to come up with road markers to push my abilities and give me the confidence to take the next step. One of these markers was my Jack-and-Jill exercise.

The Jack-and-Jill exercise grew out of the fact that I write mysteries and thrillers. Mysteries and thrillers tend to rely heavily upon plot. I would sometimes read a mystery that, I felt, relied too much on plot and left out other elements of literary style. This may be a matter of taste because I gravitate toward literary mysteries like those of Tom Franklin and Dennis Lehane. So in my own work, I tried to come up with an assignment that would remind me of the importance of these other elements—even in a plot driven genre. What I came up with was my Jack-and-Jill exercise.

Basically, the Jack-and-Jill exercise is to take a nursery rhyme (like Jack and Jill) and rewrite it into a short story of some length relying on skills other than plot. Because the plot is already laid out and well known before the exercise begins, it forces me to focus on those other elements of story such as description, dialogue, pacing and character. To me, it feels like I’m working out those literary muscles that tend to atrophy when I focus too much on plot.

This exercise often comes to my thoughts as I write my novels. When I come to a place where I’m stepping from one plot point to another and I find myself struggling to write that transition, I take a step back and remember my Jack-and-Jill exercise. I change my focus away from plot and try to make the transition stand on its own merit. Over the course of writing three novels, I’ve found this exercise useful.

NEXT STEP . . . HOLLYWOOD (hopefully).

After months of knowing that this was in the works, I can finally announce that 
THE LIFE WE BURY had been optioned for development as an independent feature film! 

 Here's the official announcement: 

 Allen Eskens' debut thriller THE LIFE WE BURY, winner of the Rosebud Award for Best First Mystery, has been named a finalist for five additional awards including the prestigious Edgar Award for Best First Novel and ThrillerFest Best First Novel. It was chosen by Suspense Magazine and MysteryPeople as one of the best books of 2014, and called a "masterful debut" in a starred review by Publisher's Weekly. 

THE LIFE WE BURY is now under option to Mary Jane Skalski and Damon Lane of Next Wednesday to be developed as a feature film.

Currently producing WILSON for Fox Searchlight, Skalski's credits include the award-winning 
THE STATION AGENT (she won both the John Cassavetes and Independent Spirit Producer Award), the Oscar nominated THE VISITOR, WIN WIN, and MYSTERIOUS SKIN. Lane, who has been a manager at Zero Gravity Management as well as head of Development and Acquisitions at Capitol Films, has worked in film sales, finance and production for over 15 years. He has produced LOCKED IN and ANOMALY with Noel Clarke. He is currently packaging CHURCHILL with Studio Canal and Sierra/Affinity. THE LIFE WE BURY was published by Seventh Street Books and the option deal was handled by Mary Alice Kier and Anna Cottle of Cine/Lit Representation on behalf of Amy Cloughley of Kimberley Cameron & Associates.

My Surprising Journey to Becoming an Author

Since the release of my debut novel The Life We Bury, I’ve been so happily astonished at its warm reception. I’ve received many moving, heartfelt messages from readers who have enjoyed and been affected by the book. And it has continued to steadily find new readers everywhere—it’s been in the top 100 at Amazon in Canada for the past 100 days, for example, and starting today, The Life We Bury will be sold on the “Emerging Authors” shelves of Target stores! As exciting as it is to see your book on the shelves at Barnes & Noble and independent bookstores, seeing it in a big box mass retailer like Target is a bit surreal.

All of this has inspired me to reflect on the path I’ve taken to this point, and I made a short video to share with readers the surprising journey I’ve taken to get here. This video goes out to the wonderful readers who have written and asked me about my personal story, as well as to new and potential readers who want to learn more about the man behind the book.

THE GUISE OF ANOTHER is coming!

I went to my very first Book Expo America and it was a blast. For those who have never been there (like me three weeks ago) it's the largest trade show of book publishers and buyers and others in the country. My publisher flew me out there to sign advanced reading copies of my soon-to-be-released novel The Guise of Another.

When I got there, they had stacks of my new book lined up along the wall -- six hundred of them. It all seemed a bit daunting. But I sat down and pulled out my pen and to my surprise, had a steady stream of readers coming by. I met so many amazing people, all excited about reading (except for the one or two who wanted a signed ARC to put on Ebay).

 I also stayed for Bookcon, which was after BEA. I was utterly impressed with all of the young people collecting books. I had some very nice conversations with aspiring writers and I hope that my words encouraged them to follow that dream -- and not wait until they turn fifty like some of us. 

On a different note, I want to thank Maddee James and her team at XUNI for the revamped web page. I'm looking forward to filling it with content.   http://alleneskens.com/

And finally, I have to thank Maria from Good Choice Reading for the exceptional review of The Life We Bury that she posted today. 6 out of 5 stars is one hell of a compliment. 
http://www.goodchoicereading.com/2015/06/review-life-we-bury-by-allen-eskens.html

If you've read and liked The Life We Bury, please like my author page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Allen-Eskens-author/162795953749215

I'm back...

Okay, so it's been a while since I blogged about my novel-writing adventure, but I have a good excuse. I was kidnapped by a band of roving Norwegians and forced to learn the accordion. They took me on a circuit, visiting every KOA Campground in the country where I was forced to perform for my meals. I finally escaped and made it back to Minnesota to discover that my novel, The Life We Bury is doing very well. 

After the launch, I got some wonderful reviews from big names like Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus and from a bunch of terrific bloggers from all over the world. At the end of the year, The Life We Bury was chosen by MysteryPeople and Suspense Magazine as one of the Best Debut Novels of 2014. I figured I'd reached a peak and finished the year quite happy with The Life We Bury.

Then January came. 

First, I received a nomination for the Rosebud Award, for Best First Mystery Novel. This award is given out by attendees at the Left Coast Crime Conference in Portland, OR. Then The Life We Bury was nominated for a Minnesota Book Award for Best Genre Novel. And when I thought things couldn't get better, I was nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Debut Novel. This is often called the Academy Award for mystery writers. I can't believe my good fortune.

So, feeling both excited and humbled, I flew to Portland. To my great surprise and honor, The Life We Bury won the Rosebud award. On that same day, I learned that my novel was named a finalist for the Barry Award, for Best Paperback Original novel. That Award will be presented at the Bouchercon Writer's Conference in the fall. 

And last week, The Life We Bury was named a finalist for the Thriller Award for Best First Novel. In sum, it has been a crazy and wonderful few months. 

I've taken time to blog tonight because I'm feeling a sense of calm right now. I just sent my revisions in for my second novel. The title has been changed from the original working title to The Guise Of Another. I'm happy with how the novel turned out, but we'll see once it comes out on October 6, 2015.

I'll try to be better with writing here as things develop. 

Cheers.

TIME TO WRITE

When I wrote my first novel, The Life We Bury, I didn't feel like a I could call myself a writer as I felt more like a lawyer writing a novel (and as I've learned since, that’s what most lawyers apparently do). I’d spent nearly two decades learning and practicing and studying to prepare myself for this adventure and when the time came, my words flowed out at an easy pace. I had no deadline. I was in no hurry.  Writing was fun.

With novel number two, I felt no need to have a product out by a particular deadline either. I began novel number two when I was in the dreaded agent-query process. If you are in that part of the process now, I highly recommend that you start your next novel while you query. The time between sending out a query letter and hearing back can take weeks, sometimes months.  Writing another novel will distract you from wanting to check your empty email every five minutes.

But when I submitted my second manuscript to my publisher, I decided to ask for a three-book deal. I had ideas for all three books, and their stories worked together in a nice arc, so why not. Well, my request was granted. I received the contracts in the mail and signed them with the high-minded feeling that I was no longer a lawyer writing books, but rather a novelist who also practiced law.

Now it’s time to write novel number three and it seems as though I haven’t any time. With The Life We Bury coming out in less than a month, I have been inundated with tasks I hadn’t expected. It never occurred to me that I’d be writing so many interviews for bloggers and reviewers. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing Q&As. I can’t tell you how gratifying it is to get a Q&A request from bloggers.  Then there are the articles for Writer’s Digest and The Big Chill. On top of that I have been fortunate enough to have events scheduled that put me in touch with many potential readers and fans. In short, I am busy and completely loving it.  I would devote every waking hour to spreading the word about The Life We Bury if I could.

But then I remember that I have another novel to write (and a law practice to run). I

have novel number three outlined and a couple chapters written. Lucky for me, I had my second manuscript finished and sold to the publisher before The Life We Bury hit the store shelves. That means that novel number three won’t launch until the fall of 2016. Where before, I could write when the feeling struck me, I now have to be more disciplined and schedule time in advanced for writing. I hope to never box myself into a corner where I don’t have the time that I want (or need) to write the quality of novel I want to write.

I used to think that if I had to write, I would not enjoy it as much as I did when I wrote because I wanted to write, but I am finding that that is not the case. I’m writing this blog post on a break from my morning’s work and as I finish this piece, I can’t wait to go back to my manuscript. It’s a lovely Saturday morning and I’m sitting on my deck with my laptop on my lap. It’s a good day to write a novel. 

MY WRITING PROCESS   BLOG TOUR

Thank you, Emily Carpenter, for tagging me in this Writing Process blog tour. Emily is a new friend who gets to share the amazing talents of our mutual literary agent, Amy Cloughley, from the Kimberley Cameron Agency. Emily is a writer from Atlanta, an award winning screen writer and can be found at http://www.emilycarpenterauthor.com/

MY WRITING PROCESS

What am I working on?

As I write this blog, I am taking a break from doing revisions on my second novel, tentatively titled, IN THE PATH OF THE BEAST. It is a little more plot driven than my first novel, THE LIFE WE BURY, which will launch on October 14 of 2014. Both novels are mysteries, although IN THE PATH OF THE BEAST has a thriller element to it.

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

Answering this question is a lot like answering the question of how my child differs from other children. There are many similarities between THE LIFE WE BURY and other books in the genre, which allows me to put my novel on the shelf with other mystery novels. But at the same time it is different in some key ways.

First, my protagonist is a college student. He has no special training and, much like the main character from a Hitchcock film, he is pulled into a situation not fully of his choosing.

Another distinction is the internal plot. in THE LIFE WE BURY I have a strong relationship between my main character and his autistic brother. I feel that this pairing gives the story a bigger heart than one finds in most mysteries.

Why do I write what I do?

I write what I do because I enjoy it. I took up writing for the creative outlet and the fulfillment I found in crafting a good story. I continue to write because it makes me happy. If that ever changes, I will stop writing what I do.

How does my writing process work?

I am a strenuous outliner. I can’t begin writing until I have the plots and subplots down on paper. I know the point of view character for every chapter and I know what information will be fed to the reader when.  I don’t let the outline prevent me from taking a detour or tangent, but if the story veers too far from the outline, I stop and redo the outline so that I know where I’m going.

I write around 5000 words a week, either completing one long chapter or two shorter ones. I save one entire weekend day to edit what I wrote that week before moving on to the next section. During the first draft stage I stay pretty close to that schedule.

When I finish the first draft I revise until I’m happy with it. Then I give it out to a few trusted beta readers, incorporate their ideas. I then send it to my agent and get more editorial suggestions before it goes to the publisher.

That’s it for me.

Next week please read up on the writing process of a pair of talented mystery writers whom I admire.

Mickie Turk, and Pat Dennis.

MICKIE TURK

Mickie Turk has worked independently and commercially in film, photography, and journalism for the past 20 years. She wrote, directed, and produced films—both short and feature-length narratives and documentaries. Her travels to Cuba produced a film on the religion Santeria and Havana Nights, a locally screened shorts film festival. Early educational and employment experiences included adult mental health services and juvenile community corrections. Mickie has written novels, screenplays, and a variety of short stories and memoirs. Most recently, she is a film curator at Edina Film Festival and Vice President of Twin Cities Chapter of Sisters in Crime. http://mickieturkauthorandfilmmaker.blogspot.com

PAT DENNIS     

Pat Dennis is the award-wining author of Hotdish To Die For -- a collection of six mystery short stories and 18 hotdish recipes.  Pat Dennis authored The Witches of Dorkdom, a middle school novel.   Her numerous short stories and humor have appeared in Hotdish Haiku, Minnesota Monthly, Woman's World, The Minnesota Crime Wave's Resort to Murder, The Minnesota Crime Wave's Silence of the Loons, Once Upon A Crime Anthology, Writes of Spring, Who Died in Here? Pioneer Press, Sun Current, Hartford Journal, Impressions and Anne Frasier's Deadly Treats. Pat is also a stand-up comedian with over 1,000 performances at comedy clubs, Fortune 500 companies, Women's Expo, and special events. She has appeared on the same venue as Lewis Black, Phylis Diller, and David Brenner. http://patdennis.blogspot.com