Monday, December 9, 2019

#106 Inside the Emotion of Fiction "Escapement" by Phil McCarron



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****Phil McCarron’s ESCAPEMENT is #106 in the never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one specific excerpt from a fiction genre and how that fiction writer wrote that specific excerpt.  All INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links are at the end of this piece. 

Name of fiction work? And were there other names you considered that you would like to share with us? I also have a short film script I have ready to shoot, just need to work on the funding. It’s a very personal piece for me as it deals with mental health and suicide. The script it titled Escapement. This was the only title it was ever going to be. The word ‘Escapement’ is a watchmaking term for the measure of a moment; it’s that second of time when one lever releases the pendulum, as it freefalls into the next lever.
Has this been published? And it is totally fine if the answer is no. If yes, what publisher and what publication date? Escapement has not been published yet. As a screenwriter/producer, it is a project I am hoping to produce myself once I acquire funding. Especially as it is a project very close to my heart.

What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction? I began writing Escapement in 2017 and finished in 2019.
Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work? And please describe in detail. Whether it be books or scripts, I do all of my writing exclusively at night and always wrapped up like a burrito in my bedroom. Sadly, I’m out of the country just now so I do not have a picture of my bedroom or I would happily oblige (after some tidying).
What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? I was sober entirely whilst writing Escapement. I had stopped taking my anti-depressive medications in order to write this script as I needed to feel again. I needed my senses to not be dulled. A major part of the script was drawing inspiration from some of the world’s most famous, depressed painters. Viewing their works, and listening to a lot of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash in the middle of the nights brought out the emotions needed to capture my vision for the script.

What excerpt of the book was the most emotional for you to write? This excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer.
She plants two feet in the tub and slinks down, starching her body to full length.  The hot water rises up over her up over her body, filling around her naked contours from neck to toe.
The water slowly turns CRIMSON as her hand delicately falls upon her thigh, a RAZOR cut just visible on her wrist.
Her feet rest at the bottom of the bath as the blood from her veins dissipate into the water.
The faucet continues to run.
                                                            CUT TO BLACK:
The SOUND of the water still running.
                                                                       FADE IN:
The mirror in the bathroom, fogged up.
Written in the fog are the words “I existed”

The HISS from the hot water continues to run and the words on the mirror are gradually erased with fresh steam.
                                                                     FADE OUT.







Why is this excerpt so emotional for you to write? And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific scene/excerpt? This scene was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to write. While I have always been publicly open about my mental health and previous suicide attempts, the context of the story brought back moments of the isolation I’ve felt through much of my life. I knew the moment I started the script how it was going to end, but typing the scene out was like a tidal wave of old miseries washing over me again and again.
Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? And can you please include a photo of your marked up rough drafts of this excerpt. There was an earlier, shorter draft of Escapement.  I had written it in 2018. In 2019, after I had finished film production on my award-winning short film Ghosts in the Ink, I rewrote Escapement with an eye for it being more poignant for all the senses. During the rewrite, I framed some shots in the scenes to match the famous depressive paintings that had acted as a muse. I added more audio cues in an ASMR format as I’ve found that in a spell of feeling isolated and hopeless, our senses become heightened. My hope was to replicate the feeling of someone in, what I call, the eye of the hurricane: that moment of calm before the storm surge of a suicide attempt. A moment where everything that disgusts you about society, and your participation in it, appears before you with crystal clarity in all of your senses.

Other works you have published? Yes! I have an essay on German auteur filmmaker Fritz Lang published in ESSAI, the college journal for College of Dupage in Illinois.

Anything you would like to add?
ESCAPEMENT has been named finalist at the Chicago Screenplay Awards, and is currently a Quarter-finalist at the Monthly Movie Festival in Glasgow, Scotland

Phil McCarron was born and raised in Grangemouth, Scotland and he now splits his time between his native Scotland and his second life in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. He took an interest in writing at an early age, writing ridiculous stories about drag racing hamsters. After moving to the Chicagoland area at age 11, he spent his teenage years expanding his writing through song lyrics, poetry, short stories, and both critical & humorous essays. This culminated in the publishing of The Great Facepalm : The Farce of 21st Century Normality in 2014.

He also drew inspiration from his Great Uncle, British novelist, journalist, film & theatre critic, Alan Brien. Alan once said to him, "writers are like gods, they are the only other people that can create something from nothing." The power of the written word to become anything from a mantra to a movement is profoundly true. Eventually, his love of writing found its home in the medium of film. The beauty of screenwriting is that you're never alone. There is always a hive of creative minds adding their own talent to simple words written on a page. In 2019, he completed his first independent short film, "Ghosts in the Ink", acting as writer, creative/financial producer, additional editor, and sound editor.



INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links

001   11 15 2018 Nathaniel Kaine’s
Thriller Novel
John Hunter – The Veteran

002   11 18 2018 Ed Protzzel’s
Futuristic/Mystery/Thriller
The Antiquities Dealer 

003   11 23 2018 Janice Seagraves’s
Science Fiction Romance
Exodus Arcon

004   11 29 2018 Christian Fennell’s
Literary Fiction Novel
The Fiddler in the Night

005  12 02 2018 Jessica Mathews’s
Adult Paranormal Romance
Death Adjacent

006  12 04 2018 Robin Jansen’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Ruby the Indomitable

007  12 12 2018  Adair Valerez’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Scrim

008  12 17 218 Kit Frazier’s
Mystery Novel
Dead Copy

009 12 21 2019 Robert Craven’s
Noir/Spy Novel
The Road of a Thousand Tigers

010 01 13 2019 Kristine Goodfellow’s
Contemporary Romantic Fiction
The Other Twin

011 01 17 2019 Nancy J Cohen’s
Cozy Mystery
Trimmed To Death

012 01 20 2019 Charles Salzberg’s
Crime Novel
Second Story Man

013 01 23 2019 Alexis Fancher’s
Flash Fiction
His Full Attention

014 01 27 2019 Brian L Tucker’s
Young Adult/Historical
POKEWEED:  AN ILLUSTRATED NOVELLA

015 01 31 2019 Robin Tidwell’s
Dystopian
Reduced

016 02 07 2019 J.D. Trafford’s
Legal Fiction/Mystery
Little Boy Lost

017 02 08 2019 Paula Shene’s
Young Adult ScieFi/Fantasy/Romance/Adventure
My Quest Begins 

018 02 13 2019 Talia Carner’s
Mainstream Fiction/ Suspense/ Historical
Hotel Moscow

019 02 15 2019 Rick Robinson’s
Multidimensional Fiction
Alligator Alley

020 02 21 2019 LaVerne Thompson’s
Urban Fantasy
The Soul Collectors

021 02 27 2019 Marlon L Fick’s
Post-Colonialist Novel
The Nowhere Man

022 03 02 2019 Carol Johnson’s
Mainstream Novel
Silk And Ashes

023 03 06 2019 Samuel Snoek-Brown’s
Short Story Collection
There Is No Other Way to Worship Them

024 03 08 2019 Marlin Barton’s
Short Story Collection
Pasture Art

025 03 18 2019 Laura Hunter’s
Historical Fiction
Beloved Mother

026 03 21 2019 Maggie Rivers’s
Romance
Magical Mistletoe

027  03 25 2019 Faith Gibson’s
Paranormal Romance
Rafael

028 03 27 2019 Valerie Nieman’s
Tall Tale
To The Bones

029 04 04 2019 Betty Bolte’s
Paranormal Romance
Veiled Visions of Love

030 04 05 2019  Marianne Maili’s
Tragicomedy
Lucy, go see

031 04 10 2019 Gregory Erich Phillips’s
Mainstream Fiction
The Exile


032 04 15 2019 Jason Ament’s
Speculative Fiction
Rabid Dogs

033 04 24 2019 Stephen P. Keirnan’s
Historical Novel
The Baker’s Secret

034 05 01 2019 George Kramer’s
Fantasy
Arcadis: Prophecy Book

035 05 05 2019 Erika Sams’s
Adventure/Fantasy/Romance
Rose of Dance

036 05 07 2019 Mark Wisniewski’s
Literary Fiction
Watch Me Go

037 05 08 2019 Marci Baun’s
Science Fiction/Horror
The Whispering House

038 05 10 2019 Suzanne M. Wolfe’s
Historical Fiction
Murder By Any Name

039 05 12 2019 Edward DeVito’s
Historical/Fantasy
The Woodstock Paradox

040 05 14 2019 Gytha Lodge’s
Literary/Crime
She Lies In Wait

041 05 16 2019 Kari Bovee’s
Historical Fiction/Mystery
Peccadillo At The Palace:  An Annie Oakley Mystery

042 05 20 2019 Annie Seaton’s
Time Travel Romance
Follow Me

043 05 22 2019 Paula Rose Michelson’s
Inspirational Christian Romance
Rosa & Miguel – Love’s Legacy: Prequel to The Naomi
Chronicles

044 05 24 2019 Gracie C McKeever’s
BDMS/Interracial Romance
On The Edge

045 06 03 2019 Micheal Maxwell’s
Mystery
The Soul of Cole

046 06 04 2019 Jeanne Mackin’s
Historical
The Last Collection:  A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and
Coco Chanel

047 06 07 2019 Philip Shirley’s
Suspense/Thriller
The Graceland Conspiracy


048 06 08 2019 Bonnie Kistler’s
Domestic Suspense
The House on Fire

049 06 13 2019 Barbara Taylor Sissel’s
Domestic Suspense/Family Drama
Tell No One

050 06 18 2019 Charles Salzberg’s
Short Story/ Crime Fiction
“No Good Deed” from Down to the River

051 06 19 2019 Rita Dragonette’s
Historical Fiction
The Fourteenth of September

052  06 20 2019 Nona Caspers’s
Literary Novel/Collage
The Fifth Woman


053 06 26 2019 Jeri Westerson’s
Paranormal Romance
Shadows in the Mist

054 06 28 2019 Brian Moreland’s
Horror
The Devil’s Woods

055 06 29 2019
Epic Fantasy
Wings Unseen

056 07 02 2019 Randee Green’s
Mystery Novel
Criminal Misdeeds

057 07 03 2019 Saralyn Ricahrd’s
Mystery Novel
Murder In The One Percent

#058 07 04 2019 Hannah Mary McKinnon’s
Domestic Suspense
Her Secret Son

#059 07 05 2019 Sonia Saikaley’s
Contemporary Women’s Literature
The Allspice Bath

#060 07 09 2019 Olivia Gaines’s
Romance Suspense Serial
Blind Luck

#061 07 11 2019 Anne Raeff’s
Literary Fiction
Winter Kept Us Warm

#062 07 12 2918 Vic Sizemore’s
Literary Fiction-Short Stories
I Love You I’m Leaving

#063 07 13 2019 Deborah Riley Magnus’s
Dark Paranormal Urban Fantasy
THE ORPHANS BOOK ONE:  THE LOST RACE
TRILOGY

#064 07 14 2019 Elizabeth Bell’s
Historical Fiction
NECESSARY SINS

#065 07 15 2019 Lori Baker Martin’s
Literary Novel
BITTER WATER

#066 08 01 2019 Sabine Chennault’s
Historical Novel
THE CORPSMAN’S WIFE

#067 08 02 2019 Margaret Porter’s
Historical Biographical Fiction

BEAUTIFUL INVENTION:  A NOVEL OF HEDY LAMARR

#068 08 04 2019 Hank Phillippi Ryan’s
Suspense
THE MURDER LIST

069 08 08 2019 Diana Y. Paul’s
Literary Mainstream Fiction
THINGS UNSAID

070 08 10 2019 Phyllis H. Moore’s
Women’s Historical Fiction
BIRDIE & JUDE

071 08 11 2019 Sara Dahmen’s
Historical Fiction
TINSMITH 1865

072  08 19 2019 Carolyn Breckinridge’s
Short Story Collection
KALIEDESCOPE & OTHER STORIES

073 08 21 2019 Alison Ragsdale’s
Emotional Women’s Fiction
THE ART OF REMEMBERING

074  08 22 2019 Lee Matthew Goldberg’s
Suspense Thriller
THE DESIRE CARD

075 08 23 2019 Jonathan Brown’s
Mystery/Amateur P.I.
THE BIG CRESCENDO

076 09 02 2019 Chera Hammons Miller’s
Literary Fiction w/ suspense, concern with animals & land management
Monarchs of the Northeast Kingdom

077 09 09 019 Joe William Taylor’s
Literary Mystery
The Theoretics of Love

078 09 15 2019 Linda Hughes’s
Romantic Suspense
Secret of the Island

079 09 19 2019 Max Elliot Anderson’s
Middle Grade Adventure/Mystery
Snake Island

080 09 22 2019 Danny Adams’s
Science Fiction
Dayworld: A Hole In Wednesday

081 09 24 2019 Arianna Dagnino’s
Social/Historical/Adventure
The Afrikaner


082 09 29 2019 Lawrence Verigin’s
Thriller/Suspense
Seed of Control

083  10 05 2019 Emma Khoury’s
Fantasy
The Sword And Shield

#084 10 07 2019 Steve McManus’s
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
SEVEN DEVILS

#085 10 08 2019 Sheila Lowe’s
Mystery/Psychological/Suspense with Scientific Bent
PROOF OF LIVE

#086 10 10 2019 Jess Neal Woods’s
Historical Fiction
THE PROCESS OF FRAYING


#087 10 11 2019 Karen Odden’s
Historical Suspense
A TRACE OF DECEIT

#88 10 14 2019 Kate Maruyama’s
Love, Loss & Supernatural
“HARROWGATE”

#89 10 17 2019 Sherry Harris’s
Mystery
“LET’S FAKE A DEAL”

#90 10 18 2019 Linda Mooney’s
Science Fiction Apocalyptic/ Post Apocalyptic
“THE TRUNK”

#91 10 19 2019 Jayne Martin’s
Flash Fiction Short Story Collection
“TENDER CUTS”

#92 10 22 2019 Janice Cole Hopkins’s
Inspirational Romance
“IT ALL STARTED AT THE MASQUERADE”

#93 10 29 2019 Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s
Short Story Collection
“THE SHADOWS BEHIND”

#94 11 01 2019 David Henry Sterry’s
Fiction: Sexual Violence
“THE TENDERLOIN WARS”

#95 11 03 2019 Jay Requard’s
Dark Fantasy/Horror
“DEATH & DUST: THE PALE SAND ADVENTURES”

#96 11 04 2019 Caroline Leavitt’s
Fiction
“WITH OR WITHOUT YOU”

#97 11 06 2019 Kelsey Clifton’s
Science Fiction
“A DAY OUT OF TIME”

#098 11 13 2019 John F Allen’s
Urban Fantasy Tale


#99 11 16 2019 Damian McNicholl’s
Historical Novel
“The Moment of Truth”

#100 11 19 2019 Stacia Levy’s
Mystery/Suspense Novel
“Girl Crush”

#101 11 24 2019 Charlotte Morgan’s
Fiction Novel
“Protecting Elvis”

#102 11 26 2019 T. L. Moore’s
Children’s Christian Fiction
“Ed On My Shoulder:  Maria & The Candy Trail”

#103 11 27 2019 Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg’s
Coming of Age Literary Novel
The Nine


#104 11 29 2019 Charlotte Blackwell’s
Adult Paranormal
“MYSTIC EMBRACE”


#105 12 07 2019 Mike Burrell’s
Satire Novel
“THE LAND OF GRACE”

#106 12 09 2019 Phil McCarron’s
Screenplay
“Escapement”