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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
“The God
Killers’
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/11/98-inside-emotion-of-fiction-god.html
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/11/98-inside-emotion-of-fiction-god.html
#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”
