Mr. Eskens is a humble guy who has put a lot of work into improving his craft, whether it has been through workshops, writing classes, college classes, or his own research into what makes a good story.
His three main points of writing were as follows:
Mystery
- What is the exterior plot?—-Overall mystery! Premise statement!!
- Sub-plots (personal story/plot) to go along with the mystery. Allen makes separate outlines for the personal sub-plots. Write the sub-plot like a 3 act play. Work out where is the most natural places for the subplots to be introduced into the exterior plot.
- Make your readers feel an emotional attachment.
He discussed all three points in detail, using a soft spoken manner and easy sincerity.
A motivating factor for me came when he stated he had approximately 150 rejections before having his first novel accepted by an agent...by accident, as he described it. That was an interesting tidbit of information that gave rise to my own hopes of pushing my novels to an agent or publisher. I have only contacted one publisher, who did give me some positive feedback and three agents, who never responded, so I have a ways to go before exhausting my contacts...I just have to do it, instead of saying poor me based upon only four Query letters and one response received.
I decided that I have to be more positive and push, push, push. Someone out there will be able to see the possibilities in publishing my books.
I guess, the value of workshops where you meet published authors is good for a writer, giving you hope and strengthening your perseverance in the face of daunting odds.
