Guest Post: J. Luke Bennecke – ECHO FROM A BAYOU

thebookdivasreads

Jul 31

Good day, my bookish peeps. I am not ashamed to say that years ago, I thought authors simply sat down, cranked out a manuscript, editors did minor editing, and then, voila, readers had a new book to read. Talk about naive. I never took into consideration the tons of research most authors perform, the writing and rewriting, editing, rewriting, more editing, more rewriting, final editing, proof copies, and then printing of the finished copy. And now with social media, we have to add in weeks, if not months, of authors promoting their finished books as well as upcoming books. Thankfully, having this blog, and reading as much as possible from other bookish online resources, has taught me to fully appreciate all of the unseen hours an author puts into providing us with hours of reading pleasure. I'm pleased to welcome J. Luke Bennecke, author of Echo From a Bayou to the blog today. Mr. Bennecke will be sharing with us one of the lessons he's learned in his writing career. Thank you, Mr. Bennecke, for joining us today. I'll now turn the blog over to you.

What is the biggest lesson you've learned through writing?

Ernest Hemingway is quoted as saying, "The only kind of writing is rewriting." For me, this was by far the biggest lesson I needed to learn.

When I first decided to write Civil Terror: Gridlock, I had just wrapped up construction of a $25M interchange in San Luis Obispo, California, and had some time before my next project started. I gave myself three months to write the novel. I finished in two. Or so I had thought. To write a targeted manuscript length of 90,000 words in three months, you need to write about 1,000 words (four pages) per day. And when you're writing "freestyle," channeling a story from your muse to the computer, and you type fast, the process goes by quickly (one to two hours a day). But all I had at that point was a (very) rough draft.

This is where my lesson began.

In my ignorance, I thought the only remaining task was checking for grammar and spelling and I'd be ready for the big time. Ha! Not even close.

I took my book to the Las Vegas Writer's Conference and had a few people read the first couple of pages. Suffice it to say, not good. At all. Someday I'll publicly share the story of my early humiliation, but I digress.

Turns out, finishing the draft was a tiny percentage of the overall effort needed to complete the book. Heck, now that I look at the numbers, writing the draft was less than ten percent. I'd estimate I wrote the draft in about 150 to 200 hours, but the total time invested for editing, or "rewriting" as Hemingway called it, was at least three thousand hours.

Why? The "craft" of writing, which I had yet to discover and embrace, involves enormous complexity and consumes vast amounts of energy. The tightening of the story, filling in plot holes, eliminating unnecessary words, reducing filler/fuzzy words, rewriting every single line of dialog to ensure snappy interactions between characters, ensuring at least one instance of micro-tension on every page, and a host of other polishing tasks all take enormous time.

But here's the lesson: without these necessary steps, all you have is—at best—a well-structured plot using words and paragraphs, not a STORY. Not something emotionally charged. Not an extraordinary reader experience. Not something people will tell their friends about.

If writing a novel were like building a house, the draft is your concrete foundation, columns, beams, studs, and steel. Ideally, it's structurally sound, strong and ready for all the fun stuff that makes a house a home. But without drywall, paint, carpet, tile, water, appliances, furniture, wall furnishings, a vase filled with fresh roses atop an antique wooden kitchen table, and everything else, you only have a piece of something special, not a comfortable, safe, cozy home. Without rewriting, you haven't written a story at all, you've merely slopped down a messy draft of words and paragraphs. That was the biggest lesson I've learned through writing.

Echo from a Bayou

by J. Luke Bennecke

July 31 - August 25, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Murder. Treasure. A supernatural twist.

John Bastian is plunged into a dangerous journey to uncover the truth about his past life after a freak skiing accident unlocks hidden memories. With unshakable visions of a brutal attack, the cursed Lafayette treasure, and a captivating redhead, John searches to find answers and confront the man who murdered him. On a perilous path and with a hurricane fast approaching, John fights for his survival and the safety of those he loves, threats haunting him at every turn.

Will he find redemption, or be consumed by an unquenchable thirst for revenge?

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense Thriller
Published by: Jaytech Publishing
Publication Date: August 8, 2023
Number of Pages: 400
ISBN: 9780965771559 (Paperback)
ASIN: B0C4CQVL3K (Kindle edition)
ASIN: B0CCK6K83L (Audible Audiobook)
Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Audible Audiobook | Goodreads

Praise for Echo from a Bayou:

"Thoroughly entertaining—murder, mayhem, adventure, and another chance at a stolen love. Echo from a Bayou is a vibrant, fast-paced thriller that will keep you enthralled until its explosive end."
~ Independent Book Review

"An action-packed thriller with a focus on redemption and second chances, this Deep South adventure is an original, genre-bending read."
~ Self-Publishing Review

"A consistently nimble and riveting cross-genre tale."
~ Kirkus Reviews

"Bennecke's narrative is a riveting blend of high-octane action and suspense that keeps readers on the edge of their seats."
~ Literary Titan

Echo from a Bayou Trailer:

Author Bio:

J. Luke Bennecke is a veteran civil engineer with a well-spent career helping people by improving Southern California roadways. He has a civil engineering degree, an MBA, a private pilot's certificate, and is a partner in an engineering firm. He enjoys philanthropy and awards scholarships annually to high school seniors.

In addition to his debut novel, bestselling and award-winning thriller Civil Terror: Gridlock, Bennecke has written several other novels and screenplays, a creative process he thoroughly enjoys. His second Jake Bendel thriller, Waterborne, was published in 2021 by Black Rose Writing and received several awards. Echo from a Bayou is his latest suspense thriller with a supernatural twist, available August 2023.

Bennecke resides in Southern California with his wife of 32+ years and three spunky cats. In his leisure time, he enjoys traveling, playing golf, voiceover acting, and spending time with his grown daughters.