How did you become a writer?

Ray Bradbury once said something like: "You're not a real writer until you've written a million words." He was probably just being facetious, but I took that line to heart. So much so, I kept up with every word I wrote in a Moleskin journal until I hit one million words. As it turns out, that's about the same time I signed with my first agent. I'm on my third agent now, and he's a keeper. But the point is I became a writer by writing. That's the only way anybody does it. 

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

Music was big for me growing up. My dad had all these old cassettes I'd listen to as I fell asleep. John Prine. Harry Chapin. Carole King. Jerry Jeff Walker. Jimmy Buffett. When I got older, guys like Jason Isbell became a huge influence on my writing. Nobody tells a better story than that dude in so few words. I was also reading Flannery O'Connor, Larry Brown, Toni Morrison, Harry Crews—more Southern literature than anything. Jordan Harper's She Rides Shotgun coupled with Michael Koryta's The Prophet were the two books that got me thinking maybe I should try my hand at crime fiction. My writing mentor is a man named Johnny Wink, and I love him with all my heart. 

When and where do you write? 

I have two kids, so I have to wake up before they do to get my work done. That usually happens around five in the morning, which gives me about two hours to write. The daily commitment to the time and place is what's important. I've given up on word counts. I used to be the hare but I'm learning to be the tortoise; slow and steady wins the publishing race. Oh, and I write longhand on unlined yellow legal pads with a blue Pilot V7 pen, a habit I picked up from Elmore Leonard. 

What are you working on now? 

I'm trying to write my version of Deliverance. 

 Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

Things get clogged up sometimes, but I always slog my way through, even if it's to my own detriment. The old football player coming out in me, I guess.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

A beautiful writer and dear friend of mine by the name of Alex Taylor once told me, "Write what you write and let the devil take the hindmost." Took me a minute to understand what he was talking about, but I'm starting to get it now. 

What’s your advice to new writers?

Write a million words then throw them all away and write a sixty to eighty thousand word manuscript. Revise the hell out of it. Send it out to at least one hundred agents. While you're waiting to hear back from those agents, start on another manuscript. Rinse and repeat until you get a book deal, or die trying. 

Eli Cranor played quarterback at every level: peewee to professional, and then coached high school football for five years. These days, he’s traded in the pigskin for a laptop, writing from Arkansas where he lives with his wife and kids. In addition to his critically acclaimed debut Don't Know Tough, Eli is also the author of the forthcoming novel, Ozark Dogs. For more information visit elicranor.com.