Correct URLs

Pardon the flopping around.  The correct (current) URLs for my two websites are:

Bill Hines             billhines.org

RockParty            billhines.org/RockParty/Welcome.html (case sensitive)

A Character's Voice

In critique groups, I often ask a member whether he wants the reader to hear (through reading) the characters voice in the way it was read.  The reader reads the dialogue in the voice he hears as he writes and edits it.  How do you convey that sound, that unique way of speaking that is part of the character you are creating and developing?

Four ways:

1.     Sentence structure: requires that the author be skilled and have a degree of mastery of the craft of writing- vocabulary, grammar and imagination.  Also, a sense of patience and dedication to do it right, to be thorough and diligent in producing the words and syntax that will make the character's voice reflected in the mind of the reader.

2.     Word emphasis: almost any word in a sentence can be emphasized, vocally, and emphasizing different words give the sentence different connotations.

Italicize the correct word for the reader to emphasize.

3.     Dialect: it takes effort and consistency to illustrate in writing what a word sounds like the way the character pronounces it.  It is essential, however, if you want the character to be authentic.

4.     Cadence: use punctuation- commas, m-dash and ellipsis to match the writing to the stops and starts, hesitations and pauses in the character's speech.

These instructions are probably listed in many books and articles.  I made them up, however, this morning over a cup of tea.

Platform Development

Got my two websites online for the first time since Mobile Me succumbed in June, 2012.  I switched to iPage as host, and have been pleased with their customer service so far.

The websites will undergo an overhaul and be structured as an author's website- billhines.org, and a website for a novel- rockparty.us.  But in the meantime, you can access them at:

BillHines.org            RockParty

Be sure to check out the songs I wrote with Ty Roberts on the BillHines page.

To Writers Circle Webscribe on Self-Publication

Dear Webscribe,

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/business/media/david-mamet-and-other-big-authors-choose-to-self-publish.html?pagewanted=all

Thanks for forwarding this article.  

I understand your dilemma in "rappin' round' " self-publishing.  You're not alone.  It is interesting to watch the evolution of this phenomenon's status in the publishing world.

Originally called "vanity publishing" a nomenclature that was, and may still be, accurate (in some cases), it has carved out a legitimate and recognized tier for itself for unpublished authors, and established authors as well.  To me, the concept has vastly exceeded its "vanity" phase and become simply a menu item in the vast array of commercial publishing services.  

The advantages enumerated in the NY Times article are pertinent for all the authors I know, and know of.  The higher royalties, the increased control, the extension of time applied to marketing, are all appealing features.  And elimination of the stress and anxiety of trying to sell yourself and your work to an agent or publisher, and the time you save by taking over the job for yourself (you  never get a rejection), seem true values to me.

The article helped me reach these conclusion.  Thanks for thinking about us and passing it on.

Bill Hines

Writing status

Saturday AM.  I was signed up for a "Pitch" at the Atlanta Writers Conference in May, but when I discovered that the fifty dollar pitch did not include the previous day's "Query Letter Critique", and that all the Friday sessions were full with a waiting list, I withdrew from the "Pitch" portion.  The refund will be less a $25 fee, but a pitch for the novel, RockParty, would be premature at this time.

I have editing corrections from seven critique group meetings backed up and waiting- totally unacceptable.  I am attending a free, AWC workshop on writing fiction today.  It is actually open to the public- at the Dunwoody Library.

Platform update: April 13, 2013

The discount web hosting site I have used several years does not have the support I need.  Since Mobile Me went defunct 6-30-2021, my website, chryscross.com, has not been online.  After researching, I decided on a new service called "IPage".  I have struggled all week getting the two domains transferred (finally successful) and set up.  chryscross.com is up and working fine, but, although it is transferred and published, the web can't find the file "rockparty.us".

I told my rep at IPage that I didn't want to think about any (marketing) enhancements until I get these two sites up and running as is.  I have a ticket (request) in to their customer service about RockParty.

I plan that one site will be the web page of a novelist, and the other the website of a novel.  RockParty.us will be the novel.  I will probably change the site name of the other to billhines.org, which is available.

Platform

I have avoided little daily diatribes in this blog, intending to avoid the appearance of vanity.  But more and more I am learning that blogging is an essential component of a modern day platform, which, as a writer, I need to develop and refine.  So look for more personal sharing from me in the future.