A Writer's Rollercoaster

Thoughts on joining AWC Fiction 1 Online Critique Group:

To be continued . . .

A short poem

The pen is no longer 

mightier than the sword,  

there are too many pens.

Disciplined people 

always keep their word.

Procrastinators 

only procrastinate

 when they can.

Perturbation

     Why did the members of my writing group yesterday make me   angry?  Why am I stewing about it 24 hours later?  Conclusion: because they were monkeying with my characters.

     In the early writing and revising RockParty, a novel, the book was plot driven, not driven by the characters, whom, from a craft standpoint, were undeveloped.  During two years of intensive, intimate dialogue, that is, dialogue between me and the characters, each became a real person, and each insisted on being himself, not conforming to the perceptions of critiquers, especially those with strong opinions about what my character would say and how he would say it—opinions they formed by listening to and reading one small portion of one chapter of the work.

     The opinion-laden critiquers do not consider that, in addition to usurping the author's diligent efforts to craft character, theirs may be only one of different opinions of every member of the group.

     My writing skills have improved enough to say my novel is equally character and plot driven.  The presumptuousness of critiquers that they can, on a spur, define a character for me, or against the will of the character who exists and is alive, bothers me.  It bothers me when group members complain because they cannot deduce from a page, or a paragraph or a sentence, what I have so extensively developed pouring over manuscripts for great lengths of time, agonizing over decisions to integrate valid suggestions offered humbly by critique groups.  It bothers me and makes me want to withdraw. 

     Eventually, I calm down and remember how essential the critique  process is to  producing the best book I can possibly write.  Less apparent, but also realized, is that perturbation with the group is a driving force that keeps me going, keeps me revising and revising revisions, stokes my passion for producing quality that is uniquely mine—blended with quality that is universally accepted—a quality that satisfies me with the probability that it will satisfy the reader.

     These thoughts keep me from dropping out and help me tolerate frustration with feedback, even on a bad day.

Resuming Praying

I have often said that praying is useful, but more than useful, I meant beneficial, rewarding.  You pray—your life gets better.  You don't pray—your life gets worse.  If a person experiences this cause-effect relationship, he will become afraid not to pray. 

The question I raise today is, "if a person forgets or neglects to pray, and consequently notices that everything seems to be inexplicably going wrong, can the useful benefits of praying be restored immediately upon resumption of the activity?"

My answer, based on experience, is "yes".   Even a simple daily prayer, by rote, has the power to restore God's protective presence to our conscious lives as soon as it is spoken.  Having experienced this power today, I listed the components of my daily prayer, which begin:

God,

1.       Grant me the serenity to . . .

2.       Grant me the knowledge of . . .

3.       Grant me the willingness and ability to . . .

4.       Keep me humble.

5.       Your will,not mine.

6.       Forgive my sins.

7.       Possess my mind and body and . . .

8.       Be my glory.

9.       Your will not mine.

10.     Keep me humble

           . . . and things got better.

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.