Ask the Author: H. Max Hiller
Answered Questions (7)
H. Max Hiller
Deepest apologies for the unforgivable delay in responding. It took me this long to reset my forgotten password LOL.
No, but I do have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Coote...
No, but I do have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Coote...
H. Max Hiller
I firmly believe that my characters will ultimately write their own story. I have a very detailed chapter-by-chapter synopsis when I sit down to begin writing, but what I find I have written may or may not follow it. I have learned to remain open to where my characters want to lead me, and so I very seldom run into writer's block caused by own determination to stick to the synopsis.
The few times I have been stumped, though, I have re-read the entire synopsis and then begin editing the last couple of chapters I wrote before I became stumped. Usually this will show me what my mental block is and present a means of getting around it. I always remember that I will be doing multiple edits to whatever I write, so just getting something on paper is all I have to do until the blockage falls away. I usually find what the problem in the story was once I have good material written on either side of the rough spot.
The few times I have been stumped, though, I have re-read the entire synopsis and then begin editing the last couple of chapters I wrote before I became stumped. Usually this will show me what my mental block is and present a means of getting around it. I always remember that I will be doing multiple edits to whatever I write, so just getting something on paper is all I have to do until the blockage falls away. I usually find what the problem in the story was once I have good material written on either side of the rough spot.
H. Max Hiller
Having a forum to discuss issues that interest me with people I would likely never have met otherwise.
There is also the matter of being able to write off my vacations in New Orleans as 'research' for my books. :-)
There is also the matter of being able to write off my vacations in New Orleans as 'research' for my books. :-)
H. Max Hiller
Write YOUR book.
The market is full of books that fit what publishing houses and market research say the 'average' reader will buy. Well written books and interesting stories will always create their own market.
The market is full of books that fit what publishing houses and market research say the 'average' reader will buy. Well written books and interesting stories will always create their own market.
H. Max Hiller
My second book is set in the Lower Ninth Ward. This is an area that many 'civic leaders' actually wanted to abandon in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Families have lived there for multiple generations and are still struggling to rebuild their lives with almost no government assistance.
The story is sort of like that old story about the bird that gets pooped on by an elephant, but is saved from a hungry cat by his new odor. The people who live in the Ninth Ward are confronted by well meaning people trying to help but doing the opposite and people who refuse to help that actually create opportunities for them.
The story is sort of like that old story about the bird that gets pooped on by an elephant, but is saved from a hungry cat by his new odor. The people who live in the Ninth Ward are confronted by well meaning people trying to help but doing the opposite and people who refuse to help that actually create opportunities for them.
H. Max Hiller
I am on a heart medication which is notorious for causing vivid, but rather wild, dreams. I spend hours every day reading articles on the internet and in one of the many magazines I subscribe to and all of this material fuels the dreams.
Eventually a story line begins to gel and I use lucid dreaming techniques to encourage my dreams to turn into a series of short movies that eventually become the book I write.
Eventually a story line begins to gel and I use lucid dreaming techniques to encourage my dreams to turn into a series of short movies that eventually become the book I write.
H. Max Hiller
The protagonist came about because of a mental exercise I use to stay awake on long drives. There actually IS a highway exit with the names of the towns of Cooter and Holland. I used to imagine stories involving someone with that name and finally had a chance to use it when this novel came to me.
The story itself is actually an accumulation of things I believe have been overlooked or that simply intrigued me. I have been told that readers are tired of stories about New Orleans' recovery from Hurricane Katrina and are indifferent to stories about military veterans unless they are cast as unflawed heros, so that was where I set my story about a decidedly flawed hero.
I had been looking for a 'perfect murder' method and came up with the method used in the book. I then used the solution to it to encourage a discussion of other matters as well.
The story itself is actually an accumulation of things I believe have been overlooked or that simply intrigued me. I have been told that readers are tired of stories about New Orleans' recovery from Hurricane Katrina and are indifferent to stories about military veterans unless they are cast as unflawed heros, so that was where I set my story about a decidedly flawed hero.
I had been looking for a 'perfect murder' method and came up with the method used in the book. I then used the solution to it to encourage a discussion of other matters as well.
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