FanStory.com - The Humpwhistle Interviewby Terry Broxson

This is a repost of an interview I did a year ago with Humpwhistle. I am reposting for new members and those who may have missed it last year. The first three questions are new. I think members will find them interesting.

Humpwhistle has been one of the most celebrated and loved members on site for thirteen years. Here is what I know. He has 464 fans, maybe somebody has more, but I couldn't find them. He has won the Story of the Month 40 times that I know about. He has been named Writer of the Year 3 times. I asked Tom, the Adminstor of FanStory, if he knew who had the most gold quills for quality writing. He said he didn't know as records were not kept. Humpwhistle is level 15. I don't know of anyone higher.

YOUR RECENT NOVEL, DRAWING BLANKS (FORMERLY CALLED DEWEY'S PRECINCT), IS FULL OF WONDERFUL CHARACTERS THAT WOULD MAKE DAMON RUNYAN AND ELMORE LEONARD ENVIOUS. IN THE INTERVIEW A YEAR AGO, YOU SAID YOU WERE SHYING AWAY FROM THE PUBLISHING BUSINESS. HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR OPINION?

Actually, Terry, I’ve decided Dewey’s Precinct is the better title. Sorry about the
confusion. (Editor's note, it is a better title) As for publishing, when I’m finished with my rewrite, I do plan to send the manuscript out to four or five publishing houses known to promote novels of this genre. But that’s probably the limit to my media ‘blitz.’

At 72- years-old, writing is my preferred avocation. To make it my vocation is not in the cards—unless somebody offers me a six-figure advance. I’m not holding my breath. But, hey, show me a big enough check and I suppose I might kiss any publisher’s ring.

THE NOVEL SEEMS PERFECT FOR MORE STORIES. ARE PLANNING A SEQUEL?

Yeah, it does lend itself to a series, doesn’t it? I somehow stumbled upon the idea of a sort of ‘underground railroad’ for battered women in NYC—run by a cast of colorful characters. I remember an old TV show that used the tag line: There are eight million stories in The Naked City. Yup. And many of them involve battered women. I like this concept because I think it can appeal to men and women equally. Hell, what guy hasn’t dreamed of saving a damsel in distress?

I HAVE READ SOME COMMENTS THAT YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT LEAVING FANSTORY. CAN YOU SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

Yes, I am considering leaving FanStory when membership runs out in September. I will have been here for thirteen years. Maybe that’s long enough. But, most likely, I’d stay another thirteen (in the unlikely event that I don’t succumb to ashes by then), but, as Obi Wan says, “I feel a shift in the Force.”

Something has changed. I can’t be sure I have my finger on it, but I don’t feel like I’ve been playing on an even playing field for about a year. That’s a long time to be shut out. Look, Terry, I can’t, nor do I want, to point fingers. On the other hand, I feel I’ve been singled out. Maybe that’s my cue to move on.

THERE IS A RUMOR ON FANSTORY ABOUT YOU BEING THE AUTHOR LEE CHILD, ANY COMMENT?

I absolutely deny that! I am Harper Lee!

***
As the interviewer, I need to correct that last statement by Humpwhistle. Regular readers of Humpwhistle know his name is Lee Hill. He grew up in the 1950s and had Wheaties for breakfast. He has been a performing musician. He is an entertaining and often very funny writer.
***

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE PEN NAME "HUMPWHISTLE."

Humpwhistle was my maternal great-grandmother's Christian name. Her father was a whaling man, and Moby Dick was already taken, so...

No. Actually, I thought I invented the term 'humpwhistle' for a short story I was writing pre-FanStory. My Character created the word to be a designation for a 'True story that did not pass the believability test,' such as 'That alibi is a true humpwhistle if I ever heard one!'

When I joined FS, I needed a pen name, and 'humpwhistle' leaped to mind.

I believe the true meaning of humpwhistle has something to do with whaling, so here we are, right back with my maternal great-grandmother. What? Did you expect a straight answer?

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING, AND WHY DO YOU DO IT?

I think it began in the Jurassic Period. I was voted Class Poet in high school. Clearly, 'class' didn't mean what it means now. I was to poetry what Harvey the swayback mule was to the Kentucky Derby.

When my baseball career blew up (along with my left elbow), I turned to a career as a singer/songwriter. Short-lived. I sang worse than Bob Dylan, played guitar like I was wearing oven mitts, and wrote songs that put folkies to sleep.

At that point, I conned somebody into a job. For twenty years, I wrote print ads and TV and radio commercials, composed jingles, and named new products. And I wasn't half bad at it. No, I didn't write 'Where's the beef?' or 'Orange juice - It's not just for breakfast anymore.'

My crowning achievement was naming a new line of bras for flat-chested women. I dubbed them 'A-Okay.' All right, so I wasn't David Ogilvy. ( Interviewer's note: Oglivy was a British Advertising tycoon known as the 'Father of Advertising.')

As to why I write? Whittling draws blood.

YOUR CHARACTERS, SETTINGS, AND SITUATIONS ARE TERRIFIC. HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THEM AND DEVELOP THE STORY?

Damned if I know. Really. Except for nonfiction, I never know much about the story I'm going to write when I sit down to write it. Sometimes a phrase comes to mind that intrigues me. Or I overhear a snippet of conversation that suggests an 'atmosphere' to me. So, I start writing in that vein.

I think of myself as an atmospheric writer. Often characters emerge unbidden from an atmospheric setting. I don't always feel in control. Other times, the Character comes first and dictates the setting. Sounds like a bunch of baloney, I know, but when I'm clicking, I come to know my characters and the setting, and I realize they cannot exist without each other. A good example is the protagonist, Randy, in my Barksdale Gap stories. Randy, cannot exist outside of the B-Gap, and the B-Gap has no relevance without Randy.

I handle situations and the story development in an odd way, I think. I always try to swim upstream for them. I don't want my readers to find my work predictable. There can be no interesting character in predictable stories. Really. Look it up. I'd rather write an unbelievable story than a boring one.

FROM READING SOME OF YOUR REVIEWS, YOUR READERS LOVE YOUR DIALOGUE. HOW DO YOU DO THAT SO EFFECTIVELY?

Two things. I read. And I listen. Writers like Robert B Parker, Elmore Leonard, Richard Price, and James Ellroy have taught me that writing dialogue is almost like learning a different language. Most of all, they taught me how to use—and not use—speech and action tags. Nothing putrefies dialogue like labored tags. Oh wait, there is one thing worse than bad tags—uninteresting conversations! The best dialogue is quotable.

God spared me many special gifts, but He did grant me a fine ear. See, people don't speak the same as they write, so writers need to hear the difference and mimic real speech. Hear the cadence. Hear the elisions. Good dialogue needs to meander a little. Real conversations rarely follow a straight line. If yours does, it will read stilted.

Another of my 'tricks' is the use of dialect whenever I can. Dialect is the variety pack in the writers' toolbox. I often use dialect just for the fun of it. Characters who speak in dialect are more apt to spout colorful dialogue.

I LOVE YOUR NONFICTION. DO YOU APPROACH IT DIFFERENTLY THAN FICTION?

With nonfiction, I'm more or less confined to reality. That's simultaneously reassuring and daunting. Despite what they say, truth is not stranger than fiction. Actually, fiction is a stranger to the truth. A subtle distinction, but I said it, so I'm sticking to it.

In fiction or nonfiction, the goal is always the same: write something that will reward the reader for their efforts. Even the most mundane story can be interesting if told with flair. The use of humor, attitude, imaginative metaphors and smiles, and other turns of phrase serves me well in both fictional and nonfictional works.

CHICAGO MAN WAS A STORY OF THE MONTH WINNER AND VERY POPULAR. IS THERE GOING TO BE A PART TWO?

Alas, Chicago Man brings up a sad story. I was nearly finished with Part Two (the conclusion) when my computer got hacked, hijacked, and otherwise brutally violated. During the 'cleansing' process, everything I wrote since the beginning of this year vanished into the ether. I'm trying to recreate Part Two, but it's slow going. Ah, the joys and heartbreaks of this digital world. Sometimes I want to give it the ol' one-digit salute.

I KNOW YOU USE YOUR MUSICAL BACKGROUND FOR INSPIRATION. DO YOU USE ANY OTHER PERSONAL EXPERIENCES?

Yes, I think my musical background plays a part in my writing—particularly in pacing. Good writing has a rhythm. And I have to acknowledge my advertising days, too. That experience taught me to be concise and precise. Also, twenty years in the ad biz did wonders for my vocabulary.

Many reviewers have mentioned my 'way with words.' That's all about having a strong vocabulary and the willingness to use it. Still, I rely heavily on Roget's Super Thesaurus, Second Edition. As tools go, it is even more important to me than a solid dictionary.

IS THERE A STORY YOU ARE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF WRITING?

I am fond of The Cannibal List from the Barksdale Gap series, several of the Bumpus McCoy stories, and the stand-alone Mary Hickey's Flim-Flam. In nonfiction, my current favorite is The Not-Exactlys. Ask me again in a couple of months, and I hope to have all new favorites. Laurel-resting never looks good on a writer.

THERE ARE SEVERAL MEMBERS I KNOW WHO THINK YOUR WORK SHOULD BE PUBLISHED TO A BROADER AUDIENCE. ANY PLANS FOR THAT?

The process of organizing my work and searching out a publisher makes me break out in the hiccups. Writing is fun and rewarding, whereas publishing is work. I admit, publishing is potentially rewarding too, but I can't hump over the work part. What I need is an Assistant in charge of Publishing. Any volunteers? No? Well, I guess I'll sit around and wait to be discovered. I think I need to pack lots of sandwiches.

YOU HAVE BEEN ON SITE SINCE 2010. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR MEMBERS ABOUT USING THE SITE?

I use FS as a hedge against talking to myself. There's nothing sadder foisting one's work on friends and relatives who believe 'real writers' are anointed at birth. FS is this coward's way of publishing.

I think FS participation requires a writer to set goals. Twelve years ago, I vowed to write something worthy of a Story-of-the-Month nomination every month. I have been about 99% successful in that regard. Beyond that self-serving little anecdote, I have no special insight. My best advice? Just write good (sic).

YOU ARE GREAT AT THE 'TWIST ENDING.' CAN YOU COMMENT ON THAT? AND WHAT ABOUT FLASH FICTION?

I've always been fond of the twist ending. O Henry's The Ransom of Red Chief is still the one to beat.

The hardest part of writing flash fiction is picking a story that can actually work within the specified word count. You just can't fit one of my size-fourteen gunboats into Cinderella's slipper no matter how hard you shove. Choose a story that'll fit in the designated box, then hammer each word until all the flab is excised.