Russellville Courier News
October 16, 2008

Author with River Valley ties speaks at local school
By Michael Cox

"Murder and mayhem with a touch of romance," is how author Hawk MacKinney describes, in part, his writing style. MacKinney grew up in Arkansas, was in town Tuesday and spoke to Russellville High School (RHS) creative writing and senior Advanced Placement English students. His speech to the burgeoning writers focused on the importance of not giving up and staying true to oneself, with a few writing tips thrown in for good measure. "I don't like genre classification," MacKinney said. His self-described areas of writing include historical love stories, science fiction and murder mysteries. "If I live to be 900, I'll never tell all the stories I have inside me." Counseling students never to throw anything away,"If you don't like what you've written, set it aside and maybe it will be useful later. Do you want to write? Do you write? Are you going to keep writing?" he answered when asked what it took to be a writer. "If so, then you're a writer. It doesn't matter if you haven't yet published, only that you're writing." He also stressed the importance of good characters. "I enjoy my characters more than living people," MacKinney joked. "I like characters that stand out." He cautioned against writing two-dimensional characters, advising students to give characters flaws so they more closely resemble everyday actual people. He also pointed out that creating characters is often the most personal part of writing a story. "I love to write, but I will not edit your work," MacKinney said, noting his belief each person's work is too personal for him to comment on. "Only you can do that to something you've created." He explained when asked if he ever based characters on himself. "Characters can only represent a part of you." MacKinney also spoke on the importance of staying close to your roots, noting several of his characters were based on people he grew up around, and traced his love of writing back to the time he spent there. "When we got through with supper, we'd go out and sit on the porch. We didn't have TV. We counted lightning bugs," he chuckled. "And Grandma spun stories ... beautiful stories." That, plus early support from his teachers, led him to a writer's life that has spanned the globe. "No matter where I've lived, I took part of Arkansas with me," he said, referring to his great childhood.

Hawk MacKinney is a retired U.S. Navy Special Staff Corps Officer with doctoral degrees in health science disciplines and developmental anatomy. He has authored various papers and articles and taught postgraduate doctoral courses both in the U.S. and overseas. His works include `Moccasin Trace' and the Craige Ingram mysteries.