‘You have to write the first draft of your novel to find out what the b***** book is about.’ Tom Keneally at the 2010 Adelaide Writers’ Week.

Writing the first draft of a novel or short story can be daunting, scary, puzzling, confronting or fantastically exhilarating. Often all those things at once!

When I was writing my novel last year I was pushing the limits of my writing abilities. I had a strict deadline, I was recovering from a serious illness and I was frankly terrified that I wouldn’t get finished on time. The adrenalin was pumping overtime, but I did it. I found that once I built a little momentum in the first few chapters, the story and characters took over. Where normally I can often struggle to produce a thousand words in a day, I found that the momentum built to such a degree that I was sometimes churning out over 2000-3000 words in a day. The feeling was great and the story quickly took shape, structure and character.

I did have a sort of outline for the story. I didn’t have a strict plot as such. Instead I let the story write itself. Events I had planned had interesting consequences that I hadn’t thought of in the planning stage. I find that this form of writing works best for me. I’ve never been one to plan out every element of the plot, every aspect of each character or even how it will end. In that I can understand the Keneally quote at the beginning of this article. Writing a novel or story can be a journey of discovery.

On the other hand I can also understand those writers who must plan every part of the storyline and do extensive character studies before they write even one word. This process is distinct from the research stage. I had to do a great deal of reading in my research phase because my novel was set in a country where I had visited but not lived. I didn’t take many notes from my research. Instead I preferred to merely absorb the culture, the environment and the nature of the people.

Good writing.

On a number of posts over the last few weeks I have written about the writers who were speakers at this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week (click here to read more).  I have also written about some of the things Australian writer Tom Keneally had to say. Here is another quote:

“I am still in a marriage with one book when I fall in love with another story.” Tom Keneally, 2010 Adelaide Writers’ Week

I know that feeling well.

I start off all enthusiastically on my work in progress. I marry myself to The Story. I do everything possible to please her, pamper her and see her grow in beauty. I am head over heels in love with her demands, spending long hours wooing her, meeting her every need and seeing that nothing gets in the way of our delightful nuptial bliss.

Then unexpectedly, with no warning sirens blaring, another Story comes mincing seductively along the path, knocks provocatively on the door of my heart and whoosh…. I am carried off in flights of imagination, falling madly in love with this New Story. Something has triggered my heart into believing that this New Story is the Love of My Life.

Practical help

In this situation I know I have to remain faithful to the original story. I need to keep focussed on what I am doing to the exclusion of all else. A very practical way of dealing with this new distraction is to spend a few minutes jotting down the salient points of the new story. File it away – in such a way that it is easy to locate  again in the future. Then forget all about it. She will sulk, she might whine and carry on for a few hours but eventually she will settle down and bide her time until she can take her rightful place in your life.

Good writing.

I had the privilege of hearing Australian writer Tom Keneally speak several times during this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week. On each occasion he was in fine form and proved to be not only a brilliant speaker, but also funny and instructive – often at the same time.

I didn’t take many notes during the week but preferred to just sit, listen and soak up the wonderful atmosphere while listening to such a fine parade of great writers. I did take a few notes for one of Tom’s talks.

“I am the one who needs my books – the world goes on perfectly well without them. I am no longer under the delusion that the world needs my books.” Tom Keneally, Adelaide Writers’ Week 2010

This is a sober reminder about the world and about books. He is perfectly right, of course. The world will continue functioning as it does without that novel or short story or poem you are slaving over. It will make no difference at all if that piece of writing is never published.

Tom is also wrong

At the same time, I believe that Tom is also wrong. The world may not need that novel, non-fiction book, sonnet or article, but there is surely someone out there – perhaps only one person, or a handful of people – whose lives can be changed, influenced or even enhanced by what you write. This is why we must, as writers entrusted with divine words, always strive to write the very best we possibly can.

Our writing can – and should – make a difference.

Good writing.

Tom Keneally opening Adelaide Writers' Week 2010

Adelaide Writers' Week 2010, Pioneer Women's Memorial Gardens

From where for you draw your inspiration as a writer?

I guess there are as many answers to that question as there are writers! It always intrigues me when writers say that they don’t know what to write about. I rarely have that problem. I can see ideas for writing all around: in the every day events of life, in the experiences of life, in the environment, in the fascinating people we come into contact with daily, in the newspapers, in things we read, in films, television programmes and so on and so on.  So writers just need to open their eyes to the whole world of ideas for writing out there just waiting for a poem, a story, an article or an essay to be written.

In recent weeks I have written about my impressions of attending this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week held as a part of the current Festival of Arts. During one of the sessions I couldn’t find a seat in the big marquee, so I sat in the shade of one of the beautiful trees which are a feature of the Women’s Pioneer Memorial Gardens where the sessions were held. It was a lovely day: bright sunshine, not too hot, gentle breeze and wonderful speakers to enlighten and entertain us.

I looked up into the trees above.

Beautiful.

I just had to take several photos to share with you here. I will use these photos, and the wonderful setting, as inspiration for some writing. The only problem now is to decide whether I write an article, a short story, a poem – perhaps a beautiful sonnet – or a blog post about those lovely trees, the sunshine filtering softly through the leaves, the birds singing overhead in the branches or some other response.

Be inspired – and use that for good writing.

Adelaide Writers' Week 2010, Pioneer Women's Memorial Gardens

Adelaide Writers' Week 2010, Pioneer Women's Memorial Gardens

Writers: tell the inner critic on your shoulder: “Leave the room, close the door and I’ll invite you back in when I’ve written and we’ll analyse it together.” Sarah Dunant 2010

The inner critic plagues many writers. Sometimes it is like a demon sitting there so belligerently that the writer is frozen by inaction.  Feelings of not being able to write creep in, along with their cousins telling the writer that he or she will never be a good writer. ‘You’re only deluding yourself,’ they cry. Try something sensible, like bomb disposal or rocket science. Go become something easier like a brain surgeon.

Self doubt and  self criticism is common. Writers need to shrug them off and just write. Get down the story, let it take on a momentum of its own and just get it written – no matter how rough it seems.

Then when the first draft is finished, invite the critic back into the process and go through your writing  meticulously, mercilessly and ruthlessly until the writing is so polished that it sparkles  like a well-cut diamond.

Good writing.

• To read more about Adelaide Writers’ Week click here.

• To read more about Sarah Dunant click here.
  

Sarah Dunant at Adelaide Writers Week 2010

]]> http://www.trevorhampel.com/writers-and-the-inner-critic/feed/ 0 http://www.trevorhampel.com/cate-kennedy-at-adelaide-writers-week/ http://www.trevorhampel.com/cate-kennedy-at-adelaide-writers-week/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:52:01 +0000 Trevor http://www.trevorhampel.com/?p=1629

Novelist Cate Kennedy at Adelaide Writers Week 2010

Novelist and short story writer Cate Kennedy was one of the Australian speakers at this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week.

Cate is a novelist, poet and short story writer who has already achieved a significant body of work, wide recognition and a number of major awards, including winning The Age short story competition on two occasions. She is the author of the novel The world beneath and the poetry collections Joyflight and Signs of other fires. She also spoke at length about the inspiration for and the experiences which contributed to her travel memoir called Sing and don’t cry: a Mexican journal. This resulted from working in Mexico for two and half years during which time her yearning for Australia set her writing in earnest. Her collection of short stories called Dark roots was short listed for several literary awards in an era when writers are told that short stories do not sell.

I found her talk very interesting, especially on the way she goes about her writing.  She claims that story telling is in her blood and has been especially inherited from her grandfather who told her many stories in her formative years. One particular anecdote about him had the audience laughing. Her grandfather and a good friend – both in their 80s – worked out a mathematical formula which would enable them – at a calculated speed – to drive from one side of the Adelaide CBD to the other without having to stop at traffic lights. Somewhere their calculations went awry and they ended up crashing and in trouble with the law. It sounds dry and humourless told here, but Cate’s skill as a story teller enlivened the crowd listening to her.

She encouraged the writers present to have fun with their writing. ‘Write what you enjoy reading,’ she said. ‘Draw on your life experiences. Write the best you possibly can and you will get published.’

Good advice.

Good writing everyone.

Related articles:

• Adelaide Writers’ Week - more articles from my archives.

Stephen Orr, Adelaide Writers' Week 2010

One of the interesting book launches during this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week was Stephen Orr‘s novel Time’s Long Ruin. Stephen is a high school teacher in Adelaide. He has had short fiction published in a range of magazines and journals and has had two previous novels published. They are Attempts to draw Jesus and Hill of Grace.

Time’s Long Ruin is set in Adelaide and deals with some of the darker elements of our society, including touching on the disappearance of the Beaumont children from Glenelg beach in 1966 and all done in a fictionalised form. I can’t give a review here yet as I haven’t read a page. I’m keeping it for a time when I can basically read right through. I will be interested in how he treats the topic as it could give me ideas on how to tackle the writing of a novel I have in mind.

Peter Goers launching Stephen Orr's book

The book was launched by the affable and outspoken Peter Goers, Sunday Mail columnist and ABC Radio 891 evening presenter. Peter did such a good sales job on the book that I raced to the Book Tent to buy it afterwards, and then joined the long queue to have my copy signed by the author.

I look forward to reading it.

Stephen Orr, Adelaide Writers' Week 2010

Stephen Orr, Adelaide Writers' Week 2010

]]> http://www.trevorhampel.com/stephen-orr-at-adelaide-writers-week/feed/ 0 http://www.trevorhampel.com/sarah-dunant-at-the-adelaide-writers-week-2010/ http://www.trevorhampel.com/sarah-dunant-at-the-adelaide-writers-week-2010/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:02:10 +0000 Trevor http://www.trevorhampel.com/?p=1607

Sarah Dunant at Adelaide Writers Week 2010

One of the great things about attending a writers week like that recently held in Adelaide during this year’s Festival of Arts is that you get to meet and hear from a wide range of writers from around Australia and from overseas.

At this festival I attended on three of the six days. I heard from a number of writers I had never heard of before, let alone read any of their works. This is exciting, for it is an excellent way of finding new writers to read and new books to pursue. The downside is that one can simply get overwhelmed by the sheer number of excellent writers out there, many of whom have published three, four, ten or even dozens of books, all of them worthy of attention.

Where to start. [Sigh]

One of the sessions I attended was a meet-the-author type presentation with UK writer Sarah Dunant (pictured above). She gave a lively, entertaining and fully engaging talk. She lives part of the year in London and the rest in a Florence apartment.

[Bigger Sigh - I can dream can't I?]

She explained how she developed from a crime writer into one who loves writing historical fiction. Her last three books are set in Italy in the 1500s and she went to great lengths to explain how she goes about her research, some of the fascinating facts that research has discovered about that era in recent decades and the impact of an understanding of religion on her writing.

“To understand the past you must understand religion,” she said. “Five hundred years ago it was the only game in town.” Sarah Dunant at the 2010 Adelaide Writers’ Week.

Her recent books include The birth of Venus (2003), In the company of the courtesan (2006) and Sacred hearts (2009).

I must put her books near the top of my ‘must read’ list.

Good reading.

Good writing.

Nicholas Drayson at Adelaide Writers' Week 2010

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One of the writers I really wanted to hear at the recent Adelaide Writers’ Week was Nicholas Drayson (pictured above).

He has worked as a journalist in Australia, Kenya and the United Kingdom. He was a professional student for many years and so he has a string of degrees in an interesting array of disciplines. He has worked in the Australian National Museum and some of his works can often be categorized as nature writing.

Just over a year ago I bought a copy of his gloriously humorous book, A guide to the birds of East Africa: a novel. With a title like that I just had to read it, not realising that, despite it being a romping good yarn, it is a love story, albeit with a twist or three, not to mention some mysteries. I reviewed this book here.

Love and the platypus

Until I listened to Nicholas at Writers’ Week I hadn’t realised that he had written several other novels, including Love and the Platypus and Confessing a murder. After his intriguing and highly entertaining address – he even sang a wonderful song about the bumble bee – I raced to the Book Tent and purchased his book Love and the platypus which I then proceeded to line up for him to sign. Katharine England, book reviewer for our local daily paper “The Advertiser”, was lined up behind me. I struck up a conversation with her, telling her that on the strength of her review of A guide I went to buy it. She had also chaired the session with Nicholas.

I can’t wait to have the time to read his other books.

Further reading:

• What I am reading: A guide to the birds of East Africa: a novel

Nicholas Drayson at Adelaide Writers' Week 2010

Nicholas Drayson at Adelaide Writers' Week 2010

Last week I attended three days of the week long Adelaide Writers Week. This biennial event is an integral part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts here in South Australia, one of the leading such festivals of its kind in the world. The list of guest speakers is often a who’s who of the writing world. This time was no exception and the impressive parade of talented writers throughout the week was very inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

But where were the writers for children?

They were conspicuous by their almost total absence.

Almost.

Only Markus Zusak could be said to be a writer for children – a debatable point as his audience is best described as Young Adult.

Australia has an impressive number of world class writers for children. They lead the world in their chosen field. They are acknowledged around the globe for their talent and many outsell their adult counterparts. Why, then are they totally ignored festival after festival?

Is this a case of literary snobbery on the part of the organising committee? Or ignorance?

Adelaide Writers' Week 2010

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