Stephanie Cantrill
May 2023

Bendigo Writers Festival – Day 3

The Power of Story (True or Otherwise): Writers on Writing

Image attribution: Suzy Hazelwood at pexels.com

Hey there! I’m musing on my time at the Bendigo Writers Festival. This post is about day 3, the last day of the festival. If you’d like to read some of my thoughts on the other days, by all means have a look at day 1 and day 2.

Day 3 was so cold. Not figuratively, just literally cold. My festival pass was hidden under layers of warmth, and I had to do an awkward kind of semi-undressing to show it to the kind and dedicated volunteers.

But, as I said, not the standoffish kind of cold. The writers giving their time today were mainly generous and warm. Both kinds of warm, I hope.

And the ideas and insights they shared gave way to thoughts of my own. Here are some of them.

1. How much does the audience matter?

Depends on your purpose, right? For website copy, ads, instruction manuals, and many more pieces of writing, I’d say it matters quite a lot.

Fiction, in general, also needs to be sold in order to be read. So audience does matter, at least a bit. A panel of novelists talked about a typical modern reader. They’re reading in the context of a 24-hour news cycle filled with horrendous goings-on, and they’re provided with constant electronic and other distraction, so engaging them takes some skill.

One writer said they don’t worry too much about distracted readers. They pay more attention to the relevance of the content they’re creating than the way someone’s going to read it and how many times they’ll look at their phone while they do.

This might be a good practice for any kind of writing. It’s not about how many times someone looks away; what’s much more important is whether it’s relevant enough to keep them coming back.

2. So what kind of writing does sell?

I like to think that if something is well-written, there’ll be at least some interest no matter what the topic is. But hey, tell that to the thousands (or millions?) of writers who can’t catch a publishing break…

And it’s the publishers who sell the books, right? In a moment of delightful honesty, one author answered the question, ‘Who do you write for?’ by simply stating the name of their publisher. I mean, we’ve all got to earn a living.

Of course, there are some things that will sell better than others. And, according to the authors I’ve heard today, my earlier comment about the quality of writing isn’t completely incorrect. A good piece of fiction needs conflict and story arc and all the things we already know (or can find out with a quick ‘how to write a story’ search). And, if selling is your primary goal, it doesn’t hurt if it’s a near-future dystopian coming-of-age novel written for teens and young adults but absolutely compelling for readers of any vintage.

But writing – including fiction – should also have some truth, or the feeling of truth. It can tell us something about ourselves or our history. The length of the writing should, to some extent, determine its intensity: short stories are short because that level of tension just can’t be maintained for the length of a novel.

Whatever the length, heavy themes can be peppered with humour or lightness to give the audience a little breather. Stories within stories can engage us and take us on a little journey. And then they can bring us back again, enriched, entertained and re-energised for the main narrative.

And that’s what sells.

I don’t want to suggest that copywriting, content writing, fiction, memoir, textbooks and, I don’t know, helicopter service manuals are all the same. But there are some similarities, right? The writing needs to engage the audience in some way, it should be relevant to the reader’s interest, and it can head off on tangents as long as it brings us back. (But I will add that I don’t think a helicopter manual is the best place for a near-future dystopian story.)

3. The right time to write

Quite a few people reflected today on when they think is the best time to write. One started by saying the ‘right time’ comes and goes, but that being a good writer is about being present, open and patient.

I guess the point is that you don’t know when inspiration will come or where it will emerge from, so you’ve got to be ready. And being open and ready can help you get into the zone, that place of flow.

Authors have varied ways of getting themselves into the zone. One said they’ll write nothing for ages, and then suddenly get inspired. There isn’t a routine or process, just going with the flow. The writing itself has to be ready to come out, like a shy injured animal.

Another described an opposite writing style: they rely on structure and deadlines, and outline their work with a timeline for completion.

4. What does it feel like to write?

Along with different ideas of the right/write time, today’s authors also had some varied experiences of the process. One author gave the very sweet example that getting into full writing mode feels like being in love: you get swept up in what you’re doing, and the thing you’re writing is always in your thoughts. Aww. ❤

A couple of people said they’re taken to a different place when they’re writing. One said they connect to the writing in the way that a reader would. Their imagination switches on, and they’re kind of drifting but still distantly connected to the real and present. And another said writing fiction gives them a chance to escape their own body for a time and exchange it for another.

But of course not everyone had only positive things to say about writing. One author feels like they have to live two lives at the same time because the story doesn’t leave them. And another said that, if they want something to feel new (and I think, by implication, they do want that), then it’s bound to be difficult.

I mean, fair enough – work is work. But I hope they don’t always find it hard! I guess if they did they’d probably go find another job.

And that’s a wrap!

One more thing though. I think, before this weekend, I’d only been to one book signing in my life – and that was someone I knew. But this time I had three signed, and I can kind of see why people do it now.

For one thing, you get to have a little chat with the author. And, if you’re me, you can learn something about yourself too. Like, for example, you might learn that you’ll get giggly and fumble your words when you’re talking to Pip Williams because you think she’s amazing.

Do you want a self-confessed grammar nerd to write some copy for you? If so, feel free to get in touch.