Want to be a writeR?

So what's it actually like being a writer? And if you want to do it, how do you get started? Find out from the Girlfriend Fiction authors.

Best and worst things about being a writer?

'Best - being able to make stuff up all day long, being able to put all those ideas and memories and observations - all my daily detritus - on the page and keep them forever. Hanging out with Kate Constable, drinking cups of tea, talking about books and gossiping about our Girlfriend characters and being about to tell our husbands and children that we're doing busy work and can't be disturbed.

'Worst - not having a nice office in the city. I'd love to have a 15 minute bike ride to work every day, and a space away from my family to work.'  - Penni Russon (The Indigo Girls – GF2)

'Best - you get to make things up. It's a great profession for control freaks because you have total control over this world that you create. You literally have the power of life and death over your characters.

'Worst - the sense of isolation - necessary for creating anything - but difficult for a social person like me. It's one of the reasons why I love having another job - I work part-time as a theatrical agent - because I get to interact with other people and lots of young people in particular. I think I'd go quietly nuts if I didn't have that.' – Rowena Mohr (My Life and Other Catstrophes – GF1)

'Best - Being able to work partially clothed, sleeping in (oh, I do that too much!), working through your own feelings and ideas in the name of (paid) art, creating characters who become lifelong friends.

'Worst: - Losing touch with reality, not being able to collaborate as part of the daily process, realising you’ll never be as good as your favourite writers!' – Georgia Clark (She's with the Band – GF3)

'Best -The moment when you wake up in the middle of the night and realise "Oh, so that's what the story's about!" Because from that point on you can go back and shape what you've written to make it more true. Sometimes that moment happens very early, sometimes it's quite late in the writing process, but it's a wonderful shiver of recognition. It's when the big amorphous mysterious thing you've been wrestling with in darkness suddenly emerges into the light.

'Worst - Not having enough time to write.' – Kate Constable (Always Mackenzie – GF4)

'Best - the same thing I love about reading – that connection between the writer and the reader. As a reader, I love being transported, touched, enthralled, and excited by a book. It’s as if the author’s given me a whole new world. And as a writer – I love the idea of someone else being touched in the same way. It doesn’t matter if I never know who they are or what they liked about my story – just the idea of someone being tucked up on bed, or lying on the beach, and sharing some time with my creation... how amazing is that?

'Worst - I suppose the worst thing about writing is also a good thing – how many good stories have already been written. When I’m having a bad-writing day, it’s easy to just think, "*sigh* what’s the point!" I guess the answer comes back to question 1 – writing’s just part of who I am.' – Thalia Kalkipsakis (Step Up and Dance – GF6)

'Best: You get to work in your pyjamas. You get to spend all day making stuff up and you get paid for it. You also get paid to go to schools and talk about yourself which is something that, as an only child, I find very appealing. And you get fan mail, which is awesome.

'Worst: Can't think of a worst. The GST on books?' – Lili Wilkinson (The (not quite) perfect boyfriend– GF 5)

'Best: being able to say that writing is your occupation. It sounds so much better than teacher/librarian/concrete layer/used car salesman/chicken plucker.

'Worst: having to then explain that I am not a millionaire.' – Barry Jonsberg (Cassie – GF8)

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How do you write?

'I write from my share-house in Sydney … my flatmates were extremely patient with me reading out passages to them after long sun-drenched days channelling the spirit of Mia and life at Silver Street High. I wrote the lion’s share of SWTB early in 2007, after returning revitalised from travelling in Paris, Rome and London – usually four or five days a week with a self-imposed word limit of 1,000 words a day.' – Georgia Clark (She's With the Band – GF 3)

''I write at home in my study. I have a lap-top so theoretically I could write anywhere, but I find that having a space dedicated to writing is much more conducive to actually getting something done. It's part of having a writing routine and being disciplined about your craft. I'm always very envious of people who say they can go and sit in their local café and write. How they can hear themselves think over the noise of the espresso machine and the radio set slightly off the station, I've never figured out.

'Because of my theatrical background and interest in film my approach to writing is often quite filmic in the sense that I tend to write the key scenes – the scenes that form the peaks of the book’s emotional geography if you like – first. This actually helps with structure and narrative organization as well because you can plot the story quite easily according to those peaks.' – Rowena Mohr (My Life and Other Catstrophes – GF1)

'In my head! So if anyone out there owns a mind-reading machine, you’re welcome to tap into my brain – the stories in there are really good. The problems start when I try to get those stories onto paper, and silly things like plot structure and punctuation get in the way.
'I'm lucky to have an office at home – overlooking Mt Buffalo, with two 120 year old elm trees up close. My husband works in the same office too, which is great. When I get a bad email (a proposal rejected, or a manuscript that needs heaps more work), then I have a strong man-shoulder to cry on. Oh, and when I get a good email – then I have someone to celebrate with too.' – Thalia Kalkipsakis (Step Up and Dance – GF6)

' I'm supposed to write in my study, which has nice bookshelves and a nice desk and a whiteboard for Thinking Out Loud. But most of the time I end up writing on the couch, lying on my back, propped up with cushions, with my laptop balanced on my stomach. Don't tell my osteopath, okay?.' – Lili Wilkinson (The (not quite) perfect boyfriend– GF 5)

'I write in my study with the door closed. It’s very important to have a space that, when you enter it, is used exclusively for writing. I have a steam-driven computer [no internet, no games, no email] and write straight onto that. I also listen to one music CD, on a loop, until I have finished a book. Then I put a different one in for the next.' – Barry Jonsberg (Cassie – GF8)

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When did you start writing?

'When I was five years old and I was angry or naughty I'd shut myself in my room. My dad would write notes or draw pictures and stick them under my door and I'd write notes back ('I OD NOT LOVE YOU'). I think it all started there.' – Penni Russon (The Indigo Girls – GF2)

'I started writing short stories from a very young age and it continued through to university, where I produced a zine, grrowl, while doing a BA Communication Media Arts and Production, majoring in screen-writing and film-making. I wanted to be a director, mostly after watching Manhattan about a billion times and deciding my first ever role model was Woody Allen. We didn’t have TV reception growing up - just a VCR - so I wasn’t exposed to much crap, which helped cultivated a love of story and narrative.' – Georgia Clark (She's With the Band – GF3)

'I've been writing all my life in one way or another. I wrote hundreds of short stories & plays when I was a kid - all of them pretty bad - but hey you have to start somewhere. When I went to drama school, I wrote comedy skits and revues which we would put on at the end-of-year performances - and actually I think some of them weren't bad - and I continued to write performance pieces as a professional actor because it was a great way to ensure that you actually had work. I think I probably started to write a novel twenty times before I actually did it. It took me a long time to figure out that to write something as sustained as a novel you actually just have to keep writing.' – Rowena Mohr (My Life and Other Catstrophes – GF1)

'I wrote my first "book" in kindergarten. To be honest, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t absolutely certain that I wanted to write. Like a lot of writers – it’s not a choice for me, it’s just part of who I am.' – Thalia Kalkipsakis (Step Up and Dance – GF6)

'I wrote my first book in Prep. It was called "The Dog and the Cat Went for a Walk". It had everything: romance, action, dogs, cats. I started my first novel in Grade 6, and finished it in Year 8. It was pretty long - 60 000 words. And every single one of them was terrible. It was basically every fantasy novel I'd ever read, all smooshed up into one piece of utterly derivative drivel. It's now password protected on my computer, and nobody will ever read it. Nobody. I started getting published in high school - in Voiceworks magazine. Then I wrote some other bits and pieces until one day when I was 25, a publisher called me up and asked me if I'd like to write a book.' – Lili Wilkinson (The (not quite) perfect boyfriend– GF 5)

'About six years ago (around 2002). Just goes to show it’s never too late to start.' – Barry Jonsberg (Cassie – GF8)

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Best bits of advice

'Whatever you do, write something every day. Every single day without fail. Don't wait for inspiration.' – Kate Constable (Always Mackenzie – GF4)

'You can’t become a writer through doing a special course or reading all the right novelists: you just sit down and write. One of my new fave writers Diablo Cody (she wrote the jaw-droppingly good film Juno) was an office worker turned stripper before she put pen to paper! And she’s amazing! Without sounding too much like a subplot from The Matrix, the things that make you not a writer are actually the things that make you a writer.
'Also every writer feels inadequate. I mean, every artist feels inadequate – that’s why we’re artists – but writers especially as the whole point of it is being paid to comment blithely from your ivory tower on all you observe. So get used to low-level frustration and depression. Seriously: just accept is as part of territory and don’t feel sorry for yourself too much – it’s really boring.' – Georgia Clark (She's with the Band – GF 3)

'Firstly - just write! Writing is not so different to playing sport or a musical instrument. If you don't practice you don't get any better. You need to develop your writing muscles.
'Secondly - read! Read for pleasure once but then go back and read again so that you can figure out what makes a particular book work. How is the plot presented? What imagery does the writer use? Relate what you read to your own work and set yourself writing exercises to see if you can achieve similar effects.
'Thirdly - be nice to yourself! Be critical of your own work but not so critical that you never finish anything. Every writer gets to a point where they say 'Why am I bothering with this? It's rubbish and no-one is going to want to read it.' Finish it anyway and then show it to a few people who know what they are talking about for their feedback.' – Rowena Mohr (My Life and Other Catstrophes – GF1)

'Don't study creative writing at university (or not as an undergraduate). Study something else, like history or geography or literature, learn as much as you can. Plus read poetry.' – Penni Russon (The Indigo Girls – GF2)

'A diary is good. No matter how vivid the emotions and experiences seem now, they’ll always fade with time. It’s good to go back and remember how a certain event made you feel – then you can draw from that as you write. I think specialising is worth thinking about. Becoming an "expert" in a specific area (health? sport? politics?) is definitely useful for journalists. But for fiction writers, it really helps to have real-world experiences to draw on. I was lucky to always know that I wanted to write – but that knowledge distracted me for a while too. Good writing isn’t the words and phrases; it’s having something worth writing about.' – Thalia Kalkipsakis (Step Up and Dance – GF6)

' Read. As often and widely as possible. And keep it simple. Don't try to disguise your writing with flowery prose - just tell the story. Oh, and if a publisher ever calls you on the phone and asks if you'd like to write a book - you say "yes".' – Lili Wilkinson (The (not quite) perfect boyfriend– GF 5)

'Turn up to the office! It’s like anything else. You cannot be successful unless you put in the hours. Anyone can say they are the best writer in the world or the fastest 100 metres athlete or the greatest guitarist. Those that are, have put in the time and effort and have learned from everything they’ve done. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts.' – Barry Jonsberg (Cassie – GF8)

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Where to find out more

Check out some of our books about writing.

Visit Kate Constable's website , Penni Russon's website and the Allen & Unwin Writers' Centre site.

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