Here’s some information on the writing of Without a Backward Glance, for people who are interested in the nuts and bolts of how this particular writer works:
A True Story?
I’ve been asked many times "How much of this novel is based on your own life?" There are certain similarities between the family in Without a Backward Glance and my own: four siblings, a father entering dementia — but I can honestly say that none of those characters bears much resemblance to me or my siblings, nor is the father my own father. I haven't had an immigrant forebear since 1852, and my mother never ran away. Each character in the book is an amalgam of different people I have actually known (including myself), plus a big serve of imagination. It sounds like a writer's cliché, but I really do find the most fun part of writing fiction is how the characters develop in ways I never expected.
Paper & Screen
I wrote all my notes on character, plot etc in longhand in very ordinary lined exercise books. (I find I can’t use the beautiful bound blank books or journals that caring friends give me, they feel too permanent and scary!) But I don’t write much in the way of notes, though, really. Just enough to get things straight in my head, then I start the actual story, always directly onto my laptop. I love writing on a computer, because I can change whatever I want without any hassle, and this saves me from the paralysing anxiety of "It has to be perfect!”.
Getting It Down
With Without a Backward Glance, I broke the novel into big sections, then the sections into chapters, then the chapters into bite-size segments, each one from 500 to 1500 words, ie a day’s work. This made the whole immense undertaking seem manageable. (My favourite saying, not surprisingly, is “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”) I also didn’t watch any TV or read any newspapers, had a miniscule social life and, most importantly, I didn’t allow myself to read any other books AT ALL until I'd finished my segment for the day. This is a technique I think of as “boring myself into submission”.
The Nitty Gritty
I’m very lucky in that I don’t have to work at a day job, nor do I have young children or elderly parents to care for. When I wrote the first draft of Without a Backward Glance, I was in the perfect situation: in a rented house in the hills of central Bali, one of the most beautiful and creative places on earth. The house wasn’t grand, but it was comfortable and spacious and in a lovely location, and I had staff who looked after me and the house so graciously, all for the same price that ordinary life would cost in Australia. Not surprisingly, the writing just flowed, like pouring water from a jug. I wish I could say that the same thing was happening with my second novel! But my life has become more complicated, though for very happy reasons, and the writing has come more slowly. I hope to have it finished soon, however: watch this space!
