I was chatting with some new friends in my Facebook writing groups on the subject of writing discipline and inspiration. While all of us love to write and can churn out the stories when we are feeling passionate about the subject, we can also go through periods of writer’s block.
When we were discussing the subjects of how to write well, how to write without painting your plot into a corner, and how to write even when you don’t feel like it, I mentioned that I get a lot of inspiration from my other job. I get to work with some of Australia’s special heritage sites and records, and going through old explorer’s maps, reports, and diaries always provides me with some strange little quirk of history that inspires a new story. I particularly love the history of Charles Hunt, an 1860s explorer who penetrated into the deep deserts of Western Australia looking for many thought was a vast inland sea.
In this case, early explorers such as Hunt can also give us some practical direction on improving our writing. Don’t believe me? Let’s have a look…
Never move forward until you know exactly where you are headed. Many Australian explorers were romantics, who would gamble it all on a headlong rush out into the unknown.
A lot of these guys died.
The more professional explorers, such as Hunt, set up a base camp at a safe location then sent out small exploring parties to find the next secure water source. They only moved to the next camp site once they had accurately mapped what was going to happen next.
For writers, don’t touch the keyboard until you have a clear idea of where your story is going next.
Study the landscape. When Hunt traveled, he didn’t just put dots on a map. He wrote down all the details of the plants, animals, streams and hills that he came across. Why? Because by having a deep understanding of the world around him, he was able to travel further inland than any of his predecessors.
For us, we need to understand the world our stories take place in. Not just the physical aspects, but the cultures, politics, and history. These aspects aren’t just pretty background to a story, they are the landscape from which great stories can be produced.
Listen to others. Hunt didn’t travel alone. He was guided by an Australian Aboriginal man named as Tommy Windich. Windich, from the Kokar tribe, was an extensive traveler, linguist and tracker, and worked with a number of British surveyors. Truthfully, a lot of the early explorers in Western Australia would have been completely lost without this guy. Australia was still horribly racist towards Aboriginal people at this time (and yes, there’s still a lot of work to do in that regard), yet Hunt respected how Windich negotiated both the landscape and the different Aboriginal tribes whose land Hunt journeyed through.
For writers, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t be too proud to listen to advice. Finally, accept that not everyone is going to have the same opinion on your work that you do. And that’s ok.
Don’t give up, even after you fail. Do you think Hunt’s first exploration into the desert was an overwhelming success? Think again. The guy tried four or five times. Threw himself into the task, again and again. Each time he got further in, looking for an inland sea that simply didn’t exist.
As for us? We’re going to fail. So many times. So many times. But each time we pick ourselves up we get better at it.
Here’a final thought I’ll leave you with. Hunt never found his inland sea. He died young, his body worn out from exploration. But a few years later, a strange thing happened. A prospector used Hunt’s tracks between secure water sources to travel inland, and when he reached the end of Hunt’s track, he found something.
Gold.
It turned out to be one of the largest gold and mineral reserves on the planet. This started Western Australia’s Gold Boom, a period of prosperity that completely changed the direction of my home.
So all of those writing failures? They’re still setting the groundwork for something amazing. Get out there and keep writing!
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