Category: Life

Q&A Part 7: personal interests and advice

Peter

Question: Aside from writing, what are some of your other passions or hobbies?

P.J. Moroney: Well, I guess reading. I’ve always read a lot. These days, I read a bit of history, criticism, and the like besides fiction. I’m pretty typical, I think. Love music and movies. Follow most sports. I’m a diehard footy fan, like most Melburnians (Essendon), and cricket, and so on. Food, travel, living well – is that a hobby? I’m pretty mainstream. No odd passions or interests. I guess, whether I like it or not – and often I don’t – I follow the news and current affairs religiously and have opinions on every topic. Been like that since I was a kid.

Question: How does your interest in current affairs and history influence your writing?

P.J. Moroney: I don’t know – does it? I suppose it must. Everything you read, see and hear eventually goes into your writing, whether you know it or not. It shapes your perspective and maybe your attitude, and there’s no way that doesn’t influence your writing. But, it’s hardly explicit in me. I haven’t written anything historical. I don’t think about global events when I sit down and write. But then, knowledge of how things work – politics and relationships – is at the core of writing fiction. The more you know, the better you get at it, I would think.

I do have a project in mind that draws upon current events.

Question: What advice would you give to someone who wants to switch careers and pursue writing?

P.J. Moroney: Nothing particular. Writing is an individual thing and I think there’s probably a bit of luck in it, too. What’s true for me may not be true for others.

My so-called writing career is still pretty fresh, and there’s nothing certain about it. I’m in no position to give advice except maybe to suggest some caution. I don’t know what the stats are, but I know there’s a lot of unpublished manuscripts out there. It’s not easy, and I’d probably say the same thing my dad might have said to me if I ever asked: make sure you know what you’re doing. It’s not for everyone, and it takes more than passion. In other words, don’t jump into it without getting your work checked.

I was a terrible judge of my own work. It was essential that I got feedback. That’s still true, though it’s different now. Back then, I needed validation that I could write and that what I wrote was worth reading. Once I knew that I could attack it more confidently, though I was still years away from doing anything about it. Most writers start out doing it on the side and gradually testing the waters, and I think that’s probably the best and safest way of going about it. Once you know there’s a market interested in your writing, you can be more expansive.

That’s how it was with me, though other circumstances forced my hand to a degree.

Question: What circumstances?

P.J. Moroney: Cancer. I survived but it killed my day job.

Question: That must have had a profound on your outlook. Did it change your writing?

P.J. Moroney: It had a profound effect on everything. I’d be guessing, but I figure it may have given some depth to my writing. It certainly changed my outlook.

Question: What have you learned about publishing that you wish you knew when you started?

P.J. Moroney: I’m still learning. It’s tough. I don’t want to go into it too much because I just don’t know. All I can say is if you’re confident in your stuff, stick with it. There are fashions and trends in writing, just as in everything else, but what you bring as a writer is individual and presumably personal. Don’t be tempted to be something that you’re not. If it’s going to work, then it’s your voice that matters.

Q&A part 2: about the writing

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Question: How do your travel and career experiences influence your writing?

P. J. Moroney: All your life experiences contribute to your writing. Everything you see and do counts, and many of the things you encounter along the way will end up fueling the creative fire.

Work is a big part of life. We spend half our life there, pretty much. It plays a huge part, even if it’s not conscious. You pick up a lot of subliminal material just going to and from work every day for years, and in your office, and getting your coffee and going out for lunch, and so on. And that’s just the surface stuff. It goes deeper.

Not all writing, but much of it is about characters. Work in an office, and they surround you. You get to see up close the human dynamics at play, different personalities and characters, different ways of being. Then there’s the politics of place, what people do and how they deal with it. A lot of it’s pretty raw. You see people under pressure, you see them happy and sad, you see them stressed, and you see them at their most ambitious. It’s a rich stew of human stuff, and even if you don’t use it directly, it informs your thinking and philosophy and maybe even your behaviour.

As for travel, that’s different. It’s handy seeing how other people live and absorbing different cultures and all that, but the value of it is that it enlarges your soul if you do it right. I mean, if you treat it as more than just a photo opportunity and immerse yourself in the history and culture of a place, you learn a lot – not just about the people and place, but about yourself as well. You come away as a bigger person, I reckon. I don’t want to use the word enlightened, but there’s a bit of that.

When I travelled, I would soak it up. I’d try to get off the beaten path. Half the time, I’d travel rough. I opened myself up – I wanted to meet the locals and see how they lived. I had some unforgettable experiences.

I don’t know if I ever consciously used that for my writing, but there’s at least one story set abroad. More importantly, travel broadened me as a person. Everything you write comes from inside, and the richer you become with experience and knowledge and perspective, the richer your writing should become.

If only it were so easy!

Question: What themes do you find yourself drawn to in your storytelling?

P. J. Moroney: Themes are things you figure out in retrospect. You start writing with characters and plot in mind and maybe a general idea of what you want to say. In my experience, themes emerge in the writing. You don’t start with them in your head – I don’t anyway – but then you write something and read it back and see the thread of a theme emerging. And it makes sense to you because it’s yours – it’s come from inside.

I guess I became more conscious of it after the first few times, and editing and rewriting, I would look to sharpen them a little. In between times, I’d wonder about it, exploring what they meant – not just in general, but what they meant to me. And why.

To answer your question, I think there are a few themes – maybe the critics will teach me a few more. I think redemption was one of the earliest themes I identified. As themes go, I think it’s a good one. The opportunity to come good, to change the course of something, to redeem yourself – if only to yourself – is pretty rich. Why me? I couldn’t say, but it matches well with the sense of a journey, which I’m also drawn to.

Otherwise, I think flawed masculinity is one of my themes – don’t ask. Except to say, I think a lot of macho bullshit is bullshit. I think many men lose their way for whatever reason, and I look at that.

That aligns pretty well with personal identity, also. I see that in my writing. I’m curious about it. I mentioned earlier how I like the idea of a journey, and that’s because we’re all on a journey whether we know it or not. We know how it starts, we know roughly how it ends, and in between, we have to figure out how to live and who we are. This might sound a bit new-age, but I reckon the ultimate journey is finding our authentic self. That’s the jackpot, but easier said than done.

Question: Why is it so hard?

P. J. Moroney: There’s a lot of distractions these days. Everything gets delivered to us, on the TV, on our phone, at the supermarket. We get caught up in lifestyle, seductive as it is, and lost in that is direct experience. It’s easy to accept the cushy ride, and before you know it, it’s all over, and you haven’t begun to get at the real stuff.

Everything is a fucking marvel, and we take it for granted.

Question: What is the real stuff?

P. J. Moroney: Let’s not go there – except, I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to figure. Maybe that’s what I’m trying to write. That’s the journey.

Question: How’s that going for you?

P.J. Moroney: Still going. I’m on the road, though.

After the shitshow

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Return to work

Look, it’s been a while since I posted here regularly, mostly for pretty obvious reasons.

Life, as they call it, got in the way, particularly cancer, which is a bit of a shitshow that takes a lot out of your daily schedule – among other things. That’s as good an excuse as any, but probably more relevant is that I lost some motivation to update this regularly. I was busy with things, true enough, and nothing happened that was worth recording.

I’d written a book but couldn’t resolve to publish it. In the meantime, I did fuck all writing when I had cancer full-on. I didn’t have the energy for it; without it, it’s hard to be creative. Then, that passed, and I began writing again, but it felt very personal. I had no notion of putting myself out there. I didn’t think much beyond the page.

What’s changed is that I thought fuck it, and went out and published my novel, almost on the spur of the moment. What’s the point of it gathering dust in my bottom drawer? I’d always figured I wanted to do more with it, improve it here and there, but I realised that becomes a vanishing point you never reach. Just do it, and so I did.

Odd how I feel having done it. There are people out there reading it at this very moment (I hope!) and most likely judging it. It can be a spooky thought, and that’s how I felt initially. But then it fades. I’ve done it; it’s out of my hands. Make of it what you will. It’s almost as if I’ve put it behind me now.

The one abiding sentiment is that I always said I’d publish a novel one day, and now I have. I don’t feel the pride you might expect, but there is a sense of quiet satisfaction.

More importantly, I have another novel to work on and then another after that. I have plenty of ideas. Hopefully, I’ll get the next one – quite different – released next year.

The good news

Peter1 Comment

I’m sorry it’s been so long between posts; I’ve had cancer. I’ve endured the usual treatment for it, surgery, followed by radiotherapy and chemo, and while it ain’t much fun, I’m now cancer-free.

For the moment, I’m on the long road to recovery and haven’t written a creative word for about a year. I expect to return to some sort of normal in the next six months. I hope to be back writing before then, and I’m curious to see how my recent experiences influence my writing.

All good.

Why this site?

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I’m a writer. Not full-time, and it’s not what it says on my passport – I have to make a living, after all – but in spirit and every spare moment, that’s what I am. You see, I always wanted to write and don’t think I could stop even if I wanted to.

The act of writing consumes me. Even when I’m not sitting there tapping away, it’s in my head, on the train to work, in bed with the light out, preparing dinner, and so on. And when I’m ‘writing’, I’ll often sit there with an intense look on my face, figuring something out or just pondering the work in general. Then I look up and hours have passed. Such is life.

This is why I’ve created this site. Writing is a solitary activity. It’s something I wish I could talk about more because – to me – it’s a fascinating process. There’s mystery and wonder and magic in it, as well as a lot of hard work and discipline. A lot of it I don’t understand myself. I’d love to share the experience of that with people who are interested in such things and plan to post updates to this site regularly. As part of that, I’m interested in what you think. I welcome your questions and divergent perspectives.

And – just quietly – if you’d like to support me in this lonely and puzzling quest, you’ll find a link to my Patreon account at the right of the page.

In the meantime, read, enjoy, and feel free to ask me your questions.