Natasha Rai: A Writer's Guide

All my stories start with a character. This person seems to materialise almost fully formed in my mind. They have opinions, feelings, and usually some deep hurt or resentment that needs to be resolved. As a “pantser” this approach has its challenges. A pantser is someone who writes without a plan in place, and as the name suggests, a “plotter” is a writer who will have outlined their story before they start writing.

So, I wait. Sometimes there’s a scene that pops into my head and I write it out and from there a story starts to emerge. Other times, the wait continues, allowing this character to start forming clearer edges, gaining more depth. They show me their relationships, their work, their conflicts and once I have this I can start writing.

Most of the characters I imagine are people of colour. This is simply because I am a person of colour. It’s always interesting to me when people ask me if the character is based on myself or someone close to me. It’s almost as though being a person of colour doesn’t allow me to write about anything but my own personal experience. For me, the skin tone of a character doesn’t matter as much as what they’re feeling, how their thoughts and beliefs are shaped by their environment and their inherent inner qualities. While it’s hugely important to amplify diverse voices, for me I write stories about people who look like me, and I’m no different to anyone else who has ever loved, wished for something, was hurt by something, and is living the life they know.

In some TV shows and films, the writer character will type “The End” with a flourish and then immediately show it to their agent or publisher. I know this is to keep the pace going – who wants to watch a writer sweating over several drafts, editing, polishing, rewriting? However, this is the reality if you want to send your novel out into the world. It takes time, more time than you think.

I usually write a draft over several months, and when it’s finished I read through the entire thing, noting all the gaps in the plot. I go back, over it, fixing these gaps, and then I leave the manuscript alone. I like to leave it for at least six months; I’ve left previous manuscripts alone for a year or more. When I’ve finished working on a draft, I’m too close to it to edit, to understand the structural weaknesses, to really see how the whole thing sits together. Giving it time and space means I can come back to it with fresh eyes, and a new perspective.

I try and write at least three times a week. I mainly write at home. My local café is a favourite place, as is the NSW State Library. I honed my writing practice when I enrolled in the Year of the Novel course at Writing NSW – one of my other favourite places in the world to write.

Writing is a solo practice, but it doesn’t have to be that way during the editing process. Once I return to the manuscript, after the self-imposed break, I’ll rewrite and edit till I’m once again too close to it. At this point, if I’m confident that I can’t do anything more to fix it, I’ll send it out to trusted readers. Finding trusted readers takes time. You can find them through a writing group (check out your local writing centre), a book club, or by dropping into your local library and bookshop and putting the word out. I know there are also opportunities through Facebook.

A trusted reader is someone who should be able to read your work and give you feedback that makes it better, and more polished. Critical feedback should always be helpful, even if it feels challenging to initially receive it. If you’re writing in a genre that is unfamiliar to your reader, or about a cultural practice they don’t know, let them know what kind of feedback you’re looking for.

Overnight or instant success as a writer is rare. If you want to commit to a writing practice, regardless of what may happen with your finished manuscript, persevere, and build your writing community. So, what are you waiting for? Get to your laptop or notebook, set your goals and GO!