AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Richard Yaxley

There are lots of lovely, talented Queensland children’s authors whose work you should check out. One I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a few times now is Richard Yaxley. Richard is an internationally published, award-winning Brisbane author for kids whose head is filled with all sorts of amazing knowledge about the art of writing. I was lucky to sit in on a masterclass Richard did at last year’s Greenleaf Press Writer’s Retreat, and it was sooo good! If you ever get the chance to attend one of Richard’s talks or workshops, I highly recommend it.

Today, I’m excited to have Richard stopping by my blog to chat about his creative process and his latest YA novel, A New Kind of Everything. The book was just published by Omnibus (Scholastic Australia) this month.

Without any further ado, let’s get into the interview!

Welcome, Richard. Can you tell us a little bit about your new book, and what inspired it?

The novel is titled A New Kind of Everything. Although it touches on a number of significant social issues, such as the rise of the hard right in Western society and the impact of childhood traumas on the later adult, for me the novel is predominantly an exploration of the enduring nature of love, with a specific focus on the unique bond that can exist between brothers.

Dinny and his older brother Carl might disagree, fight and hurl abuse at each other but their mutual love is one constant in their turbulent lives. As a storyteller I’m very character-driven so that was the beginning-point for me: creating two young men and exploring the complex interplay of their relationship.

Did the story change much as you were writing the book, from your initial idea?

There are always changes but these are rarely major shifts. Once I have my focus established, I write the opening few pages then the ending. That doesn’t mean that these sections are sacrosanct but I like to work on developing the story with the drive of the narrative firmly established.

With A New Kind of Everything, I spent more time honing the final 20 pages than any other part of the novel. There are some difficult scenes in there so it was really important to get the tone and language right; to keep empathy for the characters and their stories while playing hardball with their futures.

Anything in particular you hope readers come away with after reading the book?

I tend to write about redemption in various forms. Without giving the plot away, I would hope that my book advocates for context. In the modern world we are quick to condemn – with an immediate, digital audience of potentially millions – on the basis of very little; we hear about someone’s actions and immediately denounce (or praise) them without fully knowing or considering the circumstances that might have led them to behave as they did. There is always a context, which doesn’t necessarily explain or excuse what has been done but at least allows for stronger, potentially more compassionate understanding.

What was the publishing process like for this book?

I am very lucky in that I have an extremely supportive publisher. The subject matter of A New Kind of Everything may be confronting for some readers – it’s already been described by one reviewer as ‘Shakespearean’ and I don’t think she was talking about the comedies – but Omnibus Books is prepared to take on work such as mine which addresses difficult contemporary concerns in a relatively literary way. I’m also lucky in that I have been able to work with the same editor for each of my novels, which means that we have cemented a strong relationship and understanding, crucial in the whole process.

What do you think are some of the key ingredients that make for a great YA book?

The same ingredients that make a great book generally: strong, well-drawn characters who drive the plot themselves without obvious authorial intrusion and make us consider powerful ideas in different ways. I enjoy writing YA because I know that I have to move briskly and efficiently: young people are generally not patient with overly long passages of self-indulgent, often whimsical ‘development’. The strengths of the genre are economy and pace; I get plenty of comments on my work from adult readers who like those aspects as well.

What is your creative process like? Was it any different with this new book?

I’m not sure that I have a consistent process. There’s usually a fair bit of think-time before I begin then some sketching-out of a plot and writing small scenes for character development, not all of which will survive the final cut. Beginning, ending, more scenes, quilt the whole thing together. That said, the process for each book is necessarily different because it is governed by how the books germinates and grows.

With This Is My Song, I did a lot of research and planning so by the time I was ready to write, the story poured out. A New Kind Of Everything was more laboured, probably because it was less research driven and written in a more intense, fractured way. I have many discarded pieces for the latter book; less for the former.

Do you have any creative rituals?

I write in the mornings, beginning around 7.30. Coffee about 10 o’clock. By lunchtime, I’m a spent force. Maybe some editing in the afternoon, if I’m feeling up to it, administrative work if I’m not.

I aim to get 1000 words or so done each morning but I’m not beholden to that. As with any job, there are good days and not-so-good days. I’d rather 100 quality words than 1500 rubbish words. Writers, particularly those who are less experienced, can get too focused on quantity. It’s probably a hangover from school assignments where the emphasis seems to be on ‘getting the word limit’ rather than getting the task.

I’m pedantic about always setting my pages up the same way: Times New Roman, size 12, spacing at 1.25, double justified. It’s a comfort thing, I suppose.

What is the best investment you have made in your author career over the years?

When I was starting out, I lived in regional Queensland. One day, a man by the name of Stuart Glover came to our town and spoke with aspiring writers. I booked an interview slot with him and he told me about different competitions and mentorships, many of which were sourced through the Queensland Writers Centre. I joined the QWC that day, an excellent investment, particularly when you are trying to find your way through the riddles and conundrums. Their support, courses, contacts and connections have been invaluable over many years.

What do you know now about being an author that you wish you had known earlier?

Part one: take your time! For too long, I tended to rush my work and send it off for appraisal before it was fully formed. I kidded myself that publishers would see great potential in my either excruciatingly overblown or woefully under-developed manuscripts and that would be enough. I considered my work from a purely artistic point of view and ignored the fact that this is a commercial business and there is a very strong, fiscal bottom line. Your work needs to be as good as you can get it, and then better again, so that a publisher can determine an audience and saleability to that audience. Otherwise, it simply won’t get published.

Part two: write what matters to you. My best work always comes when I am emotionally invested in the characters and the story. I want to feel their joys and agonies; rejoice when I save, cry when I hurt! There is no value in being derivative, as in trying to copy someone else’s success, or in trying to second-guess the market by anticipating trends that may or may not exist, or trying to match your work to the socio-political zeitgeist i.e. writing a ‘type’ novel when you have limited knowledge or experience in this field. There is, however, great value in believing that if you care for the characters and the story, then other people will as well.

Who are some of your greatest writing influences?

Too many to list, however I learned oodles about slimming down my work from the American crime guru, Elmore Leonard – his ‘rules for writing’ is unpretentious gold – and I revere the stylistic power of the late, great Peter Temple and the bard of America’s hard west, Cormac McCarthy.

At university, too many years ago, I was introduced to Australian poets such as Shaw Neilson, Les Murray, Gwen Harwood, Judith Wright and A.D. Hope – and many more since then. Poetry has been a major influence on my writing style, certainly in terms of my choices around language and syntax.

I’m an advocate for reading often and widely. I enjoy biographies, non-fiction, literary and popular fiction, poetry, drama-scripts, academic treatises – I try not to limit myself.

What's next for you?

I’ve just had a manuscript accepted for publication. It’s a family saga called Harmony and I’m pretty proud of what I see as one of my most mature works thus far, so it’ll be gratifying to see the fully formed novel on the shelves sometime in 2021.

I’m working on another manuscript set in Renaissance Italy. Lots of research there so this one is slow-going but I’m really enjoying the challenge of a completely foreign time and space. I also have another piece underway, set in 1960s America. I’m excited about the set-up but also aware that it will need a great deal of thought and trial-and-error writing before it’s ready to go.

There’s never any shortage of ideas but as I indicated earlier, I have to consciously take my time, do the research, do the planning, allow the writing to naturally occur. That’s when it all comes together.