DUNCAN BALL
- Guest Author -
G'day folks,
Welcome to the life of a very successful author. Duncan Ball was born in the USA, but
came to Australia in 1974. We are glad he did.
Welcome, Duncan ...
1.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.
I wasn’t a good
reader as a kid. It’s ironic that I now write them when I’d read so few early
on. Having been a poor reader did make me aware that many kids are poor readers
and, in order to get them reading I should make my writing as accessible as
possible.
2.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?
I became interested
in writing as a teenager and read a lot and widely. Much later, when I was in
my thirties and working as an industrial chemist, I wrote my first published
work, an adult thriller. I had no idea how to go about it but just plunged in.
3.
WHAT TYPE OF PREPARATION
DO YOU DO FOR A MANUSCRIPT? DO YOU PLAN EVERYTHING FIRST OR JUST SHOOT FROM THE
HIP?
I’ve tried writing
with careful planning, with no planning at all and with various degrees of planning.
What works best for me is to have a general direction in mind and, sometimes,
an ending. Then, as I write, I outline a bit of the road ahead but try not to make
it too detailed in order not be too inhibited by it. And I keep altering the
outline. In all the decision-making, there’s a lot of instinct. When I think I
have enough material in hand I start to re-write. I do a lot of re-writing and
polishing but being careful not to I destroy the freshness of the first draft.
As with so much about writing, it’s a balancing act.
4.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Within obvious
limits, when you write the sort of fiction I do, you can write whatever you
want. Because of the collaborative nature of writing for film and TV they’re
not as much fun, although better paying.
5.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Coming up with the ideas. That and making the plots work.
The business side is also hard. The writers who have a head for business often
aren’t the best writers and the good writers are usually hopeless at business.
Much as authors hate it, they have to get involved in promoting themselves and
their work. (More on this later.)
6.
WHAT WERE YOU IN A PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOU BECAME A WRITER?
I studied Mathematics and Chemistry at university and worked
for some years as an industrial chemist.
7.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
My greatest achievement is having written 75 or 80 books
(I haven’t counted them). I’m a painfully slow writer so this has taken me many
years. It would be immodest to say that, at their best, they are very good. So
I won’t say that. My books have also won a number of awards. It’s fun to get a
pat on the back.
Lots of things have come my way including having a group
of Cree First Nations kids in Saskatchewan perform my play “The Perils of
Prince Percy of Pomegranate” (which they re-titled, “The Perils of Chief
Cimagasiw of Ciciganihk”) which went on to win a number of awards.
The Monkey Baa Theatre Company in Sydney adapted some of
my Emily Eyefinger books to make a stage play. The play toured Australia over a
couple of years and was a great success not only to Monkey Baa but also to my
books. They did a fantastic job.
8.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I’ve recently finished a book of re-tellings of Japanese
folk tales called, Two Tengu Tales from
Japan. It will be illustrated by the wonderful David Allen and published in
July 2015. I’m now working on the re-write of a book of my comedy plays for
kids that has long been out of print. This was originally called Comedies for Kids but will be re-named, This School is Driving Me Nuts! and Other
Funny Plays for Kids. It will be also published in July.
9.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Reading. I love a well-crafted story, can’t turn the
pages of most “page-turners” and am too easily bored by the kind of “literary
fiction” that doesn’t have a strong storyline or it’s hidden behind annoying
literary tricks.
10.
WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?
I generally write
fiction for kids of about six to twelve years of age. Much of my work, such as
my Selby and Emily Eyefinger series, is in the form of funny short stories.
I’ve also written a book of funny poetry called, My Sister Has a Big Black Beard.
11.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?
Motivation is everything. Write to the best of your ability. It will be hard work---but it’s worth it. Don’t waste a lot of time reading books about how to write. You really have to feel your own way. Hemmingway said, “The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector.”
Also---as much as
successful authors hate to admit it---luck plays a role in the success of their
writing. The only way to improve your chances is to put a lot out there.
12.
DO YOU SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?
Always.
13.
DO YOU HAVE A PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?
No. I’m neither
well-organised nor disciplined. Somehow I manage to get the work done.
14.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?
My study. I can’t write anywhere else.
15.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST JOY IN WRITING?
I do like doing it. It’s a great feeling when things
work.
16.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?
I have so many. P. G. Wodehouse and Ian McEwan spring to
mind but there are soo many more.
17.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
Kids write to me and they’re always complimentary. I’ve
also had emails and letters from parents thanking me and saying that if it
hadn’t been for my books their child would never had learned to read. They
would have, of course, but it’s nice to think my books may have made a
difference.
(I’ve received over ten thousand emails from kids since
2007. And, yes, I think I’ve answered them all.)
18.
WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?
If kids take the time and trouble to write, they always
say nice things. I can’t remember any bad ones.
19.
WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR
OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?
Yes, all the time.
For example, I had some dental work done and my talking dog character, Selby suddenly
developed a toothache, too. Selby didn’t want to see a vet and have the tooth
pulled but wanted to see a real “people dentist” and get seen to properly. All
of which set up a typical Selby problem. (See “By the Skin of His Teeth” in the
book Selby’s Secret.)
20.
OTHER THAN WRITING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?
I enjoy bushwalking, cycling, swimming, painting,
reading, among other activities.
DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK / BOOKS
PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?
No. I just make sure
it’s a problem-free as I can before I sent it to my publisher. I welcome
constructive comments from editors and I think we owe them the respect of
giving them the best writing we can for them to work with. Also, editors are
under a lot of pressure these days and can’t be expected to catch every mistake
so it’s best to make sure a MS is as clean as possible.
21.
DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT DAY.
Have breakfast. Work.
Take a walk at lunchtime. Work again. I try not to work in the evening anymore because
it keeps me from getting to sleep.
22.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
To continue writing
but, ideally, without deadlines. Deadlines have been helpful in the past but I
don’t need the added stress.
23.
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?
My main characters
always have bits of me in them. This goes for Selby (a dog), Emily Eyefinger (an
11-year old girl with an eye on the end of her finger) and Bert Piggott (a
12-year old boy).
24.
DOES THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?
Hugely.
25.
DID YOU EVER THINK OF QUITTING?
Often, but then what
would I do? I would like to spend more time painting.
26.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE MANUSCRIPT TO WRITE? WHY?
My book of funny
poetry for kids, My Sister Has a Big
Black Beard was fun to write and left me feeling---dare I say it?---proud
of the result. It took a few years but I also worked on other books at the same
time. It was very cleverly illustrated by Kerry Millard.
27. HOW
WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER.
In two ways: There’s the artistic satisfaction and the
monetary rewards that allow you to develop more of your time to it. Few writers
can make a living from just writing. I’m one of the lucky ones.
28. WHAT
SHOULD READERS WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BOOKS KNOWING? HOW SHOULD THEY FEEL?
I try not to be didactic. I’m not out to teach. I’d like my
reader to immerse themselves in the worlds I’ve created and to feel the whole
range of emotion that the stories attempt to deliver.
29. HOW
MUCH THOUGHT GOES INTO DESIGNING A BOOK COVER?
The publisher designs
the covers. This is very much a part of the marketing of books. People judge
books by their covers. We all do. My publishers usually ask me for my input
but, ultimately, they call the shots. I’ve had wonderful book covers that
enhanced my books and dreadful ones that killed them.
30. WRITING IS ONE
THING. WHAT ABOUT MARKETING YOU, YOUR BOOKS AND YOUR BRAND? ANY THOUGHTS?
If writers want to sell their books they have to get
involved in the marketing. There are many ways to do this and I hate everything
to do with it. I do any radio and TV interviews the publishers’ publicists line
up but I really don’t enjoy them. I don’t like using social media to promote
myself and my work but I still do some.
31. ARE YOUR BOOKS
SELF-PUBLISHED?
No. The problem with self-publishing is distribution.
Authors can’t do it and distributors don’t want to distribute books from
someone who doesn’t have lots of “product”. And they take a big chunk of the
sales price.
32. WHAT
IS THE TITLE OF THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? GOOD ONE?
I just re-read Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book. I loved it again.
33. ANYTHING YOU’D
LIKE TO ADD?
Children’s books usually have illustrations. I don’t do
my own. I am very much in the debt of such great illustrators as Allan Stomann
(for illustrating all nineteen Selby books to date) and to Craig Smith (who
illustrated all sixteen Emily Eyefinger books and a couple of my other books.
And I’ve had many other wonderful illustrators including as Donna Rawlins,
Noela Young, Mark David, Kerry Millard, Kevin Burgemeestre and Mitch Vane. I
would be nothing without them.
One of the unexpected pleasures of a writing life is
travel. I’ve seen every corner of Australia plus trips to New Zealand,
Indonesia, Thailand, China and many other places at the invitation of writing
festivals and conferences, and visiting schools and libraries. So much for
starving in a garret.
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Clancy's comment: Thank you, Duncan, and well done. I'm glad that your writing has sent you across the globe. Your study looks very cosy, not to mention your deputy assistant director sitting on your desk.
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