Speakeasy

Having driven down on Saturday morning, I’m afraid I missed a few interesting-looking panels. Katherine caught a bunch of them; check out her post here.

At around 11:30, I caught the panel on pornography, with Alan McKee, Emily Maguire and Kam Raslan, chaired by Karen Brooks. They were discussing porn and it’s place in modern culture, and whether it’s really as demeaning/offensive/liberating as various socio-political groups would have us believe. I caught a few very interesting snippets of information, none of which are entirely relevant to this blog, but which I thought you might be interested in anyway.

Apparently, according to Alan McKee’s The Porn Report (co-written by Kath Albury and Catharine Lumby), in Australia 80% of porn users are men and 20% are women. There’s also a difference between good and bad porn (beyond morality and censorship), and most mainstream porn users ascribe this to production values and whether or not everyone looks like they’re having fun. Amatuer porn is apparently booming - random people in their bedrooms with a webcam, I assume - and the only type or genre of porn that was really hard to find online was child pornography. McKee also mentioned a woman he talked to who really liked porn, and mentioned that no matter what other people thought of her viewing habits, her boyfriends were never disappointed! The survey also found attitudes towards women were worse as the subject got older, more religious, and more politically conservative (gee, that’s a surprise).

Emily Macguire, author of Princesses and Pornstars: Sex, Power and Identity, had quite a bit to say about how women in porn were simultaneously desired and hated. They look and act the way their viewers want them to, but then they’re often laughed at and described in the most derrogatory terms. She also discussed raunch culture, and how this is supposedly a post-feminist movement, celebrating female sexuality etc. etc. However, given that a large part of raunch culture is selling stuff, it doesn’t have all that much to do with feminism at all. When the inevitable question of porn vs art came up, Macguire suggested a definition might be that porn is made specifically to arouse, whereas art is usually made with any number of intentions but might arouse as a side-effect. Regarding the recent Bill Henson issue, she found it extremely troubling that the commentary in the media seemed to give the impression that it was the photograph itself, and by extension the girl’s body, that was ‘revolting’, rather than the people aroused by the image. 

Kam Raslan is a Malaysian writer and film director who’s known for monstering various authoritarian governments across the world. In Malaysia, he says, porn and sex don’t officially exist, so there’s no official government regulation or policy on the whole situation (it is illegal to be a gay man, but there are no laws against gay women, so that’s something). He’s noticed a pattern among authoritarian governments, that when their rule is precarious they tend to leave certain areas of life, like sex and consumerism, alone. When they’re more confident, they’ll start meddling. Also, when it comes to porn, a trend across the world is that people want to watch people like themselves; Malays generally want to watch Malays, rather than plastic Californians. But Raslan said there’s no one-size-fits all model in the way porn is consumed across different countries.  

Finally, just so you know the legalities of the situation, it is technically illegal to sell pornography and X-rated material anywhere in Australia (except the ACT, I think). However, it’s not illegal to buy it. Most police will turn a blind eye until someone complains; the only exception is child porn, which is totally illegal across all states and territories.

Well, not quite. But it rained hard in Byron on Friday, so hard that the festival site got flooded and the entire day had to be cancelled! Some of the evening events were still held in town, and the ABC Radio sessions were moved from their tent into the restaurant, but the rest of the panels and In Conversations were unfortunately called off.

And it was freezing! Dark, pouring with rain, and all around a very disappointing day.

I know some people have called Northern Rivers Writers Centre asking for refunds for their missing day, and were probably fairly frustrated when they were told they couldn’t have one. But I spoke to one of the festival coordinators later on, and she told me all their funds - ticket sales, sponsorship - are funnelled straight into the festival infrastructure, and if they refunded everything, the festival would cease to exist. As it is, most of their guests and panellists don’t get fees for their appearences. A lot of non-profit organisations operate this way; budgets are tight, and they simply don’t have the financial padding to refund tickets if you change your mind or something happens to disrupt a planned event. So perhaps it’s best to consider Friday’s ticket price a donation to ensure next year’s festival, and leave it that?

Speakeasy is packing up and heading to Byron Bay Writers Festival for the weekend! Hooray!

For those of you out there who don’t live within distance of Byron Bay, or can’t convince your boss to give you the time off work so you can go, never fear - we’re going to blog on the panels we go to, and post any little tidbits of info we think you might like.

For more info on the festival, check out the website. The whole shebang is organised by the lovely folks at Northern Rivers Writers Centre, and every time we’ve been down there, it’s been a great, relaxing, inspiring weekend. And we sometimes get to hang out in the Green Room, so that’s cool, too.

Bright and early this morning, I attended a panel on researching for fiction, and listened to Garry Disher, Gabrielle Lord, Carrie Tiffany and Richard Flanagan.

Garry began the discussion, and described writing about the past, and about places he had never been. He suggests travellers diaries, photographs, and making sure to tie a description to the story by incorporating a character and their reactions to elements of your description. He then listed several things to be aware of when researching, including the reliability of your sources, making sure you double-check small details, and to always question whether this theme or incident is essential to your story. He also cautioned that too much research can blind you to your story, and that it is also easy for your story to sound like a textbook, so a good balance is important.

Gabrielle followed with her research techniques, which included extensive interviews and fact-checking with the police, and also police crime scene reports and videos. She mentioned that it is important for crime writers especially to stay abreast of new technology, and that while her police sources are sometimes gory, they are more often poignant for what they reveal about human lives and suffering.

Gabrielle and Garry both spoke about how important it is for a writer to acknowledge their own dark side, and exploring this can be a kind of research. In contrast to the well-structured, formulated research processes of Garry and Gabrielle, Carrie considered her research to be ‘noticing things’, and taking interest in everday aspects of life that other people might not notice. She recounted some of the random discoveries that influenced her book, and admitted that most of her research was in archived magazines and journals, for the language and lifestyle of the period in which her book is set. Carrie also read an extract from An Everyman’s Guide to Scientific Living.

Richard was the final speaker on the panel, and he admitted quite frankly that he almost never does any research, and wasn’t sure why he was there. He then proceeded to relate a story about the only book he ever did any research for, which was a ghostwritten tell-all for a con-man. He interviewed exhaustively with his subject, and soon realised that nothing this man told him remotely resembled the truth. All the research he did confirmed this, and in the end, he started making it up. The book then became the product of both research and lies, and Richard noted that this is often the case. He wondered why fiction has become something to be ashamed of, and compelled the audience to be proud of telling lies. After all, he said, there are no rules in fiction, and you should embrace whatever gets you there.

Earlier today, James Phelan chaired a discussion with crimewriters Gabrielle Lord and Michael Robotham, about how to create a kick-ass character. Top tips from Gabrielle included being aware that your audience wants drama, and an effective way to give it to them is to make your characters larger-than-life, to give them experiences and trauma that make them different from the average person. A good backstory that influences their actions will make them interesting, and add layers to your character. Gabrielle also recommends UST - unexpressed sexual tension, but admits that the moment the couple acts on their attraction and becomes a couple, it can be difficult to maintain the same levels of tension and conflict. In contrast, Michael revealed that he likes to take ordinary, relateable people, and place them in extraordinary situations. Their reactions, and the ‘true colours’ they show, can illustrate character development; examples he used included Oskar Schindler, from Schindler’s List, and Rick from Casablanca. He attributes his interest in ‘normal’ people to his years in journalism, where he saw ordinary people do amazing things. Gabrielle, Michael and James then discussed writing from the perspective of the opposite gender; each agreed that the best way to write from the perspective of the opposite sex was to ask them; to talk to a woman about how she might react in the hypothetical situation you want to put your female character in, or listen to a man talk about himself and others. Gabrielle and Michael also acknowledged that it’s important for your character to have a physical presence, and that the reader needs to be aware of their physical state. For example, one of Michael’s characters has early-onset Parkinson’s, and as he can no longer rely on his body, he focuses on sharpening his mind (and became more of a cerebral ass-kicker). The panel concluded with final comments and advice; Gabrielle finds a great deal of satisfaction in a good plot, and researches heavily so she can build a good, strong, rich story, and Michael chooses to write about stories and experiences that resonate with him. With much cheeky banter, these panellists offered great insights into how to create an engaging, readable, and, most importantly, kick-ass character.

Robert Dessaix, writer, essayist, translator and broadcaster, sat down with Ramona Koval to discuss writing and books on ABC radio, in what became one of the most charming, erudite discussions I have ever seen at a festival. They discussed the history of the ABC Books programs, and also the sense of intimacy that both the audience and the broadcaster experience with radio. At one point, Robert revealed that, while broadcasting, he often imagined he was talking to a close friend and everyone else was just listening in. When the conversation turned to reading, and Ms Koval asked Mr Dessaix whether he was interested in much Australian literature at the moment. He confessed he wasn’t, and also that he wasn’t reading much new writing at all. When Ms Koval asked him to explain, Mr Dessaix said: "When you get older, life becomes like a party you’ve been at for a long time. You’ve had lots of wonderful conversations; long, short, meaningful, shallow, funny. And when you look at your watch and realise it’s almost time to leave, you want to talk to your close friends before you go."

Three Australian publishers - Annette Barlow (Allen & Unwin), Ivor Indyk (Giramondo) and Bernadette Foley (Hachette Livre) chatted to Varuna director Peter Bishop today about their process of sorting through manuscript submissions, what they’re looking for in new writers.

Annette Barlow refuted the common notion that Australian publishers are no longer supporting new writers or providing editorial development. She spoke passionately about her desire to work with an author get a book just right before publishing. She also talked about the excitement of finding talented new voices, such as Queensland writer, Kate Morton author of The Shifting Fog.

Ivor Indyk gave his perspective as an independent publisher. Giramondo is interested in quality literary fiction, and as a small publisher that only publishes 4-6 titles per year, they tend to be choosy about what they take on. Indyk said he was interested in the musicality of writing, the rhythmn, cadence and aesthetics of well-crafted prose.

Bernadette Foley empathised with writers who brave the frustrations of attempting to be published. She said she doesn’t know the magic answer to "what she is looking for" but is motivated by a good story and interesting writing. She recommended writers read widely and stay connected with what is being published by browsing in bookstores.

The weather is shiny at the Byron Bay Writers Festival where the AWMonline team are out in force to connect with AWM subscribers, writers and publishers. Over the next few days we’ll be blogging some of the key insights and gems of wisdom we pick up from festival presenters. More detailed content is available to AWM subscribers over at the Forums where we’ll be posting the Fast Five - quick 5-question interviews with authors posted live from the Green Room.

AWM Online will present a forum series live from the Byron Bay Writer’s Festival – The Fast Five; Live from the Greenroom series of mini forums have been shaping up fantastically.

Many of the esteemed BBWF guests that we invited have agreed to answer five questions live from the festival greenroom. Throughout the course of the weekend login to our forum pages and look out for the likes of Jennifer Byrne, Charles Firth, Dr Anita Heiss, Marieke Hardy, Garry Disher, Alice Garner, Juliette Schultz, Annette Barlow, Kali Wendorf, Cate Kennedy, David Marr , Miles Merrill, Gideon Haigh and more…

Guests will answer five questions based on a theme and post them to the forum from the festival site. Also look out for news, views and reviews of the Festival right here on Speakeasy throughout the weekend!