A friend introduced me to the idea of honesty in writing. To be perfectly “honest”, at first I didn’t know what he meant. He suggested that it was about simply saying what you mean and not trying to be too pretentious or clever. The discussion arose around the writing of Salley Vickers, whom I haven’t read. Apparently her work is straightforward, enjoyable, and accessible, yet sophisticated at the same time.

Now that I’ve thought about it a little more, I think I do understand what it means, and in fact it’s something I admire about books like Dirt Music, the Riders, Eucalyptus and Bliss, and in general many Australian novels. Beyond the influence of landscape, I think that there is a certain simplicity and straightforwardness in modern Australian writing, which I’ve always liked. Obviously this doesn’t apply to all Australian writers, but that general lack of formality and verbosity, the very sparseness of the writing in some sense, allows the wide open spaces to fill the gaps between the words.

Writing evocative, spiritual journeys has made the sense of space and landscape necessary for the kinds of novels I write. So whilst I hadn’t thought of honesty as a defining quality of the writing I’m trying to achieve, I would say that the use of simple language in innovative and sophisticated ways, without being pretentious or too rich, is a focus for my current WIP. I want my prose to have a effortless quality, but to be vivid and at times stunning in its ability to encapsulate an emotion or experience.

I guess the other component of honesty in writing would be a sense of honesty in the characters themselves, their actions, thoughts and dialogue. When explaining the concept of honesty to me, my friend talked about honesty in people, and used me as an example. I may be a writer, but when I speak, I’m not always entirely articulate. But people very often describe me as sincere. And when I express my ideas, I don’t always have all the fancy words, or concepts. I’m a apolitical person. I don’t beat about the bush, I don’t use subterfuge, or try to be clever. But I have the heart of what I want to say, and I just say it.

And I guess that’s the message.

• Say what you mean.
• Don’t try to be pretentious and clever.
• Use words in a simplistic, but sophisticated way.
• Keep your characters real and sincere.
• And tell a good story.

I’m happy to have that as my writing mantra.