Ben Hobson's Blog, page 2

Snake Island – How it Came to Be Part 4

My agent, Gaby Naher, is invaluable. For so many reasons. Let me list just a few.

She is the very first person who was willing to take a chance on the To Become a Whale manuscript. After sending through my manuscript pdf, and waiting a few weeks, at work one day I received an email. I still have it. Here it is in almost its entirety:

Dear Ben, 

I’m reading this now and am captivated. Can you please confirm that you’re still looking for representation, and can you also please tell me a little bit more about yourself.

You can imagine my reaction. After years and years of banging my head against the publishing industry door, this was the first big thumbs up (I’m going to post the smaller thumbs up – which were equally as important – at a different time). I put the email away back in my pocket and just sat with it for a minute. Just enjoying the feeling. I felt like I had a secret superpower.

So Gaby needs a huge amount of credit for this point alone.

[image error]

After my very first phone call with Gaby, where she said she’d send through some paperwork so she could represent To Become a Whale, I opened this bottle of wine. I’d been saving it for years. It was a huge moment.
She named Snake Island. It’s about time I come clean about this. Gaby has a knack for titles. Snake Island wentthrough a lot of title changes. I’ll list them here, and you might see why Gaby’s title eventually won out… I’d be very curious to hear your thoughts!

Meaningless! Meaningless! I still like this title. Exclamation marks and all. It’s literary for sure. Taken from Ecclesiastes, which has a lot to do thematically with Snake Island. Plus Hemingway did that. A lot. Problem with this title was the reviews kind’ve wrote themselves…
The Sea is Never Full – Same deal as above. I actually managed to sneak this phrase into the first page of Snake Island, so keep an eye out for it. This title is from Ecclesiastes again, and to me, talks about the idea that no matter how many things we fill our lives with, we’ll never find meaning. Problem with this title is that it’s super pretentious.


Gaby helped shape Snake Island significantly. She did with To Become a Whale also. She has a great eye forparts of the manuscript that could be even better. Chapters written from the perspective of a character were removed from the manuscript and inserted more organically into the narrative in other ways. One very significant change was the change of one of the characters.

This novel discusses the very real, very important topic of domestic violence, from a variety of viewpoints. However, as Gaby noted in an earlier draft, the reader never really experienced the effects of this violence, and only heard characters talk about it obliquely. To that end, one character was changed from a male, into a female.

This meant rewriting from the beginning. I think, looking back, that I’d always avoided writing from afemale perspective because I was nervous. I was nervous I would get it wrong on an innate level, of course (we’ve all read some truly horrible male writers attempting to write from a female perspective) but I was also nervous that I wouldn’t be able to handle the topic well. Domestic violence is such a traumatic, awful thing – I didn’t want to handle the topic without nuance or sensitivity, nor did I want to accidentally paint over its effect. Hence, my nervousness.

I hope, in the end, that I’ve done well. I was certainly pushed creatively, regardless. And that’s all thanks to Gaby.

This entire post reads like an advertisement for Gaby, and for agents and general, and it kind’ve is. My books wouldn’t be what they are without Gaby’s guidance, and they certainly wouldn’t be in people’s hands. She opened these doors for me, and I’m incredibly grateful.

 

Snake Island – How it Came to Be Part 3 – The Time I Nearly Lost the Whole Thing

Hey gang. This will be a shorter post, but involves a variety of incredibly important lessons I want to pass onto all of you.

Having written the first 20,000 words of your new idea, remember to save your work in a place not stored on the computer. Even if you’re uncertain about it all, and how it all fits together. Save every drop.
If you decide not to follow instruction #1, don’t choose to Skype with your interstate parents while your young children are in the bath.
If you decide to ignore instruction #3, don’t put your laptop within splashing distance of your children’s flailing limbs.
When the inevitable happens, and water splashes onto your laptop, make sure to dry it quickly, and not let water drip between the keys onto the circuit board.
When the inevitable happens, and your computer stops working, don’t swear and carry on like a right pork chop. Be calm. Make a plan.
Hug all Apple staff members who look after you, retrieve your laptop and your 20,000 words, and buy them presents annually.

[image error]

The most important little package of my lifetime.

Robert Lukins experienced far worse than this recently actually. I believe, if I’m not mistaken, that he lost an entire novel. Hemingway lost an entire suitcase full of his writing.

It really did feel like a disaster. And I did carry on like a buffoon. The first chapter, though, has survived structurally intact since that first little jolt of inspiration. So I’m very grateful it was recovered.

Would Snake Island still have existed if this hadn’t been recovered? I think so. But it would have been different. And I’m very happy with how it is.

Snake Island – How it Came to Be Part 3

Hey gang. This will be a shorter post, but involves a variety of incredibly important lessons I want to pass onto all of you.

Having written the first 20,000 words of your new idea, remember to save your work in a place not stored on the computer. Even if you’re uncertain about it all, and how it all fits together. Save every drop.
If you decide not to follow instruction #1, don’t choose to Skype with your interstate parents while your young children are in the bath.
If you decide to ignore instruction #3, don’t put your laptop within splashing distance of your children’s flailing limbs.
When the inevitable happens, and water splashes onto your laptop, make sure to dry it quickly, and not let water drip between the keys onto the circuit board.
When the inevitable happens, and your computer stops working, don’t swear and carry on like a right pork chop. Be calm. Make a plan.
Hug all Apple staff members who look after you, retrieve your laptop and your 20,000 words, and buy them presents annually.

[image error]

The most important little package of my lifetime.

Robert Lukins experienced far worse than this recently actually. I believe, if I’m not mistaken, that he lost an entire novel. Hemingway lost an entire suitcase full of his writing.

It really did feel like a disaster. And I did carry on like a buffoon. The first chapter, though, has survived structurally intact since that first little jolt of inspiration. So I’m very grateful it was recovered.

Would Snake Island still have existed if this hadn’t been recovered? I think so. But it would have been different. And I’m very happy with how it is.

Advertisements

Snake Island – How it Came to Be Part 2 – Structure

I’ve always written from my gut. I’ve run whole workshops on notion. To truly inhabit character, and writing, I think you need to get to an instinctual place. If a character is to truly act like a character their actions can’t be overly thought-out. Otherwise they turn into a walking plot device.

I love the Q+A with Jeff Goldsmith, a podcast I’ve listened to for over a decade (a link to his excellent online mag is here). In an interview with the writer/director of Green Room, Jeremy Saulnier, Jeremy was describing the climax of the film, and he said this:

Jeremy: What I did and I remember very vividly, I was in my bed, and on my laptop, and I did a lot of preparation. I was all like stretching, breathing and here I go. And then I got into the headspace and I was Pat and Amber and I was there. I was visualising and I was creeping up and things were unfolding and I didn’t know what I would do. And I just did things. And sometimes they were wrong, and I was kind’ve fumbling my way through the finale. And I let it go. I never rewrote it again. It was the first draft. It was odd and impulsive. 

Jeff: So the fumbling is what we saw on the screen.

Jeremy: Yeah.

Jeff: Interesting

Jeremy: And that’s what I wanted. I wanted it to be real. Like, human. This is such a blunt, weird, awkward finale. But it’s so emotional. 

Jeff: Of course over time you tweaked it so out of all the things in your entire script, that was just left untouched?

Jeremy: I mean, I’d written everything up to there, so I knew where it had to go. So I was scared. I was walking up that pathway. And when Clark spoke? POW. I shot him. I don’t want to f*cking talk man. Why are you turning? You are trying to kill me so before I think about it, or have a speech, you just get shot in the gut. 

This is what I’m after when I write. I don’t want to have John Woo bullet ballet. I love that stuff as much as the next person, but it’s not what I’m after when I write. I want the full human experience, with all its weird, impulsive, oddities. People are inconsistent. I think characters need to be inconsistent too.

Here’s the thing though. Snake Island needed a plot. It needed structure. Otherwise it would’ve turned into a giant mess. So how could I incorporate those awkward, human moments, with characters working within a tight structure?

So presto!

[image error]

This is the first outline of the plot for Snake Island. To give you an idea of how long it takes for a book to come to be, I took this photo in March 2016. I know it’s pretty tricky to see (not because I’m super secretive – I just took a bad photo) but each of the different colours represents a different character. I wanted them to be equally balanced. At the end I believe some chapters have been broken up a bit more, and I think I completely demolished two, and all the white cards are gone, but other than that the original idea is still in-tact.

Also for those of you who are mega keen-eyed and super interested in what I do, Albert isn’t named Albert anymore. I used that name in To Become a Whale, and I wanted to name a character after my Grandpa. He’s now Vernon.

Also Stanley is now a woman (Sharon) and WAY more interesting because of it.

Now, to incorporate that instinctual, writing from the gut I love so much, you can see how much room there is for play in each of the cards. Each of the cards represents around 5,000 words (except for one in the middle that’s closer to 10,000). In those words, I just had to get my characters from point A to point B. What they did along the way was completely up to me to experience, in the moment.

So my characters got to both feel real (I hope) and serve plot. The best of both worlds!

Do you plot like this? Do you agree with the idea of characters needing to be based in instinct? Can you be cerebral in generating character? How off base am I? Comment below. Genuinely curious!

Snake Island – How it Came to Be Part 2

I’ve always written from my gut. I’ve run whole workshops on notion. To truly inhabit character, and writing, I think you need to get to an instinctual place. If a character is to truly act like a character their actions can’t be overly thought-out. Otherwise they turn into a walking plot device.

I love the Q+A with Jeff Goldsmith, a podcast I’ve listened to for over a decade (a link to his excellent online mag is here). In an interview with the writer/director of Green Room, Jeremy Saulnier, Jeremy was describing the climax of the film, and he said this:

Jeremy: W hat I did and I remember very vividly, I was in my bed, and on my laptop, and I did a lot of preparation. I was all like stretching, breathing and here I go. And then I got into the headspace and I was Pat and Amber and I was there. I was visualising and I was creeping up and things were unfolding and I didn’t know what I would do. And I just did things. And sometimes they were wrong, and I was kind’ve fumbling my way through the finale. And I let it go. I never rewrote it again. It was the first draft. It was odd and impulsive. 

Jeff: So the fumbling is what we saw on the screen.

Jeremy: Yeah.

Jeff: Interesting

Jeremy: And that’s what I wanted. I wanted it to be real. Like, human. This is such a blunt, weird, awkward finale. But it’s so emotional. 

Jeff: Of course over time you tweaked it so out of all the things in your entire script, that was just left untouched?

Jeremy: I mean, I’d written everything up to there, so I knew where it had to go. So I was scared. I was walking up that pathway. And when Clark spoke? POW. I shot him. I don’t want to f*cking talk man. Why are you turning? You are trying to kill me so before I think about it, or have a speech, you just get shot in the gut. 

This is what I’m after when I write. I don’t want to have John Woo bullet ballet. I love that stuff as much as the next person, but it’s not what I’m after when I write. I want the full human experience, with all its weird, impulsive, oddities. People are inconsistent. I think characters need to be inconsistent too.

Here’s the thing though. Snake Island needed a plot. It needed structure. Otherwise it would’ve turned into a giant mess. So how could I incorporate those awkward, human moments, with characters working within a tight structure?

So presto!

[image error]

This is the first outline of the plot for Snake Island. To give you an idea of how long it takes for a book to come to be, I took this photo in March 2016. I know it’s pretty tricky to see (not because I’m super secretive – I just took a bad photo) but each of the different colours represents a different character. I wanted them to be equally balanced. At the end I believe some chapters have been broken up a bit more, and I think I completely demolished two, and all the white cards are gone, but other than that the original idea is still in-tact.

Also for those of you who are mega keen-eyed and super interested in what I do, Albert isn’t named Albert anymore. I used that name in To Become a Whale, and I wanted to name a character after my Grandpa. He’s now Vernon.

Also Stanley is now a woman (Sharon) and WAY more interesting because of it.

Now, to incorporate that instinctual, writing from the gut I love so much, you can see how much room there is for play in each of the cards. Each of the cards represents around 5,000 words (except for one in the middle that’s closer to 10,000). In those words, I just had to get my characters from point A to point B. What they did along the way was completely up to me to experience, in the moment.

So my characters got to both feel real (I hope) and serve plot. The best of both worlds!

Do you plot like this? Do you agree with the idea of characters needing to be based in instinct? Can you be cerebral in generating character? How off base am I? Comment below. Genuinely curious!

Snake Island – How it Came to Be Part 1 – Aunty Rose

Hey all,

Seeing as I’ve just now finished with the last major edits on Snake Island (THE RELIEF THE UTTER RELIEF ITS LIKE I WAS UNDER WATER AND NOW I’M IN THE SKY SOARING, SOARING LIKE AN EAGLE) I thought it would be a good opportunity to take a look at how this novel came to be. It has taken all of me to write it, and I say that truly. I have put every ounce of me into it, and then some more. It is the most rewarding artistic endeavour I’ve ever been on.

The final word count = [image error]

I thought I’d start off here with how I got the idea. Strangely, this is a very specific memory for me. Normally ideas are strange, obscure things. Like trying to define blobs of glue. They’re squidgy and strange. But this one’s origin is much more like concrete. For not so great reasons.

In late 2016 we got a bad phone call. My Aunty Rose had recently been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, and she’d been taken to hospital suddenly. We decided to make the pilgrimage to Victoria (we live in Brisbane) so we could visit her for what may have been the last time. That afternoon we bundled our family into our car, and headed south, driving non-stop through the night.

At the same time I’d recently been watching Fargo, season 2, quite possibly my favourite TV show of all time, and I’d been thinking about how much I’d love to write something of a similar tone. Something in a small town, people in way over the heads, crime, violence, suggesting at deeper themes. It was around 2am, on the way to Parkes or Forbes, that I realised I grew up in a small town. This was a novel I could write.

The biggest thing you need to watch out for as you drive along the Hume at night is kangaroos. They’re everywhere. Most of the time they’re already dead and rigor-mortisified (if that’s not an adjective it should be) struck by trucks earlier in the week, but often you’ll see them stare at you as you swoop passed going a generous 110km/hr.

I was trying to stay awake, desperately. I needed something to preoccupy my mind. And it all sort of converged together. One of my characters could hit a roo. The inciting incident (which now happens a little later on in the novel, but never mind that). Over the next five hours, as my family slept, I plotted the entire novel in my head. Multiple characters. Converging arcs. By the time we reached my parents’ home, everything was clearly defined. I had my start. I had my finale.

For the next few months that plot sat in my head, and gestated, until I finally managed to write it down on a series of cue cards. First time I’ve ever carded out a plot, but this one needed it. To Become a Whale was fairly simple, plot-wise. This one wasn’t. One character’s actions impacted another character’s action three chapters along. I had lines connecting thoughts from chapter one linking up with chapter eighteen. It was huge and fun and it came out fairly close to what I’d had in my mind on the drive to see Aunty Rose. Just more refined.

So that’s how the idea came to be. Borne out of tragedy, inspiration, theme. I’ll get more into theme at a different time.

My Aunty Rose didn’t pass away when we reached my home town (she unfortunately passed away a few months later), but we didn’t even get to see her. I got quite sick after my drive, and because she was in intensive care, we didn’t get to visit. I had some great chats with her though, and we were able to bring some joy to my parents in that hard moment in the form of my children.

I even managed to print out a copy of To Become a Whale for her before she passed (yay Officeworks!). Despite being too weak to sit up she was adamant she’d read it. Mum said she was overjoyed I’d thought of her. Bloody hell. Of course I did.

I’ll write more about Aunty Rose at a different time, but she was a fantastic lady. Utterly generous. I don’t think I’ll ever meet another person as generous as she was. The world is far worse for her being not in it anymore, and if you never met her then I’m sorry for you.

[image error]

This was family and friends at McDonalds after my final gig with Sounds Like Chicken before I moved up to Queensland. Aunty Rose is the lady with the huge smile, right at the front. Came to see my punk band play just because she was awesome. Lots of people I miss in this photo, but none as keenly as her.

 

Snake Island – How it Came to Be Part 1

Hey all,

Seeing as I’ve just now finished with the last major edits on Snake Island (THE RELIEF THE UTTER RELIEF ITS LIKE I WAS UNDER WATER AND NOW I’M IN THE SKY SOARING, SOARING LIKE AN EAGLE) I thought it would be a good opportunity to take a look at how this novel came to be. It has taken all of me to write it, and I say that truly. I have put every ounce of me into it, and then some more. It is the most rewarding artistic endeavour I’ve ever been on.

The final word count = [image error]

I thought I’d start off here with how I got the idea. Strangely, this is a very specific memory for me. Normally ideas are strange, obscure things. Like trying to define blobs of glue. They’re squidgy and strange. But this one’s origin is much more like concrete. For not so great reasons.

In late 2016 we got a bad phone call. My Aunty Rose had recently been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, and she’d been taken to hospital suddenly. We decided to make the pilgrimage to Victoria (we live in Brisbane) so we could visit her for what may have been the last time. That afternoon we bundled our family into our car, and headed south, driving non-stop through the night.

At the same time I’d recently been watching Fargo, season 2, quite possibly my favourite TV show of all time, and I’d been thinking about how much I’d love to write something of a similar tone. Something in a small town, people in way over the heads, crime, violence, suggesting at deeper themes. It was around 2am, on the way to Parkes or Forbes, that I realised I grew up in a small town. This was a novel I could write.

The biggest thing you need to watch out for as you drive along the Hume at night is kangaroos. They’re everywhere. Most of the time they’re already dead and rigor-mortisified (if that’s not an adjective it should be) struck by trucks earlier in the week, but often you’ll see them stare at you as you swoop passed going a generous 110km/hr.

I was trying to stay awake, desperately. I needed something to preoccupy my mind. And it all sort of converged together. One of my characters could hit a roo. The inciting incident (which now happens a little later on in the novel, but never mind that). Over the next five hours, as my family slept, I plotted the entire novel in my head. Multiple characters. Converging arcs. By the time we reached my parents’ home, everything was clearly defined. I had my start. I had my finale.

For the next few months that plot sat in my head, and gestated, until I finally managed to write it down on a series of cue cards. First time I’ve ever carded out a plot, but this one needed it. To Become a Whale was fairly simple, plot-wise. This one wasn’t. One character’s actions impacted another character’s action three chapters along. I had lines connecting thoughts from chapter one linking up with chapter eighteen. It was huge and fun and it came out fairly close to what I’d had in my mind on the drive to see Aunty Rose. Just more refined.

So that’s how the idea came to be. Borne out of tragedy, inspiration, theme. I’ll get more into theme at a different time.

My Aunty Rose didn’t pass away when we reached my home town (she unfortunately passed away a few months later), but we didn’t even get to see her. I got quite sick after my drive, and because she was in intensive care, we didn’t get to visit. I had some great chats with her though, and we were able to bring some joy to my parents in that hard moment in the form of my children.

I even managed to print out a copy of To Become a Whale for her before she passed (yay Officeworks!). Despite being too weak to sit up she was adamant she’d read it. Mum said she was overjoyed I’d thought of her. Bloody hell. Of course I did.

I’ll write more about Aunty Rose at a different time, but she was a fantastic lady. Utterly generous. I don’t think I’ll ever meet another person as generous as she was. The world is far worse for her being not in it anymore, and if you never met her then I’m sorry for you.

[image error]

This was family and friends at McDonalds after my final gig with Sounds Like Chicken before I moved up to Queensland. Aunty Rose is the lady with the huge smile, right at the front. Came to see my punk band play just because she was awesome. Lots of people I miss in this photo, but none as keenly as her.

 

Shortlisted and Other Things

Why howdy. How are you? I am fine! I was shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards. Fantastic and odd and surreal and super fun. I didn’t win. A little old lady won with her book on gardens which was mega cute, so I was okay with it.

[image error]

This was where I was seated during the ceremony. It was so cool. I still can’t get over being behind the scenes on things like this, or hearing my name read out in a list of nominees, or eating weird things I can’t pronounce (some brown stuff on watermelon, I think). Anyway, it’s all fantastic. I may not have won this year but you can be damn sure my name’ll be called out one day. Mark these words!

Another thing! It’s looking like Snake Island will be coming out next September at this stage, though that’s a soft date that might be shuffled around. Waiting to get some copyedits back, which I love; nothing like seeing your stuff get a whole heap better. I should have these by Christmas so I’ll be able to work on it over the Christmas hols, which is ideal.

Another thing! My event at the Byron Writers Festival – How to Get Boys Reading – with Selina Tusitala Marsh and Tim Rogers, can be streamed here. It was a great chat, and I thought we really got into how to engage young male readers – and whether or not we need to. Have a listen here. Or click the picture!

[image error]

 

In Case You Can’t Tell, I’m Pretty Lame at Blogs

Hello! I am alive! I’ve been embarrassingly awful at updating myself here, so let’s just move on from that and start to list awesome things!

I have new author profile photos! I was going to write a whole thing on this process but then I didn’t. I did make a YouTube video about it though, which you can view here. Also here’s one of the photos:

[image error]

2. I spoke on a number of panels at Byron Bay Writers Festival. It was a dream come true, truly. It’s such an odd feeling to respect other authors from afar for so long, and then have actual conversations with them. I met Tom Keneally, I had a honest-to-goodness conversation with Michelle De Kretser (who is super-wonderful), and so many more. I was on a panel with Mellisa Lucashenko, Stephen Carrol, Tim Rogers, Selina Tusitala Marsh, Tristan Bancks, not to mention the fantastic people I was on tour with. I’m still struggling to comprehend that this is a thing I did. But here are some photos.

3. (and this is the biggest one)

I HAVE A NEW BOOK COMING OUT NEXT YEAR!

Buried the lede hey (thanks Lia!) I’m so excited about this one. The wonderful folk at Allen & Unwin will be publishing Snake Island in the new year. It’s a fair shift from To Become a Whale – there’s blood and drugs and revenge and black comedy. Family. Big themes. Modern day western. It’s pretty much the exact type of book I love love love reading, so I’m so chuffed I’ve written it!

[image error]

I’d tell you all to keep checking back for more information, but I’m not sure I trust myself. Either way you’ll hear from me soon.

Hey comment or something! Would love to start chats! The best bit about going on the road trip and Byron Bay was meeting people, and hearing their stories. Tell me yours!

Ben

Ben Hobson: How I Got An Agent

I didn’t know I could re-blog! This (I hope) is an interesting look at how I got an agent!

Lauren Keegan Writer

Welcome back to my monthly blog series.

I’m all about getting a literary agent this year so I’m interviewing Australian authors to find out how they did it. If you missed the first two posts, then please check out my interviews with Vanessa Carnevale and Louise Allan.

This month, the wonderful debut novelist Ben Hobson agreed to sit in the hot seat. I first discovered Ben when I heard him interviewed on the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast. He talked about the experience of rejection and the endless revisions of manuscripts, battling self-doubt and the importance of perseverance. All of this resonated with me as an aspiring fiction writer.

Ben has very generously spilled the beans on how he got an agent and a book deal. Happy reading