Inga Simpson, author of The Thinning, talks about her writing journey for this novel and how bringing together two creative practices can be enriching in unexpected ways.
What are the things you cannot write without?
The most critical element is a good night’s sleep. Without that, writing is a (brief and) purely mechanical process. Writing creatively is also coffee-dependent. I write all my new work early morning and without that lovely double-shot long black, my synapses never fire up.
In a more physical sense, every book begins with a Moleskin notebook and 2B pencil. Writing those early jottings, notes, and exploratory scenes still feels magical, a kind of creative play. And even after I start working in a laptop document, the Moleskin remains a sourcebook that I return to – for inspiration, information, and to remind myself of the initial feeling of the book.
What is the most important thing this book showed you about yourself and your writing practice?
The Thinning showed me just how important spending time in situ is for my writing process. I was lucky enough to travel twice to the Warrumbungles, the Pilliga and Mount Kaputar National Park. First on a ten-day walking and camping trip and then a month-long period of solo walking, camping and photography. It allowed me to get a real feel for that Country and to understand how the three landscapes fit together. My experiences definitely shaped the book, not just the details of place, but theme, character and plot. On the final day, I looked out over the landscapes I had traversed and the whole story fell into place, when the ending came to me as a complete scene. That had never happened to me before. I feel as though it was a gift from the Country itself.
Writing The Thinning also brought about an intersection of my two creative practices: writing and photography. I did an astro-photography workshop as part of my research for the novel and found it highly-addictive. A night spent taking photographs of the Milky Way alone in the Mount Stromlo Observatory and another on the top of Mount Exmouth in the Warrumbungle National Park were particularly memorable. Astrophotography became the lens for The Thinning, a way of narrowing (and expanding) my focus that enriched the novel in unexpected ways.
The time spent immersed in those landscapes with all the ideas for the novel, and the particular focus that astro-photography gave me, was one of the most enriching experiences of my writing life. And it has been so rewarding to be able to channel that into The Thinning.
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