This week we discuss the short story form with writer, Danielle Baldock. Her short story ‘The Turning’ appears in Landmarks, the latest anthology curated by Spineless Wonders. During this interview we discover Dani’s favourite Australian landscape, who inspires her writing and what inspired her mirco-lit, ‘The Turning.’
Tell us about a landmark that is significant to you
I’ve lived close to Balmoral Beach in Sydney, all my life. I go there most days to walk and drink coffee, and sometimes to write. It’s always beautiful, and because I’ve been going there so long, it also has all the layers of the past, as well as the present, which makes it a good landmark to belong to. It is a great place to watch dogs and clouds and just sit.
What inspired you to write ‘The Turning’?
I wrote the turning because I’d been thinking about the pattern of a life, and the turning points in it. It seemed like each turning point could be seen as a landmark, where a life could go one way or another. And sometimes a physical landmark can lead to a different choice of destination, or a different life.
How do you find the experience of writing to a theme?
I really enjoy writing to a theme. I find that having a prompt, or some ‘rules’ to the piece, makes it easier to focus, and I don’t have to worry so much about what’s appearing on the page. It’s a good spark for the imagination.
Describe your writing space
The space where I write is always changing. I rarely write in my house, so it will often be at the beach or in a cafe, or, as with this story, in a room with a group of other writers, all writing together. I always write longhand, then type the words up later.
Tell us about a writer or work that has inspired you as a writer
Ray Bradbury has long been a favourite of mine. I love the way he has such atmosphere and detail in his writing, and his ability to insert the unusual in normal life, and make it seem just part of the everyday. Also a lot of his stories are perfect on their own, but are often linked by a theme, or place, or characters.
Also Barbara Kingsolver, who makes her characters and places come alive; and can include a lot of information into her writing, so it seems an integral part of the story
Dani Baldock has always lived in Sydney and has been writing as long as she can remember. She has a background in Science, and Childcare, but has always been writing in one form or another. She likes to write very short stories and poems, that capture a snapshot of time. She takes a lot of photos, and her favourite colour is green.
Feature image via Unsplash.com