Kate Grenville site - Making Stories, 1993

Making Stories

Kate Grenville
in collaboration with
Sue Woolfe
1993

Australian writer Sue Woolfe is the author of (among other works) the novel
Leaning Towards Infinity

HOW DO NOVELS get written? Where do writers get their initial ideas? Are novels the result of inspiration or sheer hard work? Do writers plan their books, or are they "taken over" by them? Are they sustained by faith in themselves or undermined by doubts?
Once a book is finished, it's hard to imagine it could ever have been any other way, but many books go through radical changes. Making Stories traces the development of ten novels, comparing early drafts with the finished version, and the writers are interviewed about the process. They speak frankly about the sometimes long, difficult and surprising journeys they took in the writing.

Making Stories looks at the work of Jessica Anderson, The Commandant; Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda; Helen Garner, The Children's Bach; Kate Grenville, Lilian's Story; David Ireland, A Woman of the Future; Elizabeth Jolley, Mr Scobie's Riddle; Thomas Keneally, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith; Finola Moorhead, Remember the Tarantella; Patrick White, Memoirs of Many in One; and Sue Woolfe, Painted Woman,

Each chapter looks at the work of one writer and has three parts: an extract from early drafts of a novel, an extract from the published version of the same novel, showing what changes were made, and an interview with the writer.

On this Internet site you can read a version of the chapter about Lilian's Story (abbreviated for its appearance on this Internet site), which consists of Kate Grenville's interview with Sue Woolfe and some extracts from drafts of Lilian's Story.

You can also read a ten-page extract from the published novel together with some reviewers' comments.