Background to Stories

The Seed from the Tree

There are no rules that say literature can't be a thumping good read or a ripping yarn. I wrote these six stories to first of all entertain and be accessible to any reader, and secondly to explore deep stuff that bothers me. You won't find many big words, mainly because I don't know many big words and I didn't want to confuse myself by using them, since I'd have to look them up in a dictionary.

The stories are written on three levels, so level 1 is the thumping good read. Like a video game, anyone can get to level 1. Level 2 is for the really quick or the really persistent. And level 3? Well, you never know, you might crack it.

Below I've given the hints and tips, otherwise known as "cheats", that will bring a reader to level 2, or near enough.

Sakamoto . . . My Soul

This story is my peculiar celebration of the music of Ryuichi Sakamoto. It began with the theme music to "The Last Emperor", written while I was listening to the track. I have more in common with the teenager than the mother. He experiences loneliness and a sense of isolation because no one else he knows appreciates Sakamoto's music. This applies to me in terms of the solitary nature of writing.

In writing it, I got as far as the day of the Sakamoto concert and got stuck, unable to find the ending. Then, as often happens, serendipity stepped in and I found Sakamoto's latest CD in Tower Records -- it was perfect, as always.

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ABC -- Wu, Liu, Qi
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From start to finish this story was a dream. I was living in Australia in 1989 and woke up one morning with the vivid memory of a dream -- this story. It wasn't until June 1998 that I finally wrote it down, expecting it to be about 3,000 words. In the end it was over 12,000. I just had to keep on telling it as it was.

Over the years it had run like a film in my head, which was why I wrote it in the present tense. (I only recently discovered that treatments for screenplays are written in the present tense.) Over those nine years I made additions to the original dream, such as the effects of the grenade launcher, which came directly from my experiences during the Troubles in Northern Ireland -- the way a bomb blast travels and ricochets off buildings; and the reference to Hollywood in the story, which is a subdued little protest, an obvious reference to one of the major themes in the story -- the typecasting and stereotyping of people, not just Chinese, but most races and nationalities. .

The biggest addition was the use of Chinese Opera. This is a direct result of two things. The first is a Cantonese film entitled "Painted Faces", which told the story of the early life of Samo Hung and Jackie Chan at a Chinese Opera school in Hong Kong. I was blown away by Samo Hung's performance, especially when he sang Opera. My own opinion is that Samo Hung would much rather be making a living performing Opera than making Martial Law, but just like writing, you have to give the public what they want.

The second reason is the actor John Lone (also a former student of a Chinese Opera school) who is perhaps best known for the lead in "The Last Emperor". Before and since that film he has been cast in the usual stereotyped roles of triad, gangster and general bad guy. If ABC is ever made into a film, John Lone has my vote for the part of Peng because in the end the story, on a simplistic level, symbolises the journey away from the Hollywood habit of casting Chinese men as triads and Chinese women as prostitutes. I read somewhere that Vivian Wu is the only Chinese actress who has not been cast as a prostitute in a Hollywood movie. Not sure if it's true, but I put a reference to her in Sakamoto . . . My Soul just to carry the thread through.

There's more, but work it out for yourself. It helps if you know Australia or the US, and if you own a Halliwell.

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The Spirit at Drumcree
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I'm from Drumcree originally. The story is a meeting of East and West, old Celtic and pre-Celt animist beliefs and Eastern mysticism. The theme of stereotypes is carried through to this story, because in the end there's only a slight difference between Catholics and Protestants, Nationalists and Loyalists in Northern Ireland. The problem is, some people have preconceived ideas that they can't get rid of. I put my own, weird view-of-the-world spin on it -- and I really did write it at my mother's kitchen table.

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Afternoon Tea
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I had three stories that weren't going anywhere and in the end they blended together to become one. Once again stereotyping: I was reacting to the irritating habit of some people who judge only by appearances. The ending is a slap in the face for that reason. It's the simplest story in the collection, no undercurrents of meaning, just a test for the reader. What nationality is the woman? Most people get it wrong and say Singaporean, one said Japanese. All wrong.

She's Irish, of course.

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The One-armed Cyclist
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This is my favourite story. It's the lynch pin, the full works, one of the main themes of the entire collection -- we're not that different despite the worst of circumstances. It links with the references in Sakamoto . . . My Soul to the film "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence" and the reference to Laurens van der Post's The Seed and the Sower. I leave you to work out for yourself why Tony mistakenly calls the song "Forbidden Colours" "Different Colours". This story could bring you to level 3. If you get there let me know.

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The Clock Ticks
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I finished with a prologue. This story is an adaptation of the prologue to the fourth book that comes after the trilogy of China Dreams and brings the story up to the present day. The story moves into the metaphysical, the weird world of dreams and other places. It's also the rebellious streak in me coming out. Every book you care to pick up that claims to have the definitive answer to creative writing says don't finish a story this way -- so I did.

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