Belinda’s top tip for aspiring authors: Read widely and take note of different story techniques used by different authors. I like Liane Moriarty’s way of revealing who her characters are, through their seemingly innocuous but very telling gestures and facial expressions. These details are subtle, yet often more important than the dialogue and plot.
Photo: Tracy Nearmy
Belinda Cranston is a Canberra-based writer. She has worked as a journalist in Sydney, London and in Canberra’s parliamentary press gallery. Her corporate communications work includes writing speeches and opinion pieces for CEOs and politicians. The Changing Room is her first novel.
Author insight
Why do you write? I’ve always been a keen writer. When I was in primary school I had pen pals in the US and New Zealand. I loved seeing postage stamps from other countries, ripping open an envelope and holding paper inked with someone else’s handwriting. I couldn’t wait to write back on beautiful stationery that had been given to me for Christmas or my birthday. Reading was another joy, particularly stories involving people accessing portals to other worlds. In turn, I sometimes made up my own stories and in later years kept diaries filled with secrets I didn’t dare tell anyone else. I eventually wrote stories for various print publications and online news websites. I like the process of researching a story, interviewing talent, fact checking, making sense of everything I learn, then seeing the published result.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a writer? I would probably find time to read more books and play the piano. I had lessons from the age of 9 to 16, but find I play so rarely I need to spend several hours tinkering away each time I do sit down at a piano, before reaching a listenable standard.
What was your toughest obstacle to becoming published? Like any other occupation in life, it’s wise to do an apprenticeship or voluntary work to get a foot in the door if you want to become good at your chosen field. At first it can be intimidating — working alongside others who have a lot more experience and credibility. It can take years to become an established writer. In the meantime, second and even third jobs are sometimes needed to make ends meet. Over time passion and persistence are two key ingredients that see us through our doubts and insecurities. Along the way the short-term, casual jobs we do out of necessity might appear to have no relevance to where it is we want to be. In hindsight I appreciate some of these random gigs give you more insight into people and life — which is necessary to being a writer — than a more conventional office job.
How involved have you been in the development of your book? Did you have input into the cover? I’ve been involved with all stages of the development of my book. I worked closely with my publisher’s editor, Kate Goldsworthy, during the copy edit stage, and also got to see proposed cover designs. Transit Lounge prides itself on covers that are as individual as their authors.
What’s the best aspect of your writing life? Magazine and newspaper writing involves connecting with people I wouldn’t otherwise come across, hearing their stories and applying these to broader issues. It’s a very satisfying process.
—the worst? News and magazine writing isn’t a secure or well paid profession, and there’s no guarantee of getting a book published. Corporate communications pays reasonably well, though opportunities to be creative in that field are fairly limited, especially if you work for the Australian government.
What would you do differently if you were starting out now as a writer? I’m not sure that I would choose to make a living as a full-time writer in 2024, though I’d certainly do it whenever I wanted to make the time for it.
What do you wish you’d been told before you set out to become an author? I’ve been lucky in that I’ was mentored by one of Australia’s best, Peter Bishop, from the outset of writing The Changing Room.
What’s the best advice you were ever given? My dad, who was a full-time newspaper journalist, suggested writing as though I were describing something to a blind man. It got me in the habit of ‘showing’ rather than ‘telling’.
What’s your top tip for aspiring authors? Read widely and take note of different story techniques used by different authors. I like Liane Moriarty’s way of revealing who her characters are, through their seemingly innocuous but very telling gestures and facial expressions. These details are subtle, yet often more important than the dialogue and plot.
How important is social media to you as an author? While Instagram is a good means of connecting with other authors for moral support and generating publicity, I’m not really a fan of self promotion.
Do you experience ‘writer’s block’ and if so, how do you overcome it? If I’m struggling with what a character does next or how to move a storyline forward, I get up and go for a walk. Sometimes the instant I leave my desk, whether it be to make a cup of tea or go outside, a revelation comes to me.
How do you deal with rejection? Sit with the awkwardness and shame of it for a short time, then do something that makes me feel better like having a chat with a valued friend. Afterwards I’ll revisit the rejection with a fresh mind and have a think about my options.
In three words, how would you describe your writing? Unpretentious, crisp and clear.
If you had the chance to spend an hour with any writer of your choice, living or dead, who would it be and what would you most like them to tell you about living a writing life? I’d like to meet the late Philippa Pearce or Ruth Park. I’d be more interested in hearing the inspiration behind their work than how they made a living from writing — probably because I’ve never expected to earn a living from writing novels alone. But I do love reading them and want to write at least three.
Book byte
As a young girl in Sydney, Rachel pays more attention than she perhaps should, to a British cartoon character who accesses different personas on separate adventures each time he goes into the changing room of a London costume shop. Then at an opportune moment the owner of the shop taps the gentleman on the shoulder, excusing him to go back to being himself.
In her early twenties, Rachel sets off for London with the aim of having a few adventures of her own. But unlike her childhood character, life irrevocably changes for Rachel once she leaves the safety and familiarity of home. Does she become the victim of a mysterious mental health illness while she is in Israel and Egypt, or is something else at play? Rachel is forced to accept there’s no coming back from some adventures, and that coming to terms with reality is perhaps her only real chance of accessing the life she craves most.
‘Belinda Cranston beautifully captures the pluck and longing as well as the sadness and bewilderment of her young adventurer: she knows so little about the world and dares to want so much. The Changing Room is a haunting story about the messiness of life and about travel as it once was, yet still can be, both profound and life changing. —Peter Bishop
Buy the book here.