Case story

Working on the art of writing

Bronwyn Fredericks is a Murri woman from south-east Queensland (Ipswich/Brisbane region). She is a Senior Research Fellow with the Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, and has an Adjunct position at Monash University. Bronwyn’s work has appeared in academic and community publications in health and other disciplines. She sits on several editorial boards and is a peer reviewer for a number of journals. Bronwyn talks about the craft of writing and shares some of her writing tips as an Aboriginal writer.

For me the hardest part of writing used to be getting down that first sentence or paragraph. Now what I do is:

- create a document
- start to write down dot points around the first idea for a paper or the theme of the paper
- build on the dot points with more dot points
- make sentences from the dot points
- group the sentences with common ideas
- start forming paragraphs
- reflect on the order of what is written and maybe move the paragraphs around
- develop linking sentences between the paragraphs
- create sections as this helps clarify ideas and later helps the reader when scanning the article
- keep references up to date and add in as required, noting page numbers for direct quotes.

Over time I keep coming back to the document. In the beginning I don’t worry too much about word length or grammar. I really just focus on getting my thoughts and ideas or a description down on paper. Sometimes I even write my feelings down because I might want to capture those within the feel of the paper and I can work the words in a suitable way later.

When writing a journal article or chapter I find that I really need to be well organised. I go through my books and articles and put aside anything I absolutely want to reference. It doesn’t matter if they are hard copies or electronic versions. I always sort alphabetically because I find it avoids multiple checking of references. I use the same font and size for the first draft. There is plenty of time for stylising later and writing guidelines can vary depending on the journal. If you want to get published you need to follow the writing guidelines set by the journal you are going to send the article to.  Don’t forget to always proof read your work and do spell checks.

If you feel unsure about how your work reads, find some critical friends who you can trust to give you feedback. I used to be really scared about showing my work to other people but now I have a few trusted people that I can pass work by. They give me some truths in a caring way and don’t put me down and don’t talk about my work all around the place -- only to me. I have both Indigenous and non-Indigenous critical friends as they read work differently and I like getting both perspectives. I also ask them to write down questions my writing might stir in them because this helps me think about how the reader reads and what else I might need to add into the article. This kind of support has helped me improve my writing.  

I spend time on my writing most days, whether it is just sorting out references, and writing down a series of dots points or sitting down to a few hours of focused writing. I might even use photographs to inspire me around ideas. I see writing as a craft, the more you practice the better you get. I have also undertaken writing workshops with the Queensland Writers Centre and the Victorian Writers Centre. Sometimes I worry about being the ‘only Aboriginal one there’ and I know I might get confused with some of their words and terms, but I push myself to go.  I ask questions and I make them tell me what they mean. It has been important to me to learn different writing techniques so I can vary my writing style for different publishers or for community or academic audiences. There are writing centres and groups in every state and territory. In some regional areas they are heavily subsided to encourage people to participate.

Once you get more confident with the understanding that the same principles for writing a newsletter or a blog can be used for writing articles, and even a book, you’ll be away. I have really developed a love of writing in the last few years and really want to see more Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people writing: writing about their studies, workplaces and their daily lives.

We can use writing as a vehicle to document what we think, how we do things and what matters to us. We can also leave writing for the generations that follow us so that they can quote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars and writers, politicians, activists and community members about our business. Collectively we can all make a difference to the struggle and rehistory our history and what is known about us as Indigenous peoples.