Wayne Marshall joined Moorabool Writer’s Craft two years ago. The stay-at-home father of two young children says it’s important to be connected to like-minded people.
What’s your connection to Moorabool?
We’ve lived here in Bacchus Marsh for about five and a half years now. We were in Yarraville for a few years, but my wife and I grew up in Melton. My wife’s family originally came from here – her grandparents had the first butcher shop on Main Street. When we were looking to buy a place, the inner city was far too expensive, so we came out here to start a family. When we came, we saw this place, loved it and bought it.
What’s your favourite thing about living in Bacchus Marsh?
I’m a stay-at-home parent and right now there is a real community of stay-at-home parents. Looking after kids this young is a struggle, but we’ve made a lot of friends, and a lot of that is through the library’s rhyme time storytime sessions … Bacchus Marsh is the sort of place where, if we put the kids in a pram and take a walk, we bump into five or six friends. Having that support and friendship makes the days a lot easier.
What would you change about the area if you could?
Traffic is a big problem. We live right next to Gisborne Road – we’re lucky we can walk everywhere – but there are some really big log-jams. It needs to be fixed and remedied really fast.
Where’s your favourite place to hang out?
The library. I take the kids to rhyme time storytime sessions … and it has such a great atmosphere. It’s a great library for a regional one and the collection is fantastic. They run so many programs for kids and we have so many friends there. It’s not a library of 10 or 20 years ago where it was deadly silent – it’s a really fun, friendly place.
How did you get involved with writing?
I’ve been writing on and off for 20 years now. I was a lyricist for a band and, in my early 20s, I started writing short stories, and just pursued that. I’ve had a few short stories published this year and it’s something I love doing and working on, as much as time permits.
What’s the best thing about being involved in a writer’s club?
The support. Writing can be a very isolating and alienating experience, particularly in small towns. Art isn’t something that is high on the agenda for a lot of people – it’s a very sporty culture, so as a writer, having a network of people doing the same thing, having the same experiences and talking about it, is encouraging. It pushes you to keep going with your work.
What do you think makes a good writer?
That’s a complicated question … someone with an imagination that can take you somewhere else is great. For other people, it would be someone who has a lot of insight into the things they see around them and is able to mirror them back. For me, it’s the writer’s imagination.
