Crossing paths with both humour and loss: interview with James Colley.

By Louise Sapphira.

James Colley’s romantic comedy novel The Next Big Thing speaks about loss, regret, and joy.  An array of characters across different generations in the small town of Norman also illuminates the value of community. While the points of view of the two protagonists Ella and Norm are predominant in the narrative, no story is left behind. Finding change in a small town is explored through the journey of these two genuine hearts and the heart of the community. Ella and Norm’s special friendship as young adults navigating their world not only captures the reader but also allows the reader to discover both the light and darkness in this novel.

I met with James Colley to discuss his novel The Next Big Thing, and what inspires him to incorporate humour into his storytelling.

James discusses Australian fiction and the drama this genre often depicts, which can take a serious turn very early on in a narrative. From an audience perspective, this connects to Norm’s point of view demonstrated in the novel.

It was Norm’s experience in life that awful things happened suddenly. Life changed in an instant and then it was up to you to hold on and ride the aftershocks.

At the time of starting to write The Next Big Thing, a good friend of James’s was dying. In this difficult time, James noticed loved ones trying to bring a sense of joy to those around them. James says, ‘They’re trying to make the bad things go away.’ In communities like Norman, ‘Part of our joy is laughing about how terrible things are.’ He adds this ‘kind of setup…[is] something too underserved, but something very true to the human experience, or at least the Australian experience that we don’t lean into…One of the early revelations about the book…[is] that this was a book about loss,’ and in The Next Big Thing it was about not losing their community.

When drawing on the element of humour in his writing, and in particular with this novel, James says, ‘I would like to try and display warmth and heart in the humour.’ A challenge is to ‘not lean into cynicism’ and instead have ‘very real grounded moments.’ James considers the two protagonists Ella and Norm and the hardships they have faced in their own lives. The ‘perfect bacon and egg roll’ brings joy to them because ‘that’s a chance to escape the grimness of the rest of the world.’ He adds, ‘You need the brightness to get through the darkness.’

The notion of change is also incorporated into the novel. James spoke about how often in small towns there are those ‘who are desperate to leave and the people who never want to leave.’ When writing The Next Big Thing, James wanted to explore this concept with characters at different stages of their lives. He says, ‘Australia, in particular, is incredibly nostalgic for times that I’m not certain ever existed, and I feel like that’s part of our Collective Psyche, that things were always much better just before now.’ He discusses how we often reflect on what could have been and how we can feel regret. The novel explores both lost potential and the regaining of potential, including ‘what happens when the world is no longer at your feet.’

The characters’ heartwarming stories and the people of Norman attempting to find that next big thing to showcase to Australia are balanced carefully in the novel. When considering the genre of romantic comedy, James says the books he loves the most ‘are the ones that treat both romance and comedy with equal weight. [Throughout] my entire writing career, I’ve been writing jokes [and] making things flippant and fun.’ But, with The Next Big Thing, ‘I wanted to tell a softer story.’ He adds, ‘It was important…that everyone had their dignity, and no one story was more important than any others.’ It was also about exploring the emotions people feel towards each other across different generations.

James discusses how the novel originally incorporated more politics into the storyline. He says, ‘I had been coming from a place of political satire in a lot of my writing background…and the more difficult choice was to take that away and lean into the emotionality [of the novel].’ He points out, ‘This is a book about hope in its various forms,’ regardless of whether it was ‘misguided hope’. The novel also explores ‘how kindness is a choice and a constant active choice, and I had to make that choice as an author as well.’

Even when considering the next big thing in Australia, James says it was about ‘how the country works and a modern reckoning with that.’ The next big thing had to ‘have a certain strength to it.’ He reflects, ‘It kept me up for a little bit even after it was out in the world…but for now, I’m happy with where it got to because I think it speaks to what I wanted it to speak to.’ There are often conversations about monuments and how they can represent a certain place, however, ‘We don’t have this physical embodiment of history that the European mindset wants us to have.’ James discusses how Australian history is not about castles, structures, and cathedrals. Also, the land ‘hasn’t been cared for, and the people who know how to care for it haven’t been listened to.’ The novel also ‘predominantly features an Aboriginal family and one of the lead characters is a young Aboriginal woman.’ James had to take this on and do his research. This was all part of the process and how ‘Australian towns represent themselves and what makes us who we are.’

In terms of how the audience receives the novel, James says if he was going to explore contrasts of light and dark emotions and also a sense of fun before returning again to darker times, he wanted to write to an audience that was going to trust him on that. He explains, ‘You need your audience to find you, and to appreciate this, and come back again and see what your next story is.’ It is ‘rare for me, coming from [a] weekly comedy background, to have this time to really craft and care about something.’ But also, when he looks back at The Next Big Thing, James wants to be proud of the novel and happy with the accomplishment.  In this regard, James was his own audience.

James says writing a book is a new area for him and he is finding his voice. When younger, he realised the value of noticing little things, such as someone in your life who listens to you and responds with compassion. He adds, ‘When I was trying to write Norm [and] Ella’s [stories], specifically, my guiding posts were always that, Norm listens to Ella and Ella sees Norm.’ James knows the value of this stems from coming from a big family where voices can sometimes be lost.

Even though exploring humour and the light and darkness in people’s stories are part of James’s writing, he says, ‘What drives me most as a writer, is just the joy of the process.’ James is currently working on his next novel, however, his early draft felt wrong for him. He says, ‘Unless you love the process, you can’t pop that away…you would have to just ride that out and deal with it.’ But he did put that draft away and felt invigorated by having to start again. He stresses, ‘There are so many stories I want to tell.’ This leaves a sense of curiosity as to what James has in store for his readers next. The novel, The Next Big Thing, however, does allow the audience to laugh but also feel the depth of the characters’ stories and the value of connection.

 

About James:

James Colley is the author of The Next Big Thing from Pantera Press, and the head writer of ABC TV’s Gruen and Question Everything.

 

(Read our book review of James Colley’s novel The Next Big Thing)


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