Alasdair McGregor: how to write non-fiction well

Passion is an essential tool in any writer's toolbox.

After all, most writers - perhaps with the exception of J.K. Rowling and Di Morrissey, of course - will confess, 'You don't go into writing for the money!'

When it comes to writing non-fiction, though, having enough passion for a subject to write a whole book on it is one thing, instilling that same level of interest in a reader is another entirely.

It was this question of how we instil passion in others that popped into my mind as I read Alasdair McGregor's Grand Obsessions, the Life and Work of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin.

At 503 pages, this is not only a biography. As Alasdair leads his readers on a journey through the Griffins' lives, he is also pointing out the many significant landmarks of Chicago's and Australia's architectural history along the way.

But, it is by no means a dry, theoretical tome that would be more at home on a professor's shelf of textbooks. It is a well-researched, beautifully crafted story of one couple's struggles and triumphs that would forever ensure their names were synonymous with Australia's political and architectural beginnings.

Alasdair certainly managed to pique my interest and imagination by capturing the humanity, passion, pain and - of course, work - that shaped Walter's and Marion's lives.

To that end, I asked Alasdair to share with us his thoughts on how to write non-fiction well.

1. Is having a deep passion for a topic an essential ingredient for any author considering ideas for non-fiction?

It certainly helps, but the passion grows. When you approach a big topic like this, there has to be that spark of interest.

2. How do you pick a topic to write about?

I pick them, they pick me. A book like this - with a strong, architectural theme - was a natural for me because my academic training was in architecture. I’ve always had a strong interest in design and planning. Not long after finishing my undergraduate degree in architecture, I was involved with a group who submitted an entry in the Parliament House design competition back in 1980. I became very interested in the Canberra story then and did some basic research on the history of how it had been before Australia had its own Parliament House and learnt some of the Griffin story. It grew on me.

3. Now, passion and the importance of historical events in shaping who we are today are relevant, of course, but how do you know if your idea will be interesting to the wider audience? What are some key elements your topic or story must have if it is going to sell?

That’s a good point. It’s not enough to think, ‘Well, I find this interesting.’ I always write with the reader in mind… but I often feel that (other) writers don’t do that. They are writing, more often, for themselves. You have to communicate. If you can see the beauty or terror in the subject, you have to be able to communicate it. But it comes down to a judgement basically. With the Griffins, I got a sense, more and more, that this was not a story about architecture or planning… it was just a great human drama. It’s the typical stuff of any tragedy, and that’s why I found the Griffin story a universal one.

4. This is an incredibly thorough and well-researched book. What are your main tips on researching a book well?

I read as widely on the subject as I can, but I don’t do that before I start. I like to approach it almost with innocent eyes. I like to start looking at other peoples’ research. I would look at the paths that other researchers have travelled and use some of the material they had collected, but it also gave me points where they might not have had the emphasis that I had. I also like to, I suppose, pick events that I feel both interest me and that I feel confident about writing about early in the piece. It’s like planting seeds; you lay them down, water them and they start to grow, the roots spread out and intertwine with other plants and the whole thing meshes together. It sounds simple, but it’s not.

5. What is a key to writing a good historical story?

I like the idea of history being instructive… and I talk in the book about the Griffin legacy not so much being in their buildings, but in the way they conducted their lives. So I think the lesson in history is there to be told, but it’s not a recounting of facts and events, but the way human society is shaped by people. I hope this book appeals to the general reader. It’s not a book specifically about architecture, art or design, but about the aspirations we all hold for a better world. The Griffins were two people who held out for that, very much to their peril and discomfort throughout their lives, so that is an inspiring story. They are flawed heroes and I think we need more of those characters in our lives. They believed there was a better way for human society.

Painter, photographer, and sometime architect, Alasdair McGregor, is also the author of The Kimberley: Horizons of Stone, Australia’s Wild Islands (both with Quentin Chester), Mawson’s Huts: An Antarctic Expedition Journal and Frank Hurley: A Photographer’s Life, which was short-listed for the National Biography Award, the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards and the Westfield/Waverley Library Prize.

Grand Obsessions, the Life and Work of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin
By Alasdair McGregor
Published by Penguin Australia
September 2009

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