Writing Clancy of the Outback

Bob Andersen

G’Day,

Along with Phil Kettle, I write the Clancy of the Outback stories. One day, Phil rang me up and pretty much read out what is now the introduction to every Clancy book. He talked about Uncle Buck’s unfortunate demise and how Clancy’s family had to leave the Big Smoke for an isolated property on the banks of the Darling River. I couldn’t resist.

At the time, Phil was living on the Gold Coast. I flew up, and we spent a week mapping out the stories. We figured eight chapters was the right length, and we sketched out thumbnails—brief plot developments for each one. Chapter 1 sets the scene, Chapter 2 introduces the characters, Chapter 3 kicks off the plot, and Chapters 4 through 7 push the story in different directions. Chapter 8? That’s where everything comes together—the climax.

Our routine was simple. We’d get up early so Phil could walk his dog, grab a coffee, and be back at his place by 9 AM, ready to write. Once you’ve got a solid chapter outline, the writing flows. Over the next couple of years, we fleshed out the stories, refining and shaping them along the way.

Both Phil and I come from rural or semi-rural backgrounds, so writing about the things we remember from our childhoods—and weaving them into life on the banks of the Darling River—feels natural.

There’s a whole lot more that goes into making these stories work, but I’ll save that for another day.