I wasn't much of a reader until my late teens. Then I began encountering fiction that was stranger, darker and more ambitious than anything I'd been taught at school, and realised it could be used to explore ideas rather than simply tell a story.

I read obsessively through Year 12 and in the years that followed, began writing short stories, and later studied a Bachelor of Creative Writing and a Master of Screenwriting. Seeing what storytelling could do across books, film, music and art made me want to try it for myself.

Like many writers, I'd had a number of false starts on novel projects over the years, and had completed several screenplays that ultimately became learning experiences. I'd always wanted to write about a young couple undertaking a sea change to a very remote island, and was drawn to how an isolated setting might intensify relationships and moral pressures. That idea became the starting point for Night Bloom. I've never lived on a remote island myself, but having visited a few, I've long been fascinated by their atmosphere and psychological pull.

I've been writing short stories recently, and have begun planning a new novel. It's a surrealist work inspired by Kafka. It's centred on a young man who wakes up in a hospital bed in a strange, perpetually dark city with no memory of how he arrived there. All the other citizens seem to have arrived in similar ways, but have grown to accept the mystery rather than challenge it. The story follows his attempts to leave the city, which appears to have no discernible limits.

I've worked in digital media for more than a decade, creating large volumes of SEO content for major travel brands. While my role still involves some writing and editing, it has gradually become more project management and technically focused, working across teams of writers, editors, software developers and clients. It's taught me to be organised and disciplined with my writing practice, even if it bears little resemblance to fiction writing itself.

Beyond the usual clichés (writing is rewriting and so on), I'd say that honest feedback is incredibly important, and surprisingly rare. Friends can be helpful for encouragement or proofreading, but they may not always feel comfortable being completely frank about how a piece is working. My advice is to seek out an experienced reader through a professional writing network who can give you thoughtful, constructive feedback. You might not always enjoy what you hear, but taking it on board will almost always make the work stronger.

I'm inspired by other writers and by fiction more broadly, as well as music and film. Writing has always felt like a way of making sense of the world, or at least learning how to live with its ambiguities. I mostly read literary fiction, as well as the occasional thriller or horror novel, and a lot of short stories. I read widely from international writers, but also try to support Australian authors where I can, including Max Easton, Shaun Prescott and Charlotte Wood.

I've dabbled in filmmaking and playing music over the years, and have a particular interest in photography, especially working with film. Outside of the arts, I enjoy playing tennis socially, cooking and learning new technical skills such as coding. In terms of reading, I'm drawn to books that leave a strong psychological or atmospheric impression.

Some favourites that have stayed with me include Come Closer by Sara Gran, The Plains by Gerald Murnane and Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook. I've also been influenced by the short fiction of Raymond Carver, the work of Shirley Jackson, and more recently, Australian writers like Shaun Prescott.

Readers are welcome to get in touch via Instagram. @william.stanforth is my main writing account, while @wms.photo is where I share my photography. I'm happy to be contacted via direct message.

Website: https://williamstanforth.com/