An Interview with Aidan Doyle

Travel brings new experiences and new perspectives, and nowhere is this more relevant than in writing.

Aidan Doyle is an Australian computer programmer and science fiction writer. He lives in Melbourne when he isn’t travelling, and has visited more than 100 countries. From Antarctic expeditions at the edge of the world to historical monuments in Egypt and a stint as a journalist in Bolivia, Aidan has seen the length and breadth of human experience.

We asked Aidan a few questions about his prolific writing and the habits that he has built over more than two decades in the game.

What got you into writing in the first place?

I’ve always loved creating stories. Mum was a librarian, so I grew up with lots of books in the house. I started submitting stories to professional markets when I was in high school. It was something I always wanted to do.

When do you write – and more importantly, how do you find time to write?

I’m a morning person so try to write before I start work. In my previous job I only worked 4 days a week and so Mondays was my writing day. After changing jobs and getting married, I haven’t had as much free time, but being able to work from home on some days makes it easier.

Are there any particular authors you look up to?

My favourite writers are big idea writers like Iain Banks, Greg Egan and Ted Chiang. I usually read for ideas so I’m impressed by writers such as Martha Wells and Katherine Addison who can make me care about their characters.

What are you reading, listening to, watching and playing at the moment?

I finished a playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3, which was simply amazing. I’ve been enjoying the novellas in Nghi Vo’s The Singing Hills series.

What is your approach to writing short fiction, as opposed to novels? How do you start?

One way to make an idea fit in a short story (as opposed to a novel) is to restrict the story’s time frame. Make it the worst day of your character’s life. If I have a new idea, then I work out which character would suffer the most in that situation and they often end up being the main character. Start a story with a character with a problem and give them a difficult decision to make.

Can you give us a few of your favourite pieces of short fiction that you’ve read over the years – and for bonus points, your favourite pieces that you’ve written?

Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life (the basis for the movie Arrival), Greg Egan’s Reasons to be Cheerful and George Saunders’ Semplica Girls Diary. Hokkaido Green is one of my favourite stories I’ve written and was influenced by Terry Bisson’s Bears Discover Fire. It’s my story that has got the most reactions from readers and has been translated into half a dozen other languages.

You’re a prolific writer – is there a genre you have a soft spot for? Why?

I’m happy to read and write most genres but I have a soft spot for time loop (Groundhog Day-style) stories. There has been a bunch of new time loop movies and books in the last couple of years. People making choices is at the heart of fiction, and I enjoy seeing the consequences of characters alternating their choices.

Tell us about The Writer’s Book of Doubt! What drove you to create it?

The Writer’s Book of Doubt is a book of essays with advice on how to deal with the problems of the writing life – rejection, finishing work, comparing yourself to your more successful friends and so on. The book includes essays from writers like Martha Wells, R.F. Kuang, Fonda Lee and it’s illustrated by Kathleen Jennings.

A lot of writers think their problems will be solved once they take the next step in their career – getting an agent, selling a book, having a bestseller, etc, but in most cases they’re just going to exchange their problems for a set of different ones. I kept seeing writers asking questions online about the same things to do with doubt and motivation. Most writing advice books cover how to get ideas or how to improve your sentences. They don’t focus on how to deal with the writing life. (Jeff VanderMeer’s Booklife and Wonderbook are two notable exceptions). I gathered a collection of some of the best essays and advice I’d seen with how to deal with problems of the writing life and ran a Kickstarter to raise funds to publish the book.

From ‘Hokkaido Green’ to ‘Ghost River Red’ to ‘White Noon’, you have a habit of playing with colour in your fiction. Is this an intentional choice?

Yes, I’m fascinated by the meaning and history of colours and how they’re perceived differently in other countries. For example, there are lots of essays about Homer’s wine-dark sea. Japan in particular has a list of traditional colours with fun names such as vanished red mouse and contemplation in a tea garden.

A few of our members are really into interactive fiction – you’ve had a fair bit of experience here, do you have any tips on how to create engaging stories in that medium?

Try to create difficult decisions for the reader/player and have those decisions impact the story. It can be disappointing if you let the player choose what they are going to wear to the masked ball, but their decision doesn’t affect the story in any way. If you’re starting writing interactive fiction it can be a good idea to start with smaller stories. A lot of readers don’t have much patience for longer text adventures. And keeping track of all the decision points and how they affect things can be difficult if you have a big story.

You write a lot of fiction either set in or inspired by Japan. What drew you to this part of the world?

I wanted to live somewhere which had a very different history and culture to Australia. I ended up working as an English teacher in Osaka for four years and did a lot of travelling around Japan. There are so many fascinating elements to Japanese society and history.

As someone who has been writing Australian speculative fiction for decades, how have you seen the scene change? What has stayed the same?

Like many areas of life, the Internet had a big effect on Australian sf. I remember having to go to the post office to buy international reply coupons to include when I was submitting stories overseas. The Internet has made it much easier for Australians to have their work published overseas.

Do you have anything in the works at the moment that you’re able to talk about?

My first traditionally published book is coming out in 2025! Hardie Grant is publishing my kids’ non-fiction book about mind-controlling bugs. It’s an illustrated book aimed at 6 to 12-year-olds and features information about such charming critters as the emerald cockroach wasp and the ant-decapitating fly.

What was the one moment that made you feel like a Real Author™?

A high school student from the Philippines emailed me about the essay they were writing based on one of my short stories.

How do you beat writer’s block?

Sometimes I try switching to another project. Sometimes I try some lateral thinking techniques, but I’ve found one of the most helpful things for me is to go for a walk. That’s when I get some of my best ideas.

What’s one piece of advice you’d like to give to new writers who are eager to break into the speculative fiction world?

It’s the advice everyone gives – to read and write lots. Check out the latest stories in some of the online magazines such as Clarkesworld, Uncanny, and Lightspeed. Read some of the novels nominated for the Hugos and the Nebulas. If a few magazines or publishers reject your work, it doesn’t mean it won’t be published. Plenty of award-winning books and stories were rejected by lots of publishers.