Emerging Writers Series: Luke Rutledge
“You’ve got to push through those moments where things aren’t working out – whether it’s a story that feels like a mess, or you’re struggling with playing a particularly difficult piece of music, you just keep reminding yourself that it’s not supposed to be easy, it’s supposed to be hard work.”
Luke Rutledge’s debut novel, A Man and His Pride (2023), explores the life of a gay man struggling to embrace his identity and find his path in life.
Set in Brisbane during Australia’s 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite, this book shows that finding your pride is a journey best taken with the people who love and support you the most.
Following on from Fruzsi’s excellent review (read it here!), I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Luke about his writing journey so far, writing lessons for emerging authors, and what it means to publish a book that speaks to the incredible, redemptive power of finding your community.
I start these interviews with a similar question to help readers learn more about you! Could you tell us a little about your journey to becoming a writer and what inspired you to start writing?
My earliest memory of writing anything was in grade 6. I was waiting for the fifth Harry Potter book to be released and growing impatient, so I decided to write my own Potter story! It was obviously terrible and a complete rip-off, but I got such a sense of satisfaction from producing something from nothing, and after that, I continued writing my own stories. I wrote throughout high school but then stopped for many years in my early twenties.
That period coincided with my struggling with my sexuality and coming to terms with being gay. Once I came out and eventually found my now partner years later, the itch to write creatively returned, and I spent my mid to late twenties writing young adult manuscripts, mostly ‘coming out’ stories that, upon reflection, were an attempt to understand my teens and early twenties and the struggle I’d gone through to come out.
A Man and His Pride is a rich exploration of different experiences of being gay and how this impacts different life domains for your characters, Sean and William. What was your inspiration behind the book?
I’d been writing young adult manuscripts for a few years in my late twenties, but when a literary agent suggested I should tone down some of the more adult content so it could be marketed to a younger audience, I decided to go the other way and wrote my first adult novel (which would eventually become A Man and His Pride).
In setting out to write this book, I knew I wanted to write a story about a man who was gay, but I didn’t want to write another ‘coming out’ story. So I decided to focus on what happens after that coming out moment – the part where you actually start to process the shame you’ve no doubt internalised while living in the closet.
I’ve met men who were openly gay but didn’t seem particularly proud of it – quite the opposite, in fact, where I could tell they still had a lot of shame and baggage that they hadn’t confronted. Those men always stayed with me, and looking back I can see they were the inspiration for the story’s protagonist, Sean.
Set during the 2017 same-sex marriage referendum, the narrative develops against an important time in Australia’s LGBTQIA+ history. What were some of your motivations for setting it during this period?
I wish I had a more intellectual answer to give for this question, but honestly, the idea to set it during the plebiscite was simply something that occurred to me while in the shower!
I’d been planning the book for a few weeks, and once I made that decision to set it during that time, the story and its structure did come to me a lot easier.
Obviously, looking back I can see how setting the book during that very turbulent period in Australia’s fight for equality fits in well with Sean’s personal journey – one where he is learning to accept and love himself, just as Australians were deciding whether to accept the LGBT community enough to allow us to marry. But I honestly wasn’t thinking about any of that while writing the book!
I saw that you’ve got quite a creative history behind you, having studied journalism, professional writing, editing and publishing, and music at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. I love people who explore how we can be creative in different mediums. Do you have any personal creative philosophies or practices that have helped you in your work as a writer and in general?
I don’t think I have any philosophies, but I’ve always been driven to keep going (creative people tend to also be perfectionists, which is both a blessing and a curse!).
You’ve got to push through those moments where things aren’t working out – whether it’s a story that feels like a mess, or you’re struggling with playing a particularly difficult piece of music, you just keep reminding yourself that it’s not supposed to be easy, it’s supposed to be hard work.
Self-doubt is always a big issue for me as well. It always has been in anything creative I’ve pursued. But the option of quitting isn’t really an option at all, because at the end of the day, you still love what you’re doing, so you have no choice but to persist.
Our reviewer, Fruzsi, commented that a key takeaway from your book for her was “what’s central to queerness is community, and that pride is much easier found with others to help you along the way” - which sounds like a beautiful thing to walk away with from a book! Was this something you hoped would be a key message to others?
Yes, it certainly does!
One thing I wanted to highlight in the book is that one’s journey to find their pride is significantly influenced by those around them and whether you have a network of support (or a sense of community).
Unlike my protagonist, I had a very positive experience when I came out as gay – my family and friends were nothing but supportive, and that greatly helped me to understand and deal with the shame I had felt for so long.
For those who do not have that support, that journey is obviously going to be much harder. If you’re not getting that positive reinforcement or support from those around you, where do you turn and how do you begin to work through that shame?
I’d love to learn more about your journey to publication and any key lessons you’ve learned while finishing your novel to publication?
I wrote quite a few manuscripts (all young adult) until I finally wrote A Man and His Pride. They all got rejected by publishers and agents, but I don’t regret writing any of them, as looking back I can now see how they were all necessary for me to get to the one that made it across the line.
After finishing the first draft of A Man and His Pride, I did another two drafts myself before sending it out to agents. During that editing period, I enrolled in some online writing courses, as I knew there were particular weaknesses in my writing but I didn’t really know where to begin. Those courses taught me a lot about structure, point of view and character, and I made some significant changes to all three in subsequent drafts. After I secured an agent, there were still more drafts before we sent it out to publishers.
Basically, I’ve learned that the real writing happens in the rewriting. You have to be prepared to view your work critically and be honest with yourself about what’s not working. You also need to be able to take feedback onboard from others and not be too precious. Some of the best changes I made to the manuscript were thanks to advice from my publisher, editor and agent, and it’s a much better book for it!
I think this whole process has also taught me the value of believing in myself. I’ve always been someone who struggles with self-doubt and imposter syndrome. In many ways, you need some of those things to keep pushing yourself to do better. But at the end of the day, you have to believe in yourself before anyone else can, so taking the time to identify the positives in your writing is just as important as the critical stuff.
We have a strong readership of budding authors. Do you have any advice you’d share with others just starting their writing journeys?
Other than write because you love it, my other piece of advice would be to do whatever you can to get to the end of that first draft.
Don’t go back to make any changes as ideas come to you – just make a note and keep going. Then once you’re at the end, read back over what you’ve written and prepare yourself for the fact that it’s likely not going to be what you thought it was. Push through the self-doubt and try to look at it as objectively as possible.
Then the real writing begins with the redrafting. It’s hard work, and a lot of the time you feel like you’re flailing around in the dark. But hopefully every change you make in the redrafting (big or small) will improve your manuscript bit by bit until, slowly, it starts to take shape in a way you’re happy with.
Lastly, what are you working on next, and where can readers find more of your work?
I’ve just finished the first draft of another adult novel, which also centres around a gay character.
I’m not ready to talk about it yet, though, as it still feels very raw and messy, and I’m not even sure it’s working the way I want it to! But I’m enjoying the process and looking forward to shaping it into something that I can share with my agent and publisher.
Luke Rutledge has worked as a communications specialist since 2014. He studied journalism and professional writing, editing and publishing at the Queensland University of Technology. Before that, he studied music at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, where he majored in classical flute. He lives in Brisbane with his fiancé and their West Highland terrier, Rufus. A Man and his Pride is his debut novel. You can find Luke on Instagram (@lukerutledge.writer), Facebook (@lukerutledgewriter) and his website at lukerutledge.net
Elaine Chennatt is a writer, educator and psychology student currently residing in nipaluna. She has a special interest in bibliotherapy (how we use literature to make sense of our lives) and is endlessly curious about the creative philosophies of others. She lives with her husband and two bossy dachshunds on the not-so-sunny side of the river (IYKYK). Find her online at wordswithelaine.com
