Write On! interviews author Barry Max Wills

Barry Max Wills is half Australian, half British and half Colombian.

For almost 40 years he has been a freelance writer for the corporate sector. For the past 20 years, however, he also has been a coffee farmer and Colombian neophyte; avidly looking, listening and learning as he and his partner Adriano navigate the passion, peril and pleasure involved in growing fine Arabica coffee in the Colombian Andes.

Very much a stranger in a strange land, Barry has not only learnt to dance to a different beat but has also documented the process, along with his ever-evolving relationship with his adopted country, in his Letters From Colombia, an ongoing narrative enjoyed by several hundred subscribers on three continents.

WO: How would you describe your writing to someone new to it?

BMW: I tell stories which inform, amuse and entertain. I enjoy words and tend to play with them to create rhythm and punctuation. I keep my storytelling simple, as a lifetime of writing for companies, governments, presentations, corporate videos and museums has taught me that the most important aspect is to hold the reader’s attention and get the message through, not to show how clever I can be. If the reader stops reading through boredom or incomprehension, or gets alienated by the tone, the work is a failure. I want to create work people want to read, will understand and will enjoy.

WO: Can you tell us a bit about your latest book, Better Than Cocaine: Learning How To Grow Coffee, And Live, In Colombia?

BMW: Better Than Cocaine: Learning To Grow Coffee, And Live, In Colombia is the story of a stranger in a strange land, a suburban boy originally from Sydney Australia, who finds himself the co-owner of an abandoned coffee farm in the Colombian Andes at a time when UK and Australian governments warned against travel to Colombia as it was just too dangerous. The only things that appeared in the media and people’s minds about Colombia were killing, kidnapping, carnage and cocaine.

But this account of coping with clashing customs, accommodating cultural differences and adjusting expectations, tells a different story.

As an English expat in Colombia explained to me: “Everything bad you hear about Colombia is true, but so is everything good you never hear.”

My book presents the good as well as the bad, to show that Colombia is indeed much more than cocaine: it’s a country bulging with beauty, hospitality and passion. I like to think it informs, inspires and entertains, tracing the transition experienced by an openly gay couple in a machismo society as they develop their coffee business and overcome the challenges every farmer and outsider know only too well.

WO: What inspired you to write in the first place, and what inspires you now?

BMW: I always liked writing. In my job I was producing audiovisual material and the scripts we were getting from professional writers were not very good, so I talked my boss into letting me have a go. The client loved it, the boss liked it and I wrote every script from then on in.

I eventually went freelance and my inspiration came from being paid to do something I liked and which I was good at.

Now, I’m inspired by life and how people cope with it.

WO: A recent issue of Write On! explored the theme of ‘Overcoming.’ This can mean anything from difficult times in your life to beating the dreaded writers’ block. In your experience, what has been the best way to overcome these barriers when trying to write?

BMW: I think the key to overcoming any barrier is to believe in yourself and not listen to the all-too-often negative views of others. Too many people are jealous of others’ skills, qualities or success. They often have a poor self-image and your success makes them feel bad about themselves. Have faith in what you can do and put in the work, knowing you will create something great, something special. Some think being in the minority is a handicap. It’s not, it’s liberating!

Thomas Mann said: “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” We aren’t like other people. We take more trouble, give more thought and take more time to create what other people don’t think about, but take for granted.

Don’t be lazy and keep putting things off. Don’t be like other people. Don’t seek their approval or try to be like them. You are special, believe it, and enjoy the rewards of your labour. It doesn’t have to be about money.

However, having said that, when it comes to writers’ block I found the thing that always fired up my creative faculties was a looming deadline, especially when one gets paid for delivering on time.

With my own work, it can be harder because a self-imposed deadline can always be extended. If that’s the case for you, involve someone else in the deadline; whether they’re going to read it, give feedback, edit it, publish it or whatever. Announce when your work is going to be finished and then do it.

WO: What one piece of advice would you give an aspiring writer?

BMW: Finish something! Take a short break and then go back and improve it.

WO: Question from Twitter user: @grasshopper2407 What, in your opinion, makes a really great script?

BMW: Something that informs, inspires, motivates, entertains and touches you; but more than anything else keeps you engaged and keen to read more.

WO: Can you tell us anything about future projects?

BMW: I’m currently writing a novel, fiction, about thinking for oneself and not being pressured into conforming to the majority view. It’s the story of a young Colombian who goes to live and work in the UK and explores why being in the minority, being different, is not necessarily restrictive but liberating. Comfort zones can be prisons.

WO: Lastly, if you could choose one fictional animal/creature to be a pet or companion, who would it be and why?

BMW: At the moment it would be Possum, the hero of a children’s book I’m working on with my artist partner Adriano, who is doing the illustrations. (Adriano is responsible for the cover of my book Better Than Cocaine: Learning To Grow Coffee, And Live, In Colombia).

There are two things to know about Possum in addition to the fact that he is a possum.

One, is that he always wears a poncho, which is quite normal where he comes from. Possum lives in a very pretty town called Popayan in the southern part of Colombia in South America.

The other is that Possum is a painter. He loves nothing better than sitting down in a new place, taking out his palette, paintbrush and paper, and painting his impression of what he sees.

You can find out more about Barry Max Wills here: LettersFromColombia.com.

Better Than Cocaine: Learning To Grow Coffee, And Live, In Colombia is available to buy from Amazon worldwide and soon, I hope, in UK, Australian and US bookshops.

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You can read issue 21 online here and find it in libraries and other outlets. Read previous editions of our magazines here.

You can hear great new ideas, creative work and writing tips on Write On! Audio. Find us on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Google Podcasts and Spotify. Type Pen to Print into your browser and look for our logo, or find us on Podcasters.Spotify.com.

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