Geoff Stanton has been a working journo for many years and is valued by both traditional and online media companies. Most recently, Geoff’s work has been in digital media (currently Destination NSW), which is ironic given how silent and hidden he is online …

Everyone who has had the pleasure of working with him, or indeed having a beer with him, can attest to his compelling story-telling abilities. This is why we all loved the blog he had a while ago and why we are all waiting with bated breath for the soon-to-be-completed novel.

But, because I am a professional, this is the bio that he has asked that I include: Geoff Stanton is a scribbler, digital content manager and editor, archivist, administrator, veteran of the first post-war teenage cult.

Where are you working from today?

A busy desk. I share a working space with my wife, who is also a writer. We use different ends of our desk by the window however, and we traditionally work in different time zones. So when she clocks in at night I am in the Bahamas. I return at 5am when everything is quiet. We have three children, so I enjoy the still of the morning when it is dark outside and the world is softly beginning to stir. This is also when my head is at its clearest.

My space also has its own traits. Bits or paraphernalia and memoranda rise to the surface, from glass tumblers and ashtrays to plastic saints and playing cards. Today I found some Chinese money. The other morning I found African currency which I am using for a bookmark.

My son also sits here quite often to draw comics, so I am now surrounded by textas too. His latest work is called The Chicken Wars. This will be filed on the kid’s coffee table home office once all captions are complete. I also clean the desk off into a bucket every month or so.

What are you working on?

I have been working on a novel and a new feature article to file about a remarkable David Bowie festival I visited in Outback NSW. 

I am also working on a new website. And I have just realised that the photo of my desk makes a decent home page image. Thanks Noe! Perhaps I should add a cup of coffee to it and send it to Deposit Stock.

How’s it going?

Really, really slowly. Things that matter always take time. And time is a challenge. But I have been working on a novel for a while. And the price of the character profiling, structural decisions and attention to detail is several years and one soul.

I am also simultaneously trying to get myself back into a public space with the aforementioned website. I once managed a popular blog about music, films and pop culture oddities, but it became a little hard to maintain and I had to park it.

I am looking forward to my work having a new home.

When you get stuck, what doing you do?

I have some Commandments taped to the wall in front of me. The fifth commandment states ‘When you can’t create you can work’. I try to stick to this.

One of the other commandments says ‘Work according to program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!’ This is also helpful. It is sometimes easier to work through a to-do list rather than weave gold.

I am deep in a world of almost finished projects and there is always work to be done either researching material or working on getting it organised enough to push to the finish line. 

I also used to furiously smoke and drink when I got stuck. A walk is better these days.

Who sees your earliest version / draft & at what stage?

My incredibly talented wife. She is great writer and superbly gifted when it comes to structure and story. You can see how we differ just by looking at our desks. I tend to throw everything on the table but she can see the essentials. I am lucky to be able to say that showing her my work is always illuminating and rewarding.

I used to be very protective of what I would show, but she now has now been issued a passport and is flown in at relatively early stages, when there is still nonsense propping up the walls and the road map is hazardous.