Local writer, Ross Parsons of Glebe, this week launched his memoir The Cloud Factory: 

From the Book of Clouds, published by Errand and distributed through Amazon.

The Cloud Factory is a unique book – blending memoir, travelogue and reportage – a book that is not written but borne out of he writer’s journey, without itinerary, to the New World.
Parsons has been working towards publication for the past three months. ‘The Book of Clouds is my diary. In a land where time has a different meaning, I looked to the clouds as my calendar.’
It’s really a question of structure
‘Few things in life come naturally to me. Writing is one. My parents wanted me to go to university and take up a profession. So I went to university and became a writer. The truth is, I wasn’t really interested in anything else, although I’ve always felt like a bit an outsider, probably because writing didn't come naturally to me.
Everyone has a different motive for writing. For me it was a passion, if I can’t be passionate about a story, the story doesn’t get written.
When it came to writing The Cloud Factory it was more a question of structure. I lived with the idea of representing each chapter with a different cloud since returning from Latin America in June. Then it was only a matter of transposing the Book of Clouds into cohesive sentences until such times I had a completed book.
Often without power, I wrote most of the book longhand. I found I didn't waste time overthinking material or perfecting prose. That didn’t necessarily mean a pen in hand. I craft sentences in my mind as a matter of course. It’s something I do whatever I’m doing, something I’ve always done.
A raw and open attempt at sharing my experience
Much of The Cloud Factory was translated from Spanish. Learning a second language is not without its challenges and my translation is a raw and open attempt at sharing my experience.
Writing is an isolating profession and I’m naturally anxious around people, but I’ve found by being open about my feelings, readers have been open with me.
The Cloud Factory was more of an experiment than a memoir. I tried to write long and melodious phrases like the great Romance writers, only to cross it all out and settle for short and simpler sentences. I’ve also broken some fundamental rules. With the exception of flashbacks, the book is written entirely in present tense.
The truth is, I didn’t really consider my audience. The story is about me, for me. Perhaps I’m just selfish person. Like I said, writing is not something that comes naturally to me.
I’ve read the great essayists, opinions are important to me, and more recently Latin American literature. I’m writing outside the boundaries, which probably why critics have been quick to label me a postmodernist writer. I can live with that.


Don’t give up your day job
The Cloud Factory was written on a shoestring. In fact, it almost sent me broke. There were weeks at a time when I survived on little more than canned tuna and oranges.
Illustrating and editing were beyond my budget. Sure, The Cloud Factory is far from perfect, but I think it adds to the overall rawness. Anyone thinking of embarking on a similar journey, my advice is don’t give up your day job. If you want to make money you don’t become a writer.
For the time being, I’m going to teach English until such times I get another idea for another book. It has been two years since my last book, as to how long it will be before my next is anyone’s guess.
Besides, I’ve been writing solidly for two years now. I need to take time out and think about where I’m going before I even think about another book.
If I don’t feel like writing, I don't
Routine is important to me. When you’re in a land where you don’t know what is going to happen from one day to the next, your routine is all you have left.
I carried the Book of Clouds with me everywhere. It was my way of discovering the world around me, and understanding how all of the pieces came together. At one point my good friend, Yván Pineda from Caracas, crossed out the title and replaced it with the Book of Troth.
As a rule, I would write early in the morning when my mind was clearest. I don’t believe in setting page counts. I can write up to five pages a day, only to discard them all the following day.
I don't really suffer from writer’s block. Like I said, I craft sentences in my mind regardless of what I’m doing. For example, I would never go to bed without the Book of Clouds by my bedside.
The same goes for shackling myself to a desk. If I didn’t feel like writing, I didn’t write. I would take a nap, work in the garden or go on a walk. By then, I would be ready to write again. Writing is like that. It comes with a sense of freedom. There’s not a lot of freedom in Latin America. I suppose writing was a way of expressing my right to self-determination.