nilichoandika

Words, words, words

April 6th, 2015

I do not detest the writing process, far from it, I find it challenging because every story comes with it’s request for revision.

But alas! It is the revision that drains me.

Having finished writing #Water, I felt the need to have it edited by an outside party, and let’s just say that an editor is the only person who can take out words like someone who is chopping down a tree.

He slashed my story from 40,000 words to 35,000 words, and said it was good for publication, but I am still mourning the loss of my 5,000 words.
And to do so, I went and bought two of my favorite evils: Ice cream and apples.

I will eat up and sit down to read the edited version of my story before sending another copy to be edited, because I have realized that there is a chapter that I need to add, and that means more writing time.

Having an outline has helped me restructure my writing because it acts as a reminder like a to-do list. This is the one form of discipline that I have taken for granted and with time, I am learning that when it comes to telling a story, nothing is cast in stone.
Fire by Dora Okeyo – Book Review

April 4th, 2015

I love set books, and to learn that my first book holds some weight like such books, I would only say that it makes me feel like I have started climbing a mountain and that no matter what happens, I have to reach the peak.

Stories and Book Talk

Fire

by Dora Okeyo

A boy is born in the land of Leo. As the sound of the cattle horn is heard, everyone in the Kingdom celebrates the birth of not only a boy, but the Crown Prince. His name is Ustawi.

The hands that hold him foretell a prosperous future, but just like every dream has it’s valleys, so has Ustawi’s birth. One man has seen the evil that’s to befall the kingdom under the boy’s reign, his name is Ukweli. He is the Seer.

Fire begins the story of the Prince’s life and as you read through a story rich in culture and customs you can only ask yourself, can the Seer fight the gods? Can he avert the impending doom that’s to come?

Book Review

Fire is a unique literature story, that focuses on East African folklore. Ms. Okeyo names her characters using the Swahili language. Each…

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How to stop blogging

April 1st, 2015

I have started more blogs than I can maintain and I have the secret to how easy it is to stop blogging, but indulge me first.

Blogging takes time and focus and of course access to internet and a good connection too. There are thousands of articles on how to blog, how to keep your blog running, what to blog about, and very little on rules of grammar and adherence to these rules while blogging.

So, you have a blog and you have written some posts and received no likes or comments, or maybe so many likes and comments and follows, and you love it, but, what if you could forget it all? Get back to your life, get some work done and stop blogging.
You can wake up and get to work, hang out with your friends, have dinner with family, walk around the house- watch a soap opera or reality TV show, anything but blog! Would you take it?

Would you at least think about it?

I have told you about my numerous non-functional blogs, so, how can you stop blogging?

You can stop blogging by not sharing anything you have written. You can write or think of as many things as you can, but simply don’t post it. That’s it.

And if you think, (that does not make sense) I have a question for you, have you ever written a draft or had something to blog about, but you simply said, “I will blog it later, or tomorrow”?

It is easy to be inconsistent.
It is however harder to be consistent, to maintain a schedule, to always have something to share with the world because this depends on how much zest for life you have. When people read your blog, they keep track of your insights and are either entertained or influenced by them, and this is hard to keep up with.

So, after a long day in which I kept postponing posting this, I decided I do not want to stop blogging. My blog is not famous, and it does not attract what techies call ‘traffic’ but I am making a promise to myself to grow day by day.
I have since deleted some of my non-functional blogs and cleared space for anyone looking forward to starting a blog.

So, if you want to stop blogging, don’t fret, it’s easier than starting one, just don’t post anything.
Three of my favorite fictional bad guys.

March 31st, 2015

I am attracted to bad boys. Not real life kind of bad boys, but fictional bad boys. See, someone else creates them and I find myself so taken by them that they do seem to come to life.
What does that say about me? I wonder. So, I sat down and thought about my three favorite bad boys, and indulge me for a while, please.
So, the first one is a dealer. You want something, he wants something and so you make a deal, sign on the fine line and then await your doom. He’s known by the famous phrase, “let’s play a game, guess my name.” They call him Rumpelstiltskin.
The next one is a god. Yes, he’s the god of mischief- but don’t get me wrong, he has his moments too, and I am not much of a comics fan, but when I started reading about Loki and Asgard, I realized that his story is not well developed or known as that of his other brother, Thor.

The last one, well…he is brilliant. He is what I wanted to be until I realized that there was medicine involved. He listens but when you cross his path, he has you for dinner, and did I mention that he is a good cook? Pity, I am into vegetables. Hannibal Lecter is what they call him.

I could possibly come up with a longer list, but that requires more time for reflection which I believe starts now. ⌛
Putting off tomorrow.

March 29th, 2015

Sometimes, you cannot find the words to accurately describe the state you are in, and when you do right here on WordPress reblog it ☺
Learn from the bird.

March 27th, 2015

A bird sits on a tree. It is taking a break from a long flight.
It sits there so peacefully you would think it’s at home.
But, when you take your time and watch the bird, you realize that it is not afraid that the branch would fall.

It knows that it does not depend on the branch for it has its own wings.

Believe in yourself. You can go places.
Let it go.

March 23rd, 2015

What do you do when you cannot seem to find the words to complete or advance the story?

We never have all the answers. If we did, there would be less crime, and no terminal illnesses.
I mean, if we had all the answers, then what would be the need for questions?

A friend told me, "In life, it’s the not knowing, that hurts."
I could have agreed with her at that moment, but when it came down to me, it seemed as though not knowing works best for me.

I have often heard people refer to it as the ‘writer’s block’, you know that phase where you cannot get anything down, and it’s frustrating especially if you have a deadline.
I stayed up till one, thinking of what next while writing and it made me restless that I could only come up with dialogues and not just detailed descriptions.

So, what do you do?
I had coffee, read a book ( Involved by Kate O’Riordan), watched the complete second season of Once upon a time, made lists of what I like versus what I hate and finally drifted off to sleep.
But, when I woke up, I realized that I have never been one to take pressure lightly. I worry a lot, and if anyone shouts at me, I recoil and stare blankly at them while struggling to block their voice. So, what was I doing wrong?

And this is my question, does it mean that I am doing something wrong when the words do not come to mind?
Character.

March 21st, 2015

Magic comes with a price, dearie!

Rumpelstiltskin, Once Upon a Time
Seven of my favorite African Proverbs

March 19th, 2015
African languages are rich in proverbs, metaphors, and similes. I grew up reading works by famous African writers like Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Grace Ogot, Asenath Bole Odaga, and Majorie Oludhe.

So, today I thought it wouldn’t hurt to share seven of my favorite African proverbs:
1. Milk and honey have different colors, but they share the same house peacefully.
2. He who refuses to obey, cannot command. Kenyan proverb.
3. A large chair does not make a King. Sudanese proverb
4. Do not let what you cannot do tear your hands from what you can. Ashanti proverb.
5. The surface of water is beautiful, but it is no good to sleep on. Ghanian Proverb.
6. The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat.
7. War has no eyes. Swahili saying.
What Reuven’s father taught me.

March 17th, 2015
There’s nothing as disappointing as what comes after reading a good book.

I am not talking about just a good book, because trust me, I know that every Writer sets out to write a good book. Do you know why every writer’s book is good? It’s because of what goes into it.

I am not saying the hours, but the process that comes with writing the book. A Writer bares a part of himself/herself every time they take to writing. This is why every book is a good book. Forget the sales, reviews, or rankings on best seller lists- trust the process.

This is why, I say that nothing is as disappointing as what comes after reading a good book and then going online to find out about the writer. I read books, and then look up the writers later on.

So, having read The Chosen by Chaim Potok , I decided to look him up and stopped at “Chaim Potok, was…” I do suffer from grammatical errors but I know the “past tense” when I see it, and it’s always sad when I look up a writer and find that they are dead.

And it hurts because :
1. It’s hard being a fan of a dead person. I know I am a fan of Chinua Achebe’s works, but even so there is always the desire to write and let him know that ‘hey, thank you for writing that book.’
2. They are gone, but their voice, style and written works live on- and you cannot help but ask, “what about me?”
But, I learned something from Reuven’s father, one of the characters in Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen,” and he tells his son:

I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing, but the man who lives that span, he is something.

…A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.

I have thought about this for two weeks now. I finished reading the book last month, but today as I was making my way home from work, I opened my notebook and there they were, looking up at me, reminding me that my life is mine to leave, and whatever happens after, should not worry me so much so that I forget to live now.