nilichoandika

Write a little everyday

April 15th, 2018
Have you ever struggled with getting something done?

I could receive a crown for procrastinating especially when it comes to the latest book I’ve been writing and I got so frustrated today that I had to check in with a close friend. She’s writing her first book and we have this way of texting each other best wishes. So, when I shared my struggle she said “Just write a little every day.”

Well, I tried to do just that but it’s not helping!

So, what do you do when you seek advice but are not content or willing to try out the advice given?

I’ll admit that to some extent, my frustration lies in my expectation of a perfect script. A story that’s so seamless and entertaining that’ll leave the reader swooning and talking about it for years to come. It therefore follows that everything I do now with this kind of expectation is bound to fall short and that adds onto my frustration.

As I ponder of this dark cloud that I’ve refused to let go of, I figured why not look back at my April goals and share what I have been up to the past few days?
- I made it to Nairobi and was there just in time for the celebration of #YALIat2000 held at Kenyatta University.
While in the capital city, I also treated myself to three of my favorite things: bookmarks, books and earrings.

5 bookmarks for $1 at Hilton Arcade-Nairobi

Bookhaul 🙂 courtesy of Inama Bookshop near Fire Station on Tom Mboya Street.

I love glass earrings so, I had to get these!
- These two lovely notebooks are gifts from my insightful sister who knows that stationery is my kryptonite! She got them at a new store called Miniso 🙂
I have to work on my impatience with this script and the only way I know how to do this is by venting my anger on paper- or by starting another script, but doing the latter would cost me time and probably make me lose focus on this current script.

I’ll mull over it for an hour or so, but all in all, I can’t wait to cozy up to this book:
Help! I am in love with a Writer

April 9th, 2018
stocksnap.io

That’s it, I am officially losing my mind, and to make matters worse, he does not get where I’m coming from!
1. He’s a Writer.
2. He loves reading Autobiographies, Memoirs, Agatha Christie, Charlotte Bronte, and did I mention that he doesn’t know what the hype is about Chinua Achebe?
3. He has this Note Taking App, called Adler’s Notes.
4. When we sit down to coffee, he would pull out his phone mid-conversation and type something and then say “sorry, just had an idea.”
5. He is a tea person!
And then there’s:
1. He knows not to ask about a work in progress.
2. We have coffee any time.
3. He bought me the Lord and Master Trilogy by Kait Jagger because he knows there is some kink in me.
4. He just saw three things that are wrong with this post’s title.
5. I’m the one who has published and he is yet to complete his manuscript. So, when I aced NanoWrimo he was the first to ask “how do you write 50,000 words in one month when I cannot even write a thousand in a week?”
6. When I disagree with him, we both picture each other as inanimate objects in our stories. I once drafted him as a stool in a short story.
stocksnap.io

So, now that I have written all that…I think, I’ll just go and sit down quietly in some corner and figure out how this can be drafted into a plot for the next romance novella I’m writing.
Like a Song

April 8th, 2018

I found a place,

A place entirely mine,

my space.

I heard a melody, danced to a tune,

Wrote lyrics, read reviews,

It was like a song.

stocksnap.io
April Goals

April 3rd, 2018
I love April but not as much as I love March. This month started out great because it’s bliss to start the week on a Tuesday, but personally, this month’s been great and I am getting healthier by the day. I had a bad case of food poisoning and I have never loved the washroom as much as I did this past week.

However, that’s not all there is to this post, I’ve been working on some major goals for this month and I’m looking forward to seeing them come to pass.

On writing:
- I’d love to post more often. April is National Poetry Month, so I’d love to post one poem every week.
- I want to collaborate with awesome writers from East and Central Africa for the holiday issue of Nilichoandika Magazine. I’m looking at five pieces of fiction or non-fiction from the contributors for the issue.
- Having a session with five beta-readers and going through Sifuna before doing the final revision and publishing it.
On reading:

I’d love to get down to reading these titles this month:

On fitness:
- I downloaded this app, well, technically, I installed three Home Workout apps and then deleted two, and kept the one that did not have “abdominal crunches” in any of the workout plans.
- I’d love to plank for more than 30 seconds.
- I want to also cut down on my sugar intake.
PS: I tried green tea and that stuff ain’t for me, I had to drink two cups of black coffee to get the taste out of my mouth, but it turns out that taking it before going to bed is like summoning the gods of sleep! Works wonders!

On leadership:

I would love to attend the YALI@2000 event on the 13th of April. Even though I have quite a flexible work schedule, being there to celebrate the young African leaders and to appreciate this awesome leadership program would be great.

Those are my goals for this month. I may come up with more or achieve more during this month, but all in all, I’m hopeful.

Have a great week!
Waiting

April 2nd, 2018

I know a thing or two about waiting.

I know I don’t act like it, or make it known,

but I know a thing or two about waiting.

stocksnap.io

He says “You’re frustrating, I don’t know where we stand, or whether what I’ll say will make you stay or leave.”

I walk away.

He shouts “I’m not done talking.”

I keep walking.

See, I know a thing or two about waiting, because sometimes…you have to keep still,

Hold your peace,

Treasure your silence so you can see who you truly are.

I know a thing or two about waiting…

Oh…there goes my bus!
Say You Love Me

April 1st, 2018

Mark

“The opposite of love is not hate Mark, it is indifference. When she does not care about anything you do, know you have lost her.”

I wish someone told me of this early enough. I messed up, worse off I got caught. Things have been awful at home. I need to make things work. I need to get her back by all means. I miss my wife. I miss knowing that she thinks about me. I miss holding her in my arms-and even her smile. I have never seen or heard her cry. I guess I am the first one to make her bear so much pain. This has just messed me up and why did she call me? It was just one night of fun and I paid her well. She was not meant to call. Anyway she did so and that’s why Beryl left.

I met Nelson at the court and he told me she wants a divorce. He even showed me what he was drafting-she wanted a clean exit. She did not want to split property or take anything from me; rather she wants to get rid of my last name. I had three shots of Tequila that afternoon as Nelson advised me on what to do. He asked me why she was seeking divorce and I couldn’t tell him. I referred him to his client. Nelson has been my friend for a few years. He was in the same law firm as me before he got promoted to another branch within town. I took up the role of senior partner; word is that he is still doing his best to get there. The man is the best divorce attorney I have ever met in Kenya. He can get his clients the house or the children with just one word! I knew if Beryl went through with the divorce she would win. I love her. I know I messed up and I am doing what I can to get a second chance knowing I would not mess it up.

God how I wish I never went out that night. How I wish that I could go back and set things straight. Some of the guys laughed it off. They could not understand that with Beryl is the gentleness and never ending support that any man would be lucky to have. She is the ideal wife and I messed it up. I am sick of all this silence.

Do you know how we met? It was at a restaurant. She was seated at the table at the far end of the restaurant slowly going through a ladies magazine. I had to update a requisition letter for a client, and needed a place to plug my laptop charger. Her table was the only one located near a plug and I asked if I could join her. It was her smile that blew me away. I did not expect it but she asked me what I was engrossed in. I told her about what I did and she smiled and said, ‘no wonder you look all suited up!’ I must have laughed a while before it hit me that she was leaving. I gave her my card if ever she needed legal advice and she gave me hers saying that if ever I needed to buy a house or an apartment I could call her.

“How about coffee tomorrow evening?”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, I’d be honored.”

“Name the place and time and I will be there.”

“How about right here?”

“I will see you then Mark, have a wonderful day.”

“You too Beryl.”

I watched her leave before saving her number on my phone list in case I lost her card. I am careless with business cards and my clients know that too. In fact they always laugh about it at the firm that for a lawyer I lose the most vital information. I always retort that it’s better that way clients pay consultation fee!

Credit: Say You Love Me, 2012, Dora Okeyo
Four Books that I loved reading this month

March 31st, 2018

It’s the end of March and I cannot wait to experience another month with at least thirty days. April’s so cool it begins with a holiday! I have come to appreciate different styles of writing from different authors thanks to NetGalley. I have also had more time to edit and keep working on Sifuna before thinking about publishing it.

So, let’s get into my reading list and here are four books that I loved reading this month.

Work Stronger by Pete Leibman. This is a must-read and as I was going through it, I was tempted to recommend it to an employer who believes in longer working hours because well, that’s one sure way of killing productivity.

Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks. I enjoyed this book because I’m a sucker for dragon shifters and romance novels.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Oi…I loved reading this book because it’s all Trevor. The tone is very witty and conversational like Trevor and indeed, his mom’s the heroine of this story…but even more so, you can’t help but be inspired by his resilience. PS: If you’d love to read it, it’s on offer today on Amazon. The Kindle version goes for $1.17 that’s $26.83 off! Buy the book, enough with the PDF requests y’all, buy the book, respect the work!

Private Lies by Cynthia St. Aubin. When Avery’s mom goes missing on her graduation day, she definitely knows something’s off. Her mom’s a Private Investigator and Avery finds herself asking questions that lead her to places she never thought she’d be. I loved this because Avery is the Queen of clap-backs here.

I’ve got a couple more titles to read in April and I’d admit that I am looking forward to being on the road more and to definitely buying quite a number of books for my home library.

Have a wonderful Easter holiday break wherever you are.
What are you waiting for?

March 27th, 2018

stocksnap.io

There is a certain kind of waiting where the world does not understand your inaction.

What are you waiting for?

What are you doing with your life?

What are your plans?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

It’s almost as if the answer you give could slowly drain away your inactivity and suddenly put you on the stage of “doing something” or “being something.”

What’s your status?

I found myself talking to a fourteen year old girl. Her mom met me and she said, “would you please make her understand that she’s got to work hard if she wants to make it in life?” The girl looked away and then kept her eyes on the ground as though the earth knew her better than anyone did.

Who are you when the world turns their back?

I wanted to ask her what her mom was frustrated at but instead I found myself saying “take your time, you have one life and whatever you choose to do with it, you’ve got to own up to the consequences. It’s not about who makes it first, but that when you get to a place, you are certain that you put the effort in getting there.”

I turned to her Mom and smiled and said, “Do not worry Mama. She’ll get there and sometimes, we push so hard that we push them to their fall. Let her decide knowing that you have done your best to support her. You know a wheelbarrow can only go as far as you push it right? Well, she’s human, don’t push so much that you lose your breath and she topples over.”

“Thank you, but I will give her your number so you can keep encouraging her. It’s a tough world and you know she is your little sister, eh?”

“Okay Mama, I’ll do what I can.”

There is a certain kind of waiting, where the world does not understand your inaction. Where you are reduced to the number of likes and comments you get for posting a picture of you and your child eating out. Measuring the likes and comments as though they are the approval ratings forgetting that you had to take ten pictures before your child could smile but you never asked why. They sit beside you, walk where you say they should, all the while their minds are at war…fighting endless battles just to gain your approval.

A friend asked me, “What are you doing with your life?”

I thought of responding with the bio on my LinkedIn profile but I said “living it the best way I can,” and she laughed and said, “how can you do that? Life is so expensive!”

“Life is precious because it’s granted to us once. It’s not expensive because you cannot calculate how much your life costs, but the things we think we need around us to keep us happy, now those are expensive!”

She let out a sigh and said “You know, you can really preach, but I did not call to get a sermon. I was just checking up on you. Bye.”

There is a certain kind of waiting, where the world does not understand your inaction.

So, you wake up and do the same things over and over again.
The Versatile Blogger Award

March 25th, 2018
I woke up this morning and as I was reading through my emails, I came across this nomination. Thank you for nominating me and y’all check out his awesome blog: Sidebar Books Blog

The Versatile Blogger Award was created to feature and recognize blogs that have unique content, high quality of writing, and fantastic photos. As the web-page about the Versatile Blogger Award says: Honor those bloggers who bring something special to your life whether every day or only now and then.

Here are the rules of The Versatile Blogger Award:
1. Thank the person who nominated you and share a link to their blog.
2. Nominate 15 superb bloggers for the award.
3. Talk about seven interesting facts about yourself, which your fellow bloggers will love to know about you.
So, let me start off by nominating superb bloggers and I’ll leave two slots open for anyone awesome blogger to climb aboard:
Seven Interesting facts about me:
1. I can read a 300 page book undisturbed in 45 minutes.
2. I wake up at 2 a.m. every day to write for either an hour or sometimes, I reach out for my eReader and catch up on a book I was reading.
3. I’m all about positivity and when it comes to reviewing books, I rarely give a 2-star rating because I believe that the Writer took time, was courageous enough to live out their idea in a story all through to publication…and more often than not, that deserves more than a two star rating.
4. Coffee is my friend.
5. Chocolate cake’s my friend too. Whenever we meet, she blends well with coffee and I am often guaranteed a treat.
6. I’m a sucker for romance novels. If it’s about shifters and dragons to be specific, I’m all in I tell you.
7. Cooking especially frying food is just my treat. Whenever household shopping is involved, cooking oil is always at the top of the list!
So, that’s it, have a great week ahead!
Memories

March 24th, 2018

I am falling. No, it’s neither in love nor asleep, but into a black hole. I have always known that I would have to write about myself.

Now that I have to, I fear that whatever it is I write, nothing may be as virtual as I would like it to be.

Someone once said that there is no line between fiction and non-fiction, the only difference is three letters ‘non.’ I have thought about this for twelve years. Truth is when I write it is never for anyone, but myself. Some stories have been to free myself of a guilty conscience while others to free others of theirs.

In essence it all boils down to me. I choose who lives and who dies, not when but just how. I leave the ‘why’ to you who’s reading this right now. So, if you could meet me for coffee and ask me one question, what would it be? What would you want to know about me? On the other hand, if I were to meet you for coffee and ask you one question, it would be ‘would you like to go for a walk with me?’ I learned this from my Grandmother. She told me, anyone willing to walk with you is worthy of your time. I did not understand the depth of her wisdom then. A friend once told me that life is never ending. He said this at his grand father’s funeral where we stood by him lulled by the wailing and the eulogies. He smiled and said he was glad the old man got some rest because dialysis was killing him. The thought that tubes went in and out of him broke his spirit more than the fact that the process was extending his life. He just stood there and said that life never ended. He said that one is born out of two people, lives, dies and moves onto the after-life.

What he could not bring himself to admit was that life only ended if whoever died never created any memories with those he/she left behind. And that’s why I want to live, such that generations to come will know about me, and I am glad that in Kenya, generations name their newborn after those who are long gone. Talk of a sure way to ensure reincarnation, and Romeo had the audacity to ask “what’s in a name?” And there are some things that I will never say, not out loud, and not even at my deathbed. The moment you think, ‘I have to share this with someone,’ it becomes a confession- words spoken in the hope of being understood and forgiven, but none of it makes sense.

Truth is most of them are memories they wish to realize again and again.

Excerpt from Memories. Published on August 29, 2013 on Smashwords.