It is following through that matters the most. Like that plan to get married and settled by the time you turn thirty. Or that plan to get that girl’s number. How about the plan to change your lifestyle? A weight loss plan, a diet regimen, an investment plan?
Or how about the plan to get up and do laundry, but right after an episode or season of the Game of Thrones ?
Plans can be made and they can change.
But life can throw you certain curves that numb you so muchso that you cannot recall when you fell off the track and just how far off you’ve gone. Over the years, I have learned to make use of such moments and to write down everything as it happens to me. It has been a great experience and some words have come and gone and built an essence I cannot ignore.
So, I will take a four day break from writing Forty days in an attempt to come to terms with a curve ball that has been thrown my way.
In my grief I have found it daunting to pen a few words, but even so I know that this will take time. I am a planner and love things being organized and neat enough for me to understand. However, I know that time does have its moments and no matter how much they throw you off the track, you should not lose hope. Heal. Understand your need to bear the pain and out of that chisel your strength.
Four days, until then, be brave, keep writing, keep reading.
I have had a relaxed week and what’s better than reading a book and being transformed by the characters? So, here are four books that kept me company and here’s why:
1. Summer at Shell Cottage had secrets that all came to the shore by the sea.
2. The Last Summer introduced me to Clarissa and Tom who love each other but are kept apart first by their social status and second by the First World War. It also reminded me of Daisy and Gatsby.
3. Stand by Me showed me the strength of a woman called Domino, beautiful, bold and above all one who falls apart with a smile on her face.
4. A long way down, phew! What a way to write about suicide! This book had me walking on egg shells and laughing at the witty remarks made by the characters. And it had me at Maureen’s statement:
You know that things aren’t going well for you when you can’t even tell people the simplest facts about your life, just because they’ll presume you’re asking them to feel sorry for you.
Now I would have to get working on my current project titled “40 Days” which takes me back to a genre I enjoy reading and writing. Romance. You’ll know more about the story in a few weeks or shall we say the end of Summer? Maybe, I just got through the first chapter and I’m hopeful it’d not cause me grief!
So,what is it about these four books? Truth is I enjoyed reading them, and there was something about the style and flow that I picked up which would improve my writing like having strong heroines and including elements of surprise that could throw the lead off course and working on how to get them back on it.
I am listening to Sam Smith’s “Lay me down,” which features John Legend hoping to hear that final rendition that gives me the shivers. It is soaring to 31 degrees outside and the open window guarantees a humid breeze.
I have had two cups of tea and filled out a job application for the next research project I would love to engage in just to avoid writing this article, but you know what they say about writers- we are forever churning up words even in our sleep. Gosh! People can be clueless at times, but it’s beautiful.
Writers have the best company, words. With this delightful company comes a villain, the need to rearrange and do away with some to create the best story.
Have you ever been to an open air market?
Okay, in Kisumu, there’s this big open air market, we call it Kibuye. It is pronounced as kee-boo-yeh. I think. There are plenty of hawkers and goods and you have to bend and go through piles of clothes until you get what fits you. It is like digging through a pile of laundry which reeks of storage, to get the perfect second-hand outfit which you’ll wash, rinse in fabric softener, and iron and you’d look like a goddess. The process of getting that item is stressful. Writing is like that.
Well, it feels like that to me, but this is not about me, not yet.
Now, let’s get back to me, thank you. The final version of Earth was delightfully emailed to my Mentor/Editor this morning- during my first cup of tea moment. One hundred or so pages of words that he would slash and underline or comment on using green fonts for the sake of originality. He called immediately to ask, ‘how do you feel?’
I wanted to say, ‘hot’ because of the tea I had swallowed in a hurry but resorted to saying ‘fine, thanks.’ He added, ‘you should be excited, you know the advantages of writing and so far it has been a great journey for you, eh?’
He hung up. I looked at my phone halfway between rage and joy. It’s a hard place to be in because rage shakes you to your core and joy is like a volcano that’s working its way to an eruption. Writing has advantages? Really?
Now that I think about it, it does: not everyone delights in the company of words or rearranges them to create a story. I mean, even liars cannot stick to a story for long.
So, if you are writing, or finding your way around words and it seems like nothing good or praise is coming out of it, just know it takes time. Yes, everything takes time, but with writing you have to keep the words flowing out of you. Let them flow and sometimes force them out of you. Purge on that blank screen.
The greatest perk of writing to me is the fact that it came out of me- not you, him, her, or someone else, but the words come out of me-and that in itself is the most glorious creation.
The first time I thought of writing The Currents Series, I was seated at Java in Kisumu with a friend. We had just ordered some mocha (I love an iced-mocha) and he was telling me about how frustrated he was with his parents especially his Dad for expecting so much of him. He had school, piano lessons and was also working part time for the family business, and it was taking a toll on him.
He said, “It’s like his business is some throne that I’m supposed to sit on whether I like it or not.”
And that’s when I thought of writing about a young prince who had to rise to power, and take after his Father whether he wanted to or not. I remember scribbling a text and saving it as a draft.
I did not think about it for the next three months.
Then one day, as I was in a matatu making my way from work, I heard these two women talk about a Nigerian movie where the Prince was forced to marry and abide by the customs but he chose not to and instead married a blind girl whom he truly loved. I remember thinking, that could be a great story line- but when I arrived home I was too exhausted to do anything but sleep.
I did not think much of the idea until the next Saturday morning when a friend asked me if I was still writing.
So, I started by writing bits and pieces of the story. I started with the names of the kingdoms and the characters. I went with Kiswahili because each name represented something, and as days went by I carried a notebook where I would write down scenes and phrases that came to mind. I sat down one weekend and typed it all.
When I was almost done, the lights went out and I had only saved half of the work. So, I resumed my typing the next evening.
I procrastinate, and I come up with many ideas while working on one- which often causes me to lose sight of what I am working on, so I had to set up an outline (thank you Stephen King but some discipline is needed!).
I had this structure that included a sequence of events that I had to follow while writing, and I stuck with it. The best part of finishing that first book came in on December 27, 2014.
I remember holding my books, touching the cover and reading it in print and thinking, “this is what it feels like.” I mean, it was my first book in the Series, I had done everything from designing the cover, selecting the font and simply putting it out there.
But no one told me how to market the book. How was I going to get people to read it?
So, when my friends and family members bought it and read it- they started demanding for the next book. I was not ready. I remember thinking, “now what!” but the book was needed and so I had to write and I have been since then.
So, what did I learn while writing a series:
Have an outline. Yes, there’s that whole Stephen King debate about plunging in- but it works for him, if you are writing and seriously considering publishing an outline is the best guide you’ll ever have. You need to focus on the plot and not lose track of the story line.
Readers do not love you if you leave them hanging at the end of every book. In my case, I have done so gently, but I still got complaints of major cliffhangers! Each book in the series needs to highlight a major aspect of your plot while advancing it, ensure that your reader moves along with you…maintain a steady pace.
Get an Editor. Yes, I did not have one for my first book and though it turned out well, it could have been excellent with an Editor. If you cannot afford one, look for your English Professor and ask him/her to read it, because you might not know the tiny mistakes that slip by while you write. An Editor is like a picky eater, they consume only what is necessary. You need to weed out unnecessary words and scenes in your book.
Overnight success is an illusion. Write. If you think you’ll make millions in less than a year, well, let’s just say that it depends on what you are writing, but you need patience.
Yes, and your friends and family may be great supporters of your work, but nothing keeps a book afloat more than word of mouth- or sharing buttons in sites! They should not just tell you they love the book. They should share the links on social networking sites, and write reviews to help spread the word.
This series was personal for me. I have written and submitted manuscripts to publishers before and never got any feedback. There was one time that a publisher called me to say that he wanted someone less “White” and more “African.” His words were “Your story is good, but the English is just not like our people, you know…we are looking for something more African.” I have written articles and I decided it was enough when I read my work under someone’s name. It hurt even more when I wrote three articles only to be paid for one under the guise of inadequate funds. I remember sitting at home and looking at the MPESA text on my phone and thinking, “I get paid this little for that much work?”
So, I have never submitted any of my works to any publishers here since then.
I am writing the final book in the series, and I am not yet a millionaire, but my journey has been worth that idea, the blackout, and the frustration of editing and revision. Though I am not so keen on writing another series, but I would most definitely write a romance novel…I love a good romance.
nilichoandika 