On winning prizes and the passion of writing
There are lots of contradictions to being a scribbler – or writer if you want. This is especially if you take the ink – be it that of the pen or the screen – quite seriously. We are talking here about the ink of thoughts. The truth is that it isn’t always one feels the thrill of the garb. There are days when you wonder if it is worth it. You think at other times of the increasing number of those in the field – those before, those coming, and yes, those finer – and you wonder if you should be there at all. At other times, you decide to hole yourself up and simply just concentrate on bettering yourself either by writing or reading. Times when you just want to be your best… But the truth is if you have ever felt the thrill of a final piece or the testimony of your work’s effect on someone somewhere, you can’t help getting back to it. It is more like that natural mother who the agonies of the labour room forces to swear she would ‘never do it’ again. The hour passes and a child is born leaving the woman proud and longing to repeat the miracle, forgetting her earlier rant. Then, you see her stomach again, and a smile in her face proud to know that life would be brought forth once more, till the labour room starts the cycle again…
Now, for the writer, this is so even when the increasing fame and accolades force you to work harder and churning out words isn’t as easy as throwing whatever comes to your brain down. You have to think deeply, work out what it is that your words are saying, wonder if it meets your benchmark, if it is really saying what you want or not. The back space and delete key suddenly become more productive than the combined collection of the rest of the keyboard. The crumbled papers take more space than the preserved sheets. It is at this time that you know the true import of becoming a writer.
The awards are there and you yearn to have them, to get the bragging rights – yup, to get the accompanying coins, and all. But it isn’t just about them anymore. You know that the craft is what comes up first and that you have to be as fine as you can be. At some point, you think of the awards and say that they are full of politics, mediocrity and all – maybe because of several reasons that are truly so convincing. There are always points to back your argument especially when your name is among those favoured. Most works don’t measure up to yours at some point…
You know how much sweat you have put in and so, it begins to become a pain to get to one list and the other and not make it. But does it matter? It is part of the process. You should be glad that your name got there in the first place. Judges, like us all, are humans and subject to whatever prejudice and sentiments they have. It is their prerogative. As such, we have to continue with what we do – writing – no matter what. The other work might get the shine but ask, does it take anything out of your work? You got it right. No. It doesn’t.
So, then, what are you doing to promote your work and your writings particularly in climes where you do not have the luxury of proper publishing to cater to your every want? How much more have you put in to your work to ensure that it finds more reading space and creates the impact that you would want it to?
These days there is much to do: create a blog (if you have one, how often do you update it?); create a Twitter and Facebook account (how often do you update here? Do you connect?); create a website – if you can; locate writer gatherings in your community and participate in activities (and if you have the good excuse of ‘There aren’t any around here’, why don’t you start one?); submit your works online; engage in creative chatter much as you can… There’s much to do. Plus wherever you are, there is the ailing society that we as artistes try to heal in whatever way we can– whether it be for the environment, politics or the like. But oh well, we can’t all be activists… but shouldn’t our writing have an impact?
There’s much we can do for our writings to make it more worthwhile. There’s an investment we can put, not just to our writings but also into its getting read. Which brings another question: why do we write? To be read, most of us would say. Hee hee hee. Lie! That would be a lie, if we would be honest. To get our full ends – whether it be recognition or bucks, can we put ourselves more in the process?
There are more books to be read, books that when we take in with addition to life in its generous donation of experience, we would offer far greater. Can we exercise our thoughts enough, discipline ourselves despite travailing times, empty stomachs and surrounding circumstances to give it all a renewed take?
The answer lies in the fires of our literary forges. Get it crackling to a resounding yes.
May the ink of our thoughts never dry…
Su’eddie Vershima Agema is the author of the poetry collection, Bring our casket home: tales one shouldn’t tell and the short story collection, The Bottom of another tale. He can be reached at [email protected], @sueddieagema and http://sueddie.wordpress.com
