Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts

Saturday, May 16, 2009

A Writer Writes...

I haven't been on my blog in almost a week...i haven't been reading blogs, neither have i been commenting. Only aloted made me come out of my sabbatical when she said my attention was required on her blog. I was wondering what trouble i'd gotten into..lol. Turns out i didn't commit a sin afterall.

I've been Mega busy, writing and trying to concentrate so i decided to stay off blogging, and i actually succeeded. I think deadlines help me because when I dont have them, I just typically keep procrastinating. With deadlines though, I would still push till the last minute. Gosh I could win an award for being a 'crash worker'. *sighs*...wish there was an award for that.

I've been doing what i should do as a writer, and it's to write. I should be doing more though and I plan to. I was busy rewriting a script which I just finished. I've come up for some fresh air. I need to start working on something new, cant lose the steam. You know how good it feels to be paid for something you love doing? It feels so good...I won't even talk about that now.

So I have a publisher dilemma and I'm trying to decide what to do. I know some of you guys have published stuff or are in the process of doing so, I need your advice. I submitted to two of the high flying ones but nothing was forthcoming. I sent to a publisher in Ibadan sometime late last year and he only recently said I should send the rest of the book as they can't make up their minds based on the first three Chapters. It's been with them about 8 months now, and he said it might take another 9 months to reach a decision. *sighs*. I'm a bit skeptical about sending the whole manuscript but I know I'm not really experienced in this, so I want to ask, what do you guys think? Should i send it? Are there other publishing houses that will be willing to work with an unknown writer like me? Should I go the self publishing route? I don't want my manuscript to be another one that never sees the publishing daylight. I completed it over a year ago and I don't want to give up. I haven't been motivated to write any other long stuff cos I just want this one published!

Any ideas from you good people in the house? While I wait though, i will continue to write because that is what I love to do. I am a writer, I love to write. A writer writes!

PS: I just noticed this is my 100th post...it's interesting considering I've been blogging since 2006 though i used to be what you;d call a seasonal blogger..lol. So happy 100th post to me!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

All in a Week...

What do i blog about today?
Should i write another Memoir from my childhood?
Should i make it random?
Should it be about things that happened recently? Ok let's try...i'll keep typing, you'll get a post, whichever thoughts my hyper active mind decide are dominant at the moment...then we will give it a title...deal! You don't have an option not to deal. lol

BobTV film festival took place here in Abuja this last week and i attended at the Sheraton hotel. I was particularly interested in a class on Story writing. I got there first day and i didn't know it was such an organised event. There were ushers in red checking out tags and asking people to come register. My friend; a screen writer who omitted details had omitted the fact that i would have to register with five grand. I didn't have that much cash, i try not to carry cash on me cos i just end up spending what i don't need. Thankfully i had my ATM card, i got to the machines and in the whole of Sheraton, not one machince carried cash. That pissed me off.

My friend was blogging the event so i waited for him outside, i got a number of hellos from random guys who were also attending the festival and i tried to wear my nice cap. Several minutes later i was still waiting and one of the guys who had said hello earlier walked up to me.

Random guy: Hi, you're still outside?

*alarm bells go off in my head* i'm thinking obviously...would you see me outside if i wasn't outside? I humour him and instead i say

Me: 'yes'

Random guy: You must be a student. What school are you from?

For crying out loud, i tried my best to look a bit responsible. Not my usual top and jeans, i was wearing a nice indian top with jeans. How exactly do i look like a student? Once again i humour him

Me: No, i'm a writer

Random guy: What newspaper do you write for?

Oh my God! This guy is so mumu! Does every writer write for a newspaper? Dude still lives in the dark ages

Me: No i am a freelance writer. I write for screen, i write fiction....(i'm tired, i don't owe him an explanation)

Random guy: *takes a look at me from head to toe* But you're also a student?

Now i'm really annoyed, did i not just tell this dude that i'm not a student? I suppose to him i looked to young or small to be anything else? I wonder if he was trying to hit on me or not but for crying out loud, i wear two rings on my wedding finger...maybe most guys think they're a joke! Who knows?

Me: Do you know how many years ago i graduated?

I walk off and hear him say after me, has it really been that long then? Dude, yes it's been a while, almost 7 and it would have been more, no thanks to the strikes when i was in Uni.

Cabbage diet
I decided to do the cabbage diet for a week as African weight loss diva recommended. It's supposed to help lose 4kg in a week. I desire to weigh less than 65kg, i now weigh between 67 and 68kg and i thought, why not take a short cut? Cabbage gave me so much gas, i gave up the diet after three days and concluded...a lifestyle change is better than a quick fix programme. Lesson learnt the hard way, i still have some of the gas and i'm hardly able to eat. Hubby laughed at me so hard and he said...'i know we don't say i told you so, but if there was a worst line right now, i should use it...' I eyed him, i should have thrown a pillow at him..lol

I have a confession to make, i haven't gone jogging in a month! A whole month...i'm now thinking of exercising in a structured manner, like maybe register in a gym here, used to go to one in Lagos. Or maybe swim on particular days during the week and have a set number of laps...still thinking about it...your thoughts are welcome

I'm writing a screenplay, still putting the story together and now my characters are creeping into my sleep, help!

I took an afternoon nap, and dreamt that Simeone did a post, wanting to know about something personal, i'm not telling exactly what but i'm wondering ok, why is Simeone creeping into my dream? Whatever thoughts you're entertaining about me dude, time to spill..lol..Blogville, you sometimes gives me the creeps!

Ok, peace out! off to watch rubbish tv with Mr and enjoy some laughter together.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A Masterpiece!

My head is so full right now, so many things i could write about, so many thoughts in my head and i'm wondering which of them i want to share. My life is evolving and i am wondering what the master potter wants to do with it...but i know it's something good, something really beautiful because He makes all things beautiful in His time

March i left my job, it was a crazy move but i knew i had to do it for my sanity and i started learning to walk on water, the first few days were tough, i wasn't certain of anything and then i went for a 3 week leadership course in church, got an interview offer with a talk show and voila i applied, under a week i had the job.

It was a pay cut from my last job but it was a step closer to developing my God given gift and although i had mixed feelings about it, i was enthusiastic after all i had applied for the position of a writer...note the word applied! Then i started the job and my role was not just writer, i was to find guests, interview them and write scripts, i didn't mind but it wasn't what i applied for. It was exciting at the same time, meeting people i didn't dream of meeting..it was exciting, for once i had a job that was 'almost' fun except for my boss'(let's call her A) once in a while rants..which i thought i could deal with, afterall we weren't interfacing with each other much!

It was easy for me to find my guests, i was almost a natural, only had to make a few calls and they were available, writing my scripts wasn't so much of an issue though i kept going to my direct boss(let's call her Z) for help, she liked that...and she always gave me positive comments, i was her best hand of all the new people she hired and stuff like that..

Then we started shooting and i noticed things that made me rethink taking the job. A number of times i wanted to take a walk andgo home, wondering if i left a crappy job to come meet another crap and since i was no longer afraid of leaving a job, looked like it could be the next move. A was temperamental and verbally abuses people, she said things to me i can't recount for no just reason and a lot of people thought it was because she knew i wasn't desperate for the job and also because she knew i had my pride and would not suck up, is that a crime?

Well, i kept telling hubby i might want to leave the job considering the things going on and he kept reminding me of why i took it and that i should think of spending one more season. In a week, i got all my episodes that i worked on scrapped, had to work on new ones afresh and i did a good job of it even if i say so myself...i got some positive comments...

Then we went back to the office and i had this strange feeling that i needed to resign, my heart just wasn't in the job anymore, it wasn't really all i bargained for and not at this age will i receive verbal abuse from anyone..no i wasn't desperate...they were having meetings..and then we all had a meeting and there was much talk about the coming season, then Z singled me out and said she needed to talk to me. I just knew it wasn't good news

So she said i should take a break from work because i had said i wanted to travel in August and work was going to be evry busy then. The logic was she couldn't tell me not to travel since i was a woman in my own right and no one should toss me around. I faulted her logic in my head immediately and i just knew that was the end of the road for us...my doubts were confirmed! I didn't respond, just said ok, i needed time to process it. You see the organisation has a reputation of a very high staff turnover..

When i told hubby, he said he was sure i wasn't being laid off in a sly manner and even if they wanted me to go, they should come out and say it, i agreed. So i made a call to Z and asked if i decided not to travel anymore, would it still be necessary to take the break? Well to not drag it, by the next morning, she came out with the truth 'we're going to have to let you go'. I felt relieved, cos i knew i achieved something, i pushed her to the wall and it felt good. I'm not someone to walk all over and thanks to my hubby who made me do it..we talked, we strategised and when i told him he was mad. When i asked for a reason, i didn't get anything reasonable, the only thing i could gather was my personality is a problem for A and Z has to do her bidding, just she's a very sly and cunning one...thank God i don't swear..

So i left with my head held high, what am i going to do? My response was a lot! Hubby has always been my anchor, he left work, this was mid day and came to meet me although i had the car..the guy is my anchor, walahi! My life without him would be a mess! So i didn't have a job anymore although i wasn't sure i had it in the first place, i see it more as a contract, we didn't even have a signed contract!

It felt great to know i had support from hubby. The first few days, it sunk in, and it felt horrible, i'd always left my job by myself...and to be relieved of a contract for no just reason was a mess. I think what i felt was more of anger! And then i had to decide what to do...i wasn't going to start writing applications. I was done with that! I had to start walking on water once again! The master had taught me, i only needed to put my hands in his and He would lead me, it was still a bit tough to accept. No income was coming from anywhere, hubby said he didn't mind but how could i depend totally on him? He assured me we'd be fine, not like my salary was so much anyway...

We had this business idea we had been toying with so hubby said it was 'my baby' and i decided to give it a try. How would it be like to be my own boss? I had run a business before but i wondered if i could do it again...then i stepped out...i decided i would run our business and be a writer at my own volition..a freelance writer..

I didn't share it then because i needed to deal with the issues and now i feel like i can...I have put my hands in the master's. He is leading me and i am following, sometimes it's hard not knowing where the next income is coming from but i know He has my back and although i am sowing in tears, i will reap in joy. And my hubby? He has been wonderful, doesn't make me miss working a 9-5...and i honestly don't really miss that life!

He's the potter, i am the clay and He is making me into a masterpiece!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Mind Your Own Business/ Leave me Alone

Hi peeps..it's been some days since i last posted or snooped around blogs..ko le da na ni(it's so that things might be well):-) . I am now able to say confidently that i'm the proud owner of a manuscript of over 200 pages and over 83,000 words! I guess that's the easy part, now i have to start editing and talking to publishers . Hope things go real smooth and pretty fast, can't wait to start seeing my books on the shelves and people buying them.
I wonder if i'd have been able to write the book if i wasn't married to my dear hubby (he's my inspiration) and i'll say no..marriage has added so many blessings to my life! Soppy me..hehehe. Earlier this year or late last year, he took me to a book store, showed me the nigerian fiction shelf and said 'sweet, when am i going to see your book here..you have it in you..you're a beautiful writer, don't waste your talent'. That spurred me on and along the line when i've taken a rest to drink water and it looks like i'm camping there, he reminds me we have a target to finish before the year runs out..when i told him i finished the first draft..i could see the joy on his face and the look of accomplishment and it just makes me feel oh i married the right man. He delights in my accomplishment. Even if the book doesn't become a best seller or isn't very popular (i'm hoping for the two.:)), there's a sense of purpose here, i'm not burying my talent. There's so much more i have in here..not even scratching the surface yet but i know this year has been a complete turn around for me :)my life can't ever remain the same again.
To my blogville fans who keep encouraging me although they have no clue what i'm writing, thanks for your blind faith and kind words, means a lot to me. I'm blessed beyond measure. So guys watch out for me on the book shelves next year hopefully..

Now to the issue on my mind at the moment, it's bugging me a bit that people are finding it hard to mind their business, so if you're in that category, please be warned!
This might end up being a rant post, so please bear with me, just need to get some stuff off my chest.

Yours truly went for an old time friend's wedding and saw an old neighbour who also happens to be my mum's friend there and decided to be a nice girl..greeting the woman with as much enthusiasm as i felt and she motioned to me to come sit by her a while. Hubby had stepped out of the church service which was dragging so i thought there could be no harm. She hugged me and asked general 'i care' questions. Next thing this woman looked at my flat belly and said 'ki lo se e? (what's wrong with you)'. I had a bewildered look on my face and told her i'm fine ma. She said 'no o, so the story i heard is true. That you're waiting to buy a car before having kids! I had said i would come and meet you in lagos and talk some sense into your head. What kind of thinking is that?'' . All the while, the church service is still going on and she's ranting in yoruba trying to keep her voice low. Another old neighbour was seated to her right who was probably enjoying the free gist. I was so upset, i just plastered a stupid smile on my face and calmly told her i'm fine and she shouldn't worry about me and thinking 'my mum must hear this. Please where's hubby to save me from this witch of a woman'. I used hubby as excuse..told her i'll see her again and went to my seat fuming inside. Please tell me, what's her business? Even if it's true i'm saving up for a car(which isn't), does it concern her? I pity her sons' wives! We're not even related in any way o.

A friend who was at our wedding last year called me yesterday and asked how i'm doing. I haven't heard from her since then by the way, didn't even know she still has my number. She exchanged the usual pleasantries, how's your husband? How's your work? I told her fine and then she goes 'do you have a baby now?' and i said no. She said are you pregnant? I humour her and say no, then she says i hope everything's alright. I just wanted to check with you since i've not heard anything. And that another friend of hers who got married at the same time has a baby now, i couldn't wait for her to land anymore, had to cut her short. I told her congrats to your friends, we're not the same people though and we have different plans for our lives so does God. Thanks for checking up on me. It's highly appreciated. She promptly ended the call. Maybe she was expecting to hear tales of how i'm praying day and night and getting depressed. God forbid!

Those are just two instances out of so many and i'm wondering why people are so nosy and insensitive. Family will ask questions, friends will ask, neighbours will poke their noses. If something is going on in my life that you don't know, it means we're just not that close..get the message and don't ask me dumb questions. Does one need to ask a pregnant woman? My answer now is when it happens, you'll know..or maybe silence is even the best answer, what'd you guys think?

Why do people around here act like once you get married, a baby must show up in the next mine months??? What if i don't want my life that way? Does it never occur to them? Kids will make my life fuller and richer but while they're not yet there, i'll enjoy my life on the way to where i'm going. They should stop acting like i have problems. No thank you, my hubby and i are fine and enjoying life the way it is and looking forward to the future.

So do you guys think i have a right to be upset or not? I'm holding my head up and refusing to question what i know was a wise decision and looking forward to the blessing of a child. Should i kill myself because someone thinks i am not wise? Should i become a nut case because i am thought to be nonchallant? I don't want to, i refuse to, i'll be strong and keep my head up. But the society makes it so hard. There's pressure all around..to which i refuse to cave in though. I keep reminding myself of what my hubby says..'whatever is going on in our family is strictly OUR business!'. They should help us leave it as such.
Rant over now, how're you guys doing?

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Life is beautiful




This post is actually for today the 17th but is reading 11th because i started it last week...lazy me!

I've been so absent from blogging! There would have been a reasonable explanation if i've been so busy at work or i've had so much to do at home and didn't remember to blog but none of this is the answer. I think it's been laziness, another part is fighting the blogging addiction and trying to do productive things. So i've been absent lately and will fill y'all in on what i've been up to.

I started my over 3 weeks vacation last week and i can't believe it's a week already, i wish i could get paid for being on vacation all year long, my time is mine and i can do as i wish with it, including staying up late at the night doing all sorts, gatecrashing blogs, browsing literary sites, reading book reviews online, chatting with friends who burn the midnight oil like me(hubby has been nagging me over chatting too much, i think he's jealous:-)),just fooling around on the internet and reading anything that catches my fancy. Can you see i have been so busy?

My vacation has been fun up till date though i didn't travel to the destination i thought i would. What is vacation all about? Is it about travelling to some fancy place so i can tell my friends i saw this place and that place? Infact, i'm trying to define vacation to myself. Yeah, it's good to travel and all that, i still plan to spend at least a week outside the country but i think the most important thing when one is on vacation is spending time with family,resting and rejuvenating onself, it's a time to also assess one's life goals and see if you're on the right path (yeah i have a reflecting side). So long as those things are done, i've had a good vacation.

Monday was the first day of my vacation, i spent it indoors just lounging and working on my book...didn't do much really.

Tuesday; hubby had to go to abuja for work so we got on the plane together. Yes thank you, i like being his handbag, i spent the rest of the day working on my book, watching some TV and did some lounging in the evening, yeah and i stayed up late chatting

Wednesday; I finished Kaine Agary's Yellow-Yellow that i started reading on Monday; it's a nice book written in simple language and gives one an insight into things happening in the Delta. Got through with chapter 9 of my book, yay! I guess slow and steady wins the race, i'm moving along and will definitely get there, i'm over halfway now.

Thursday: really prayed today (not like i don't pray everyday but this was different) I started on chapter 10 and got stuck, maybe i ex[erienced what people call writers' block so i watched some TV. I hate the Big Brother Africa show, i think it's a waste of time for adults to stay cooped up in a house for three months doing nothing productive with their lives but i found myself watching and even predicting who would go out next. I even formed favourites...hmm...see what this vacation is doing to me o

Friday: I did a little writing, inspiration came yesterday night before i went to bed but somehow i didn't spend so much time writing during the day. I spent the evening going out and having some fun; checking out books etc.

Saturday: This was real faffing day! I did nothing but lounge with all day, watching TV, gisting etc. Eventually i stayed up late to continue on chapter 10, went to bed when i couldnt take no more

Sunday: Woke up late...very late! There was no church,spent sometime indoors praying, had breakfast in bed (i'm sure someone is wondering oh this is the life!), then in the evening went swimming. This time was better than the last one i went to the pool. You see i have this thing, i can swim but i sometimes think i'm drowning so i'll just stop in the middle and start asking for help (did i hear a laugh?)...well, i didn't need help this time. Writefreak got her groove on! It was so much fun and relaxing. Oh and yes, the housemate i wanted evicted left the big brother house, it was a good day for me! I also finished chapter 10 of my book, i am now convinced i can write...lol

I haven't been going out much, i sometimes eat breakfast in bed, go to the dining room for lunch and same for dinner...life is good! I'm doing no house chores, i wish this would last forever so i'm going to enjoy it as long as it lasts. Life is beautiful!