My friend Fiona Leonard recently responded to a challenge by my partner-in-Ashesi-related-crimes, Kajsa Hallberg Adu to talk about her writing process.
Fiona in turn challenged three writers to do the same, and – for some bizarre reason – I was one of them. Personally I do not think myself much of a writer, so when a friend who you respect as a writer calls you one, it’s quite an honour.
So here goes…
What am I working on?
I am currently working a collection of ten short stories based on Ghanaian urban legends. I tried last summer and failed and since then, I have been waiting for another block of time within which I can write daily. Ashesi just went on holiday so that time is pretty much now. If I fail, Fiona has telling rights on one of the stories.
I am also in the middle of reorganising my blog around my various hats as a writer, DJ, lecturer and as an African.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
With regards to fiction, I am still discovering my writing voice and so I really cannot say. If people eventually find my writing imaginative and it makes them pause for thought though, I won’t complain.
As a blogger and freelance writer, what sets my work apart is that I am the one writing it. I come from a weird combination of backgrounds and experiences that make me a bit of what Ethan Zuckerman calls a ‘bridge figure’: able to look at my culture from both an insider and an outsider perspective.
Why do I write what I do?
Mainly because I enjoy writing. I am much more comfortable writing than I am speaking.
Besides that however, I write because feel like I have something to say. Everybody does, really. I am surprised by how many people send me messages after particular blog posts to say that I have said something they wanted to say. I honestly wish that more people would write.
How does my writing process work?
I have worked with people like Kajsa Hallberg Adu and Ato Kwamena Dadzie who seem able to write at the drop of a hat. I envy them.
Sometimes (usually early in the morning), I get a bee in my bonnet, and start writing out a plan. Then I get so caught up in the plan that I end up writing out the whole thing.
This works great for short write ups like blogs and such. It’s not a particularly great way to write longer pieces though. My challenge this summer will be to channel it into a daily writing ritual for completing my short story collection.
So that’s me.
My turn to pass on the four questions to three writers. Hmmm. I choose…
Kobby Ankomah Graham 