This was a snapshot of my journey of becoming an author and hopefully showed where my desire came from. I remember speaking to a woman at work about calling and discovering your purpose. She was in her 50s and said she’d never really figured it all out. She suggested taking it a day at a time. I believe that you reach certain seasons in your life, and your purpose can change.
Do you feel you know your purpose?
The summer before going to secondary school, I sent stories to publishers. I received rejections for my handwritten submissions, but some wrote back to me with advice. One even sent me a poster which showed me the publishing process, which I have to this day. I allowed secondary school to wash over me, as stressful as that time was. In year nine, I gave a teacher a story I’d written and requested feedback. She left it on her desk. Some of my peers found it, and the usual mockery began over it.
What steps have you taken to make your dreams come true? How has that changed you?
So, when did the writer dream form? I was a kid who liked to write stories. My dad showed me and my brother how to make books out of cardboard and paper. I read widely, enjoying Jacqueline Wilson, Judy Blume and a variety of different authors. I felt at home in Handsworth library, where I would walk out with a pile of books. When I was in year six, I wrote a story I’d written at my teacher’s invitation. He said, “you should be a writer.” In that moment, it all made sense.
Was there anyone who poured into you as a young person? What did they say to you?
I have a large family. There were eight children on my dad’s side and six on my mum’s. There is something about growing up in a huge family, such as mine. There was always someone to hang out with. This was my background, and growing up, I wanted to be an actor. I had a deep desire to be seen, as I often felt I faded away among the cousins and siblings. There was also the allure of pretending to be someone else, and I wanted to be in the theatre.
What did you want to be when you were a child, and how has that changed?
“I was born on a Saturday. My parents met in a Pentecostal church, and the result of their union was us. Six siblings were born into a family, and as the eldest child, I was extremely protective of the others. Online, I have seen eldest sisters speaking about their feelings of almost having brought their siblings into the world…well, without the pain. I was, and I am proud of them. I spoke highly of them as a teen, well…when I wasn’t telling them to get out of my room.”
Where are you in your family, and do you think it’s had an impact on your identity?
Lit Freak: [noun] A person whose lifestyle is dictated by the fictional worlds built in the literature they identify with.
Appealing to one who identifies with this name is simple, most read widely, they discuss books as though they are their children and are motivated by the feeling of accomplishment that comes with completing a book. Their passion is infectious as they quote Shakespeare, John Donne and Jane Austen. Some will only allow themselves to be moved by the classical works of fiction, or books they deem “worthy.” To them reading is a meal and they consider they’re time extremely precious. Others are drawn to what they imagine will change their lives, cult fiction for example.
The art of producing a modern classic is to tap into the emotions that own all of us. Loneliness, jealousy and pain. Most of us will avoid these because it means tackling the emptiness within ourselves. The writer slowly reaches the understanding that they are a guinea pig, feeling these intense emotions so that they can present them to an audience. Readers have an expectation that the writer will guide them through it, explain what is necessary and keep them safe in unknown territory, a world built in the mind of another.
