Writing Amidst Uncertainties: A Conversation With Joshua Chizoma
Uchenna Emelife,
Joshua Chizoma currently reads law at a University in Nigeria. He has works in or forthcoming in Prairie Schooner, ENTROPY Magazine, AFREADA, Prachya Review, Kalahari Review and elsewhere. His story, "The House Called Joy," won the 2018 Kreative Diadem Prize in the flash fiction category. He is an alumnus of the 2019 Purple Hibiscus Creative Writing Workshop taught by Chimamanda Adichie. He was recently longlisted for the Afritondo Creative Writing Prize.
In this conversation, Uchenna Emelife of Book O’Clock UDUS and Chizoma interact about the latter’s writing, literary prizes and how writing in Africa isn’t a rosy venture.
Thanks for granting this interview. Let's begin by finding out your writing history. When did you start writing?
You are welcome.
I began writing 2016. I'd finished my first short story late 2015, but it was in 2016, that writing became something more than just scribbling disjointed things down. It became something that held meaning for me. It was then that I started pursuing stories meaningfully.
Interesting.
What mostly informs your stories? And what do you seek to achieve by telling them?
“I tell stories for the sake of telling stories.”
I'll start with the second question.
I tell stories for the sake of telling stories. And I feel that should be enough; stories having to be told, wanting to be done. But then because stories are about human experiences and mirror human realities –love, joy, pain, betrayal – stories often serve other purposes such as education, admonition, etc.
I’m increasingly fed up with stories that seem political, weighted down by the expectation of teaching a moral lesson or stories with grand reveals at the end. Because this isn’t exactly how life works.
So, I tell stories for the sake of telling stories, but of course, a well told story does much more than that.
My stories are informed by human experiences. Mine, events that happened to me personally, or that I heard or witnessed. I also write about people and their shared experiences. So, this means that I am observant about people, about human interactions, about relationship dynamics. At every point, as I listen to people, I'm thinking, "how will this work in a story." But, sometimes I write about what I expect to see. I imagine things being a certain way and I write about them.
Exactly. It is enough to tell stories for the sake of telling them and your response reminds me of a conversation I had recently with Oyinkan Braithwaithe, author of “My Sister, The Serial Killer,” I highlighted lessons I thought she intended passing with her book and asked her if I were correct, her response was simply she never wrote the book to pass any message or to score any didactic point. She did because she felt it should be written. And that’s absolutely enough.
Yes. It is. Not every story has to be all lesson-filled and political. I myself tire from reading such stories.
How do you view writing? As a job or a hobby?
“There are a lot of uncertainties associated with writing.”
LOL.
Maybe as a cross between the two? Right now, I am currently a student so if I have a job, it is that. However, post school, I don't know if I'll ever take up writing fully. I enjoy writing stories, and I feel most fulfilled going through the process of getting the idea, doing a first draft, then all the drafts till publication. So, I guess I'll still be doing that a long time after now. But I don't know if I want to take it on as a full-time job. There are a lot of uncertainties associated with writing (especially for an African living on Africa). I don't believe I can survive those.
There is so much truth in this. The uncertainties can be sometimes discouraging. But as you said, that feeling of fulfilment keeps one going.
You mentioned your writing process. Can you share with me what it entails? What do you do after you get a story idea?
“Stories come to me in fragments, like snatches of a conversation.”
Write about it in a WhatsApp group with just me in it. (Haha!). Stories come to me in fragments, like snatches of a conversation so I just write down each part that comes, yes, in that WhatsApp group page with just me in it. Later I transfer to my writing app and try to make sense of what I'd written. Sometimes I'd be in a slump for weeks trying to figure out maybe how to connect the different parts in my head, or how a story ends, or what to do with a character. When I'm working on a story, I think about it a lot as I carry out my everyday tasks. Eventually, I get to write, each section at a time, sometimes going back to revise. I find it daunting revising when I'm done with the entire story so I edit as I write.
Really, each story comes with its peculiarities. Some are easier to write, so I finish them in a couple of days. Others take months to write, especially if I am in school and schoolwork is interfering. However, the bulk of the time, I spend thinking about the story and how to make it work. Writing is the way part. Editing is a bore almost all the time.
You have a WhatsApp group where it's just you too? I do as well. OMG! Thought I was alone. It's basically my draft bin.
With school intervening, how do you balance it? You're a Law finalist. I can guess that must be very demanding. So how do you find time to write when school work already takes so much of your time?
Truth is, I hardly write in school. Reading law on its own is quite stressful, so I scarcely have time for anything else. Also, the stress sorta sucks all of my creative juice. So, even the times I have a couple hours or so, I just cannot write.
Sometimes I take out a Saturday to just write. I find someplace quiet, mostly outside of the campus, and just write. This lockdown has actually been pretty great. I've written quite a bit. So, yay Ms. Rona!
I also feel same way about the lockdown. It was mentally draining at first tho. My anxiety was a wreck. It stifled my productivity, until I started easing into the idea of being confined and books played a great role in that. So, yay Ms. Rona too.
Speaking of books, do you have an all time favorite book? And what about the book makes it so?
I doubt I have an all time favourite. I mean, I’ll probably change my mind a few months from now after I read another amazing book. But at the moment, I’ll go with Fatima Fahreen’s "A Place for Us" and Tayari Jones' "An American Marriage." Both books handle the complexities of human relationship in a way that is sublime. Plus, the prose (especially Jones’) is so crisp, it is intoxicating!
A lot of people (me inclusive) do not have all time favorites too. It's like limiting your preference to just one. As you said, what if I read another great work?
Moving on, what has changed since you participated in the widely acclaimed Purple Hibiscus Creative Writing Workshop and do you think writing workshops are essential for budding creatives?
“I think workshops do not teach any sort of hallowed secrets about writing.”
When I returned from the workshop, I could not write for a couple of weeks. I had to personally evaluate what I knew about writing against what I’d learned. It was like I was having an information overload and I needed a few weeks to process all I learned in that one week. Well, I guess I just learned again, from scratch, the basics of writing. And now I consciously seek to apply them. I acquired a deliberateness, absent from my former writings. For the most part, I think workshops do not teach any sort of hallowed secrets about writing. Chances are that if you’ve been to one good workshop, any other would be a repetition of the same suggestions and writing tips. What I do appreciate about workshops though is how they create an environment where writing is centered. The hands-on approach used in dissecting stories and pointing out flaws helps the writer more than the suggestions and writing tips at the workshops. Also, the fact that it introduces writers to each other, creating a community of people to provide support and encouragement is a huge plus. CNA often said that writing is a lonely craft, having people who understand and share this experience, makes it less lonely.
And of course, it goes without saying that the thrill about the Purple Hibiscus Workshop (is) was getting to meet and learn from Chimamanda herself.
Everything here.
I would like to hear your thoughts about literary prizes. I know there is this validation one gets from winning them. You should know yourself. But do you think it should be what defines a writing career?
“I don’t think ANYTHING should be what defines a writing career.”
Thats easy: I don't think ANYTHING should be what defines a writing career. Particularly for the writer.
Of course, awards (are supposed to) recognize and reward the best works but we know that a lot of variables come into play. What is considered good writing is dependent on the judges or sets of judges for that particular prize. So, good writing is what a judge says it is. The same goes for editors of literary magazines. Do I think there could be a definitive system of what is good writing, or what could be the best piece? I doubt so. But the system, imperfect as it may appear, is what is made use of at the moment.
What is your initial reaction to a rejection mail? And does it change afterwards?
“I’ve learned that really, a piece may not be a good piece for a particular place but could be just right someplace else.”
Depends on the weight I'd attached to the mail, but I almost always feel hurt. Some rejections hurt more than others though, especially if I'd had my hopes up. Also, remarkably, the tone of the rejection can make it hurt less. I am particularly appreciative of rejections that take the time to explain why your work didn't make the cut. But I also understand that it might be practically impossible in some instances, hence form rejections.
And yes, I try to rise above the rejection, look at the story again and place somewhere else. I've had pieces get published after getting rejected more than once. I've learned that really, a piece may not be a good piece for a particular place but could be just right someplace else. I don't think despairing or brooding helps in any way so I try not to. It is hard, I must admit.
Also, knowing that they are almost inevitable helps. Somehow, knowing everyone gets some helps.
It is truly hard.
What are you currently working on? Any upcoming project (s) we should all be excited about?
I have a short story I just finished working on that I am truly excited about. It is based off of the experiences of my classmate who is from the middle belt. I am excited because of all the possibilities I see with the story. I sent it out already. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Great.
Looking forward.
That makes two of us!
Thanks so much for this session, Joshua. Rooting for you and wishing you all the very best in this path filled with many uncertainties.
Thank you, Uchenna.
If you like this, you might also like our last conversation about poetry in Northern Nigeria with Salihu Mahe. Read here.
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Uchenna Emelife is a journalist, creative writer, content creator, and a literary enthusiast. He has written for Nigeria’s Nation Newspaper, the ICIR, Opinion Nigeria, Minority Africa and Punocracy. A third year student of Literature In English, Uchenna was awarded “Rookie Journalist Of The Year” by the National Union of Campus Journalists (NUCJ) in 2019 and “Essayist of the year” by the local chapter of the NUCJ and “Campus Reporter of the year” by Pen Press UDUS.
In 2020, he co-pioneered a book club in his school, Book O'Clock UDUS where he reports and writes about books and currently serves as the deputy editor-in-chief of Pen Press UDUS, Programs Director of Minority Africa and the Resource Officer of the Caliphate Arts and Literary Forum.
He tweets @uc_emelife.
