Painting A Full Story.
I learned a lot about creating fictional worlds in November last year, during Chimamanda’s workshop, and every time I attempt to write fiction, a lot of those things come back. For example, ‘zooming in’ — this was taught by Lola Shoneyin. The idea is to zoom in on any small detail in a place or of a person, to make that thing real and vivid.
For example, writers often zoom in on Lagos by describing the yellow buses (one detail that has now become a cliche). I could zoom in an old woman by describing the way she chewed her mouth (old people often move their mouths when they're not eating. It's a thing with dentition, I think.) Or I could focus on cataracts in her eye. I could zoom in on her nervous tick (without saying she has a nervous tick) of shaking her leg when there’s trouble. If I was describing a teenage girl, I could talk about the size of a pimple on her nose, to build up to the fact that she’s at the beginning of puberty. It’s basically what videographers do when they hone in on the details of a character in front of the camera. Example: at the beginning of Marriage story, when Charlie describes Nicole as always brewing a cup of tea that she doesn’t drink, the camera zooms in on cups at different places in the house — while giving a glimpse of the rest of the house and getting an idea of what kind of family they are, etc.
Another example is creating a ‘flaw’ for your fictional character. All humans have flaws, so this is important. What if he is an oil tycoon who loves to eat boiled eggs and ends up farting in meetings, but never admits he is the one. Or a well-loved school teacher who litters the streets endlessly, without a thought. These things might be insignificant in the grand scheme of the story, but here’s what they do: they help the reader see a full picture of the person the author has tried to create; the humanity of that person.
Other than the fact that I’ve been on leave for the past one week, and thus reading and writing a lot, I’m telling you about this because of this tweet I came across this week about how neatly we curate our successes online.
As an advocate of tooting your own horn, I’m not going to tell anybody to stop celebrating their small and big wins. But what about if we celebrated our small and big Ls too? What if we celebrated them with the tenacity with which we celebrated our big wins? Not for pity, but for painting a full picture.
I’ll start. This year I earned one too many Ls. Two significantly: I got nominated for a fellowship in Colorado, but was denied access at the last minute? Or not making the longlist for the Miles Morland Foundation Scholarship which I was so so confident I’d at least get into. Lol. Or applying for a job at this really big company and not getting past the first stage? Or all the other fellowships I applied for and journals I submitted to, and all the rejections I got.
“You win some, you lose some.” - Nope.
“You win some, you lose a lot more.” - Ope Adedeji ’19.
Don't count this as negativity, because if we’re being honest, it's the reality. I was in Chimamanda’s class last year, but that was the 4th time I applied since I was 16. These things happen. Here’s an article on how important discussing failure is for growth. The specific reference is companies, but I’m sure anyone will find it useful.
Ope’s reads.
This week, I read Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi (and coincidentally, there's so much discussion about the quality of the book right now), started reading On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and Her Body and Other Parties. Shorter immediately accessible reads: On why the brain needs exercise, how do you come back from holidays feeling refreshed and not tired as usual? Read this. I probably spoke a lot about Leo Tolstoy this week. Read his guide to finding meaning in a meaningless world. And of course, the art of unlearning.
The holidays are here already; I'm excited about the sleep I'll be getting while keeping my December clean. PS There's love in sharing and even as you share food, love, gifts, clothes, my small request is that you share anything you've learned or that you found insightful from my letters, on social, using the hashtag #ThoughtsDay.
Thank you and happy holidays!