Writing passion can’t be put off by hurdles

About five years ago, I decided to leave the publishing industry — for good. On the way out on my last day, I remembered the many sleepless nights we had had as we met tight deadlines.

Outside, the sun was setting; it looked footsore; as if the journey it had made across the sky that day had been particularly difficult. There was a whiff of the musty Nairobi air; I took a last look at what had been my home for many years, and then drove off.

At the time, I thought I had finally “divorced” my “first love” – publishing. I joined an NGO, worked for one year and was back in publishing. This experience taught me one thing — that there is something called passion for work; something close to our hearts.

Something we do with joy. Something that always makes the labour worth it. For me, it is the smell of a new copy of a book off the press; a book I have helped “create”. For doctors, it could be the smell of a hospital (which horrifies some people).

For writers, it could be the satisfaction of holding that first copy of their book from the publisher’s warehouse or seeing it displayed in a bookshop.

FROM THE HEART

Some writers do it for the fame or promise of money. These will be disappointed; the work will be a burden.

However, there are those who write because it is close to their hearts and they are passionate about it. These never stop writing, come rain come shine; the earnings could be meagre and the publishing environment not encouraging but there is something in them that keeps pushing them on. Writing requires a passion that can’t be extinguished by criticism, rejection slips or other hurdles.

When asked why she did it, American writer, Elizabeth Reyes, gave an eye-opening answer: “I write because I must. It’s not a choice or a pastime, it’s an unyielding calling and my passion.” This is true for every profession; when it’s close to our hearts, it becomes something we can do in the middle of the night as others sleep or in the crack of dawn as the crickets sing.

The old English poet, William Wordsworth, nailed it when he advised: “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” I have talked to many writers who always wonder what they can write on or what their passion is. It is true we live in a commercially-oriented world. It is said that in America, there was an outpouring of manuscripts on paranormal romance after the success of 50 Shades of Grey.

As much as it is good to think about the market, research it and target one’s audience, it’s good for the writer to do what one critic advised: “It’s important to consider what you love to read when you write”.

It’s advisable that writers create the kinds of books they like reading. If the writer, as some have done, writes something that doesn’t even interest them, that manuscript has higher chances of not interesting anyone else.

Writing from the heart benefits everyone; from the writer, publisher to reader.