The Business of Writing

Writing is not an easy business!

As usual, here’s a link to the previous post in the comment section.

One of the things that lead to depression is the lack of purpose.

Mr. Q does not know where or how he fits into the world, does not think he contributes anything, does not feel important, moves around almost invisible. He wakes up every morning, stuck in a loop that he can’t seem to break. He’s tired of trying. He slides into depression.

Mr. Q begins to write. He finds that he loves telling those stories (they seem important) and it happens that people love to read stories. This could be his purpose. He puts his all into it.

But with time, he finds that writing has not broken the loop, it has come to fit into it. His stories aren’t grand after all. There are a thousand stories just like his, from a thousand writers just like him. His readership gets to a certain number and does not exceed. He thought he would be the next Achebe, that it was his gift, his calling. He feels boxed.

If his stories were to be reviewed by critics, they would be torn down to shreds. He gets more rejections than acceptances. So he still is depressed, even more depressed than he was before he started writing.

For people like Mr. Q, writing is just one of the things they pick up on their way down this slope. It promises to be easy at first. It promises to be their saving grace. It promises to be their scepter, the thing that sets them apart from everyone else. Till they get in and find that it’s work, more work, and lots of work. They’re not so special after all.

And even though they’re several other things, they’re still writers, depressed writers who might end up in the news for committing suicide.

to be continued…

©Tochukwu Precious Eze

founder, MeHAA