People keep asking me how I handle writer’s block. I tell them I don’t. Because I never get writer’s block. I get a massive wall standing between me and that article that’s supposed to be at the editor’s desk first thing in the morning.

Now I am afraid of heights, so scaling a wall is quite a feat. But when I was in my teens, my brother kept telling me that there is no other way to beat your fears, except facing them head on. That would explain the two or three times we jumped off the cliff at the Mtwana Cove, into sea water that was murky with sea weed. The first time I nearly drowned.

No, I am not saying that you should go jump off a high rise building to beat your writer’s block. But the plain truth is, writer’s block does not indicate an empty creative reservoir. It only means that fear is holding your creative energy hostage; fear that your article/novel/book will not be good enough for your readers, that that bitchy editor won’t like it and will send you back to the writing board (insert other fear related to writing here).

So how to beat that fear. Again, don’t jump off high points unless you really like the thrill, and have a parachute or glider. Even then, get some lessons first. In the meantime, try this:

1. Take a walk. Move away from your writing for a while. Sitting in that chair all night will not help. Trust me, I know. I’ve had a few of those nights myself. Yes. DEADLINE!!! But sitting there writing one letter every hour won’t help you get past the wall.

2. Read. Find books with topics close to the one you are writing about. You know how you get so excited about a new release, so you out and buy it, then come home and find it is so not what you expected. Take that book, try seeing what you would have done different had you been a writer. If it helps, put on a pair of glasses just like the one your editor looks over at you in that haughty, ‘I am so much better than you’ way.

3. Ask for help. Call a friend, not neccesarily a writing buddy, just someone intelligent who does not have a grudge against you. Bounce ideas of them. Listen to what they say. It helps when you look at things from someone else’s perspective. And have fun while you are at it.

4. Try re-reading your work. That is, if you had actually written something and gotten stuck in the middle. If not, skip this part. Looking at your work in new light gives you a chance to re-think the direction you are taking. Don’t let the fear of re-writing stop you. After all, as a writer, you always want your work to reflect excellence all the time. So give it that time.

5. Lighten up. I know, number 4 probably didn’t work and it sent you right down to murky sea water levels. So get some comic relief. Watch a funny movie, or sitcom. Read a funny book. Anything to raise your spirits so can go on to number 6 below.

6. Use your imagination. Put your pen down, shut off your computer. Lean back in that chair. Close your eyes and visualise those scenes. If you are not the type that has a developed daydream ability, trust me, writing will always be tough. So let your ‘imagination’ run wild for a few minutes.

7. Write another section of the story/article. I always partition my writing into parts. It helps me see the whole picture. I even have this board, where I put the sections up, and then try to synchronise them in mind and on paper. Sometimes, when I am stuck in one scene, I go ahead and write a scene that is far ahead. I find that is a great way to stimulate those creative juices. Of course, you must go back and double check on continuity. Otherwise, a character you killed off in section 5 might walk in when you are in section 12.

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9. Plan things: Let’s say for example, one of the scenes in your story involves a funeral, where the real killer shows up, and reveals something that leads the police to arrest him. Plan that funeral. Planning helps you to create realistic scenes. As you plan, you will likely be able to see exactly which point the revelation should come. Planning also helps you to make those scenes as realistic as possible. Better still it unleashes your creative juice, that adrenaline you need to scale that wall.

10. I know, I know, this is the number one tip for writer’s block, but IT WORKS! Sitting down and writing SOMETHING can really get the juices pumping and get you ready to move on. So sit down and start writing.

Now that we have painted the wall a nice soothing colour, let us turn to the Kenyan Conversations.

The Stories below were entered into the Storymoja/Generation Kenya – Kenyan Conversations Contest last week. Please read them, and vote on them to choose the story that will be entered into the Kenyan Conversations Final Judging Round.

Imminent Freedom by Chiira Maina: “Well, the ball is now in your court,” Joseph shrugged and was about to turn when he decided that a last attempt at making his cousin change mind would not hurt at all.

The Mysterious Visitor by Beth Nduta: The previous night everything was normal and no one had even the slightest idea that such a hideous event could take place. I remember we were at home slowly taking our breakfast when the sirens of the police car and ambulance shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

The Monster by Beatrice Wainaina: My room stinks. It reeks of my mistakes. I should not have left her. My husband is a monster . . . was I mean? I came home from the dairy to find him on her. He was ploughing her like a farmer would the earth in dry season; hard and with determination. She was five.

The Gentleman’s Club by Clifton Anthony Gashagua: They come here everyday like stray dogs leaving the comfort of their kennels at home to play in the cul-de-sac. Tole is the oldest. A retired soldier with a mind like an imaginarium, he claims to have met Queen Victoria and fought in the East African Campaign against von Lettow-Vorbeck’s forces.

Remember, when you see the photos up, you can comment on the blog under the picture on the Storymoja Blog orSend in a story or dialogue that is not more than 500 words long to blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke. Clearly mark in the subject Contemporary/Kenyan Conversations (Insert Number indicated)

The prize details are as follows:

1st Prize: 2000/-, 2 Storymoja books and 1 complimentary day pass to the Storymoja Hay Festival

2nd Prize: 1500/-, 1 Storymoja book, and 1 Complimentary day pass to the Storymoja Hay Festival

3rd Prize: 1000/-, and 1 complimentary Day Pass to the Storymoja Hay Festival

3 complimentary day passes for best comments on the pictures.

Be Part of the Kenyan Conversation! For more details, write to juliet@storymojaafrica.co.ke

Click on this banner to see the Generation Kenya Website

Twice a week, on Tuesday and on Thursday, we will post a photograph on the Storymoja Blog (www.storymojaafrica.wordpress.com) and on Generation Kenya (www.generationkenya.co.ke) website. These photographs will be of Kenyan People, in Kenyan Scenes, talking about Kenya.

 

You can do two things:

 

1. Comment on the picture, tell us what you think is going on in the picture, what the people in the photographs might be talking about. Keep it brief, and come back to see what others have said. If you find an issue that you care about has been brought up, please comment, and stay to have a conversation.

 

Send us a story or dialogue based on the photograph.  Your story or dialogue, if chosen will be published on the Storymoja Blog as part of a combined Contemporary Kenya/Kenyan Conversations Campaign. Weekly winners will be announced every Friday.

 

Guidelines for Participation:

1. Comment on the blog under the picture on the Storymoja Blog.
2. Send in a story or dialogue that is not more than 500 words long.
3. Send in your story or dialogue to blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke. Clearly mark in the subject Contemporary/Kenyan Conversations (include the number indicated on the photos).

For a long time, bad things happened in Kenya, because we, Kenyans, did not talk about them, and when we dared to, we did it in hushed tones behind doors. But things have changed. Now we can talk, perhaps too much, about the wrong things, or a lot of times about the right things in the wrong way. And perhaps, that is one reason why things still go wrong in our great country.

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Storymoja and Generation Kenya have come together to run an experiment on conversations. And we need your help.

Twice a week, on Tuesday and on Thursday, we will post a photograph on the Storymoja Blog (www.storymojaafrica.wordpress.com) and on Generation Kenya (www.generationkenya.co.ke) website. These photographs will be of Kenyan People, in Kenyan Scenes, talking about Kenya.

You can do two things:

1. Comment on the picture, tell us what you think is going on in the picture, what the people in the photographs might be talking about. Keep it brief, and come back to see what others have said. If you find an issue that you care about has been brought up, please comment, and stay to have a conversation.

1. Send us a story or dialogue based on the photograph.  Your story or dialogue, if chosen will be published on the Storymoja Blog as part of a combined Contemporary Kenya/Kenyan Conversations Campaign. Weekly winners will be announced every Friday.

Guidelines for Participation:

1. Comment on the blog under the picture on the Storymoja Blog.
2. Send in a story or dialogue that is not more than 500 words long.
3. Send in your story or dialogue to blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke. Clearly mark in the subjectContemporary/Kenyan Conversations.

If you comment, or send in a story/dialogue, you stand the chance to win fabulous cash prizes, books, and tickets to the Storymoja Hay Festival Coming up soon.

So get started as soon as you see the photographs. Tuzungumze sasa!

In the meantime, here are this week’s Contemporary Kenya stories.

We begin with Alex Mutua’s The Heir: Eve looked at the gun on the table, and the rosary 20 millimeters from her mom’s mouth, the hole on the wall the size of a Volkswagen beetle head light and the slamming door then back to her fright…

Then we have Chrispus Kimaru’s A FreshlyGround Proffesor: The students are all in their seatts by the time you get to the lecture hall. She sits at the back with earphones on. Her carefree hair a wild maroon; her sickly eyes lost in the expensive glasses…

We close this week’s reading with P. Ochieng’ Ochieng’s Juliana: Juliana pictured the tall beak-nosed mother superior hurriedly making the sign of the cross; the pain and sorrow of realization clouding here azure eyes.

Here’s to a great week and even better Kenyan Conversations!

Most ‘grown-ups’ I know, scoff when they hear younger people talk about Facebook. I know someone who says ‘Twitter is for twits’. Well, no matter how deep your disdain for social media platforms, you need to know some basic facts about social media platforms.

1. A large part of any writer’s demographic audience ‘lives’ on social media platforms.
2. If you write for a living and not just for pleasure, you need to sell your work and social media can help you to do that.

That said, how can you use social media properly to sell your work, and still maintain a measure of privacy and dignity?

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Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter allow an individual or business to set up a profile. Think of each profile as a mini-website. These services provide tools that allow you to limit who sees your information (called privacy controls), who may contact you, how they contact you, and how much information you share. The biggest challenge for newcomers is that you must define your purpose for the site to be effective.

Facebook: Facebook is a hybrid of personal and business users with over 300 million users. According to Alexa.com, it’s the third most trafficked site in the world. It’s also the number one social network (Nielson.com). If you want exposure, you can get it here. Set up a basic account and a great profile, at the very least.

The demographic is primarily 35 years old and people now spend three times more on Facebook than on Google (Jayde 2009). That’s a lot of market potential, and it’s an international market! I bet those folks with $100,000 annual incomes can afford to hire a writer to help with their memoirs, newsletters, and resumes.

This website appeals more to professional and mature audiences, partially because the format is cleaner and easier to navigate. It’s designed to allow people to communicate through messages, posting to the wall — which is like a bulletin board — sharing photos, news, blogs, and more. There are also fun features, like sending flowers or hugs, to customers, friends, and family.

Business users also add personal touches to their sites. They use logos showing charities the business supports, company picnic photos, and good PR news. It’s very important to check the privacy settings carefully though. You’ll quickly annoy friends and family if you send every update to the entire list. It’s also not a good idea to send your boss a note that says you sent flowers to your girlfriend or applied for another job. These risks are good reasons not to mix business and personal use.

LinkedIn: This is the most respected and widely used site for business networking. LinkedIn is where you share ideas and get answers to questions from professionals that you’d never meet any other way. Industry specific professional groups help each other through advice, resources, referrals, and more. Plus, employers post jobs and recruit here.

LinkedIn isn’t a fast-track to becoming an executive editor at Random House, but it is good exposure that can be focused on your specialty. People get to know you through discussions. They learn about you and your expertise when you answer questions for others by responding to a discussion. Again, it’s about others and earning the respect of others in your network who can make referrals.

In addition, customers and employers can post public recommendations on your page, and you can see when people in your network change jobs or location, which helps you maintain a current network with viable contacts. Your network can be as wide or narrow as you want to work to make it.

Twitter: Twitter is a micro-blogging site, and it grew by 1,928% from June 2008 to June 2009 (Nielson.com). It is now the fastest growing social network in the world.

The purpose is to create awareness of your presence. Messages should provide helpful tips, entertain, or inform your target market. Yes, there are spammers and hookers here too. It’s easy to block the undesirable element though. The big no-no is blatant self-promotion. Like all customer-oriented content, it’s about them, not you.

You build a following by offering information that people want, solving problems, and engaging in useful conversation. There is an amazing amount of good research information available by doing simple searches too.

It’s up to you to decide how much or how little you will use social media platforms. As you decide, let’s go and read this week’s Contemporary Nairobi Stories. Two of them are continuations from last week, but must still be voted on as individual stories. See Second Chance Dad 2 and To the T 2.

Then we have Mwangi Ichungwa with The Classifieds: Dear Isaiah, As you may have noticed, you have been recorded enjoying our most delectable services. We would like to take this moment to assure you that only you have a copy of this footage.

Lastly we have Chrispus Kimaru with Jesus Says…: “Kijana, I don’t care where you work or what jet fuel you drink, my house my terms or else you will find that mattress of yours on the stairs!” his words were stinging as he intended.

You have a chance to be the next week’s author of the Contemporary Nairobi Story of the Week. The Contest will continue until the end of July.

Every author who wins the Story of the Week, will have the opportunity to have their work in expedited review at the Storymoja Editorial Review Table. To win that spot, please send in a story that fits into the categories below.

-         Contemporary Nairobi setting

-         Has two or more young professionals as main characters

-         Can be either Crime/Detective Fiction, Romance or Life Crisis Fiction

-         Must be complete enough to stand as a story by itself

-         Has a running mystery; story must be short but the mystery should make it possible to develop the story into a novella (10000 words)

-         Should not be more than 2000 words

In addition to the expedited review, the winning author will have a Writer Profile on our site, as well as stand a chance to win KES 500 and one of the Storymoja titles.

May the best writer win!

Setting is the psychological time or place in a story. Setting plays an important role in the success of stories.

Although his fingers were quite numb...

In one of my favourite’s To Build a Fire by Jack London the story takes place on a trail in the Yukon. This setting is vital to the story because nature, the cold and the snow become the main character’s worst enemy. Nature is flatly indifferent to mankind’s survival. The cold will not change because of man nor does it care about human existence. The temperature in this story is set at a frigid seventy-five degrees below zero.

The main character is a man who is walking a trail by himself trying to make it to a camp where other men are staying. He was warned not to go out into the cold, especially alone, if it is fifty degrees below zero or more. The man is ignorant to reality. His only companion is a dog who is almost smarter than the man. The dog knows what he must do to survive and is the only one who succeeds. The man has to build a fire in order to dry his boot that had gotten wet. The last fire that the man builds is what kills him. The fire is put out by snow that has fallen down from a pine tree branch. The man freezes to death. He dies with dignity.

Setting is very important to this story, without it, the reader would not learn of the common ignorant human behaviour when it comes to survival in an indifferent environment. The setting of this story does not regard the man as important and is unconcerned with his suffering and death. Mankind can not control nature and our survival in it. We can heed warnings though and not chance our survival in horrible natural weather conditions.

Now let’s turn our attention to the Contemporary Nairobi setting.

What are the characteristics of the Nairobi City; climate, flora, fauna, landmark buildings, transport system, social scenes, behaviour characteristic of and dependent on the characteristics of the city? How do these aspects affect your story, your characters’ choices, the turn of the story?

Here’s the sketch of my Contemporary Nairobi story.

I am an editor, who lives on the outskirts of Nairobi, and work in the heart of the City. I have to commute to work everyday, 2 hours from my home town, a distance that would be covered in 37 minutes but which takes 2 hours because of the crazy morning traffic.

I leave my house early to get to the office on time. I get home late because the job demands a lot of me. My life is restricted to the office, and the buses. I don’t have a life outside of this.

Soon, I begin to recognise my early morning, late evening fellow passengers. I don’t know their names. But I know what they read, I can recognise their phones because I see them pull the gadgets out either to take calls or to listen to music.

I know that the guy who wears the black jacket everyday is in law-enforcement. He gets off at the stop near the CID headquarters. The cute-as-a-button petite girl who sleeps all the way to her stop is a medical student. I woke her up just yesterday when her stop came up and she was still asleep. The Lady with the dreadlocks works at the art centre. I was not sure if she was an artist, but I am beginning to think she is a graphic designer. The old guy who has a walking stick own a cyber cafe. I overheard a conversation he had with someone who is not a regular on the route. He used to work as a clerk in the ministry of information. Used the retirement ‘golden handshake’ to start a business with his daughter. His son is a little too shifty.

One day, I notice that the guy who wears the black jacket, and the old man with the walking stick are not on the bus. This continues for a week. I want to find out what happened to them.

1. The wider setting is Contemporary Nairobi, but the immediate setting is the bus. How does this affect how I tell this story?
2. What extraordinary thing can happen in the bus to make me actually take the time and give the effort to find out what happens to the the two passengers?
3. How much can my investigation possibly take place within the confines of the bus?

Think about it. Maybe even complete this story if you wish to.  But think about your story in these terms, too.

As previously announced, over the next few weeks, every author who wins the Story of the Week, will have the opportunity to have their work in expedited review at the Storymoja Editorial Review Table. To win that spot, please send in a story that fits into the categories below.

-         Contemporary Nairobi setting

-         Has two or more young professionals as main characters

-         Can be either Crime/Detective Fiction, Romance or Life Crisis Fiction

-         Must be complete enough to stand as a story by itself

-         Has a running mystery; story must be short but the mystery should make it possible to develop the story into a novella (10000 words)

-         Should not be more than 2000 words

In addition to the expedited review, the author will have a Writer Profile on our site, as well as stand a chance to win KES 500 and one of the Storymoja titles.

Please send in your work to blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke, and make sure that you mark clearly in the Subject line Contemporary Nairobi for Blog. Your emails will be filtered, so if you do not mark the subject line clearly, your mail may be misdirected or deleted.

Please make sure that you send in your story by the Friday before the week when you would like your story to be published.

For now, let’s see this week’s Contemporary Nairobi stories. It’s up to you to judge how well the stories are crafted, and how well the Nairobi setting is used and builds upon the story. Please make comments as well as vote on the story.

We begin with Twahira Abdallah’s My Child is Kenyan: When I said I was going to raise my children not to be tribalists, all my family members supported me, as did my in-laws. They all said it was a noble cause. And how was I going to do it?

Then we move on to Sahir Saddiq’s Kalekye: Hakuna maziwa,’ there is no milk, she told the Askari guard, when he asked for tea. ‘Hakuna stima,’ there is no electricity she told him when he asked if he could charge his cell-phone inside.

Alex Mutua gives us Presidential Pardon: When they walked through the Mabati door of Makuti Bar they were almost naked, they stupefied the security guards, and went through uncensored. If they would be suicide bomb…

Lastly we have a continuation of Clifford C. Oluoch’s Destiny: A man wearing shades forced his way to the front to join Serah who moved more towards the driver. The driver took one look at the man and immediately recognized him.

Here’s wishing you all a happy reading and an excellent week!