How I overcome writer’s
block –May Ohaedoghasi
By TESSY OKOYE
Tuesday,
September 4, 2007
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•Mrs
May Ohaedoghasi
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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As a writer, Mrs May Ohaedoghasi, believes in using her works
to enrich the human soul. She is also a pharmacist, counsellor
and founder of Women of Divine Love Forum, a Non Governmental
Organisation (NGO), dedicated to the protection of the rights
of widows and single mothers.
In this interview, Ohaedoghasi who weaves her ideas around
human development and challenges, speaks on the need to evolve
a system that would relieve authors of the financial burden
of publishing. She also noted that the present efforts aimed
at restoring the glorious era of Nigerian writings would be
incomplete if poverty is not tackled in the country.
Passion for writing
I write about human development, and how people cope with
everyday struggles. My job as a community pharmacist enables
me to meet people from different psychological backgrounds.
Most of the time when a patient comes to me for consultation,
I take time to discuss other underlying issues that bothers
on their well-being.
These are things which they might not want to talk about.
With many of them opening up on their fears and pains, I discovered
that many people actually have problems, which causes stress
and reduce their level of productivity. With this, I found
myself doing more of free counselling than selling drugs.
The feedback I got inspired me to put my thoughts in writing
for millions of people.
Books written
Everything I write revolves around my immediate environment.
The books strikes a balance between human feelings and the
ability to do what is right. They are: Marriage: a crown and
a rose, Stress management and personality development: a holistic
approach. I also have unpublished manuscripts that focuses
on questions people ask about their status in life unfulfilled
dreams or aspiration and why certain life phenomenon are the
way they are. There is another one that has to do with how
to maintain a balance and purity in a world crumbling under
the weight of moral decadence.
Writing time
My profession gives me enough time to write and play around
ideas. I write anytime of the day. I don’t have a specific
time for writing. Anywhere I see things that interest me I
hurriedly scribble them down. I move around with a jotter.
Language
My books are written in a simple, clear and unambiguous English
language. This is because I want a primary pupil to get my
message at a glance. I also intend to cut across every strata
of the society through comprehensible phrases. My books come
in handy to captains of industries, counsellors, teachers
and all grades of teachers. Despite the fact that Nigerians
are not good readers, the feedback I have received have been
quite encouraging. But I believe it could be better.
Brain block
There are times the brain wants to relax and calm down after
some rigorous mental tasks. This does not happen often, but
if it does, the best thing to do at such a time is to switch
off from a particular type of writing to another, or better
still, stop writing entirely. I don’t always experience
brain block, unless I am mentally tired. Anytime it happens,
I rest for at least two days or abandon the work for at least
a month. When I finally decide to continue with the work,
the whole idea would have been refreshed. That is why it takes
some authors close to four years to complete a book.
Challenges of publishing
Publishing is a great challenge to authors from this part
of the world. Many of the publishing houses are selective
about the type of work they want published. Those that are
even ready to publish are not willing to pay royalties
We do more of self-publication, which is not convenient. I
have been at the receiving end of these so-called publishing
houses, who are more interested in publishing school textbooks.
Many publishers would tell you that Nigeria lacks reading
culture and as a result they wouldn’t want to lose their
money. It is quite expensive for Nigerian writers to put their
ideas in print, because of lack of publishing houses that
takes interest in their genre of writings. These challenges
can be taken care of if the traditional system of publishing
is re-enacted. This is a system in which creative authors
take their work to a publisher, and have it published and
their royalties paid if it is certified good.
Piracy
As a community pharmacist, consultant, counsellor and a wife,
to bother myself with the problem of piracy would be like
asking for too much. I write in order to satisfy a passion.
Relevant authorities responsible for streamlining the activities
of these people have been having an age long battle with pirates.
So, piracy can not be eradicated, but it can be managed.
Impediments to writing
Poverty and declining of writing culture are two good reasons
why writing is on the decline in the country. These are the
impediments that often frustrate writers.
Many Nigerians are poor and unhappy. It is when the heart
is merry and relaxed that ideas can thrive. Another factor
is that writing does attract immediate financial reward. How
can someone struggling to survive and provide himself with
basic necessities of life have enough time to write? Many
people go about with unpublished manuscripts, but have no
money to publish them. Meanwhile, no publisher is ready to
accept creative works, however beautiful.
The dearth of reading culture is another problem. But I believe
that it is not strong enough to deter people from writing.
A passionate writer would always write, without bothering
about whether his works receive attention or not.
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