Reading is a good source of inspiration - Luqman Adewale Alawode

Reading is a good source of inspiration - Luqman Adewale Alawode

Luqman Adewale Alawode is the Director of Studies at initiative for Sound Education, Relationship & Health (ISERH), In this interview with Wole Adedoyin, the initiator of the global anthology tagged War Against Fake News, an anthology that seeks to eradicate the spread of fake news across the globe shared with us his literary life, activism and other facts surrounding his writing career.

SYNW: WHY ARE YOU A POET?

LAA: This is a big question, being a poet I can say is not a conscious effort for me, it is a journey I can't really trace back but somehow it started while I was in secondary school. I love writing especially making short words/sentences that is full of meanings. Also poetry or writing per say is my passion, I do it effortlessly and with or without being noticed.

SYNW:  WHAT POETS DO YOU ADMIRE?

LAA: Oh! To be candid, I cannot say precisely. As Yoruba would say "if a child has not been to another person's farm he will claim his father's farm is the biggest", if you haven't read from some writers you would think the ones you have read from are the best. My exposure to various literary societies has made me appreciate and admire writers generally. In short, if you are a committed writer, I admire you. It is not easy to pour your mind on a piece of paper, just for others to be entertained or learn.

SYNW: WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

LAA: You mean what inspires me to write? I draw inspirations from happenings around me. Look at our country and the world at large, you will agree with me that we have a whole lot of inspirations on daily basis except if we are lazy to discover them. In short, the society and events are my major inspirations.

SYNW: TELL US ABOUT A NORMAL WORKING DAY.

LAA: Every day is working day for me, I write anywhere and anytime as long as I am inspired.

SYNW: HOW DO YOU WRITE?

LAA: I have three major gadgets; my phone, my exercise book and laptop so it all depend on where I am when I am inspired or when notable event take place but I never allow any thought or event pass me by without jotting it down.

SYNW: WHAT’S YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND A POEM?

LAA: Poem is the arrangement of best words in the best order, so it is not something that one can just dabble into if he doesn't have the skill. A drop of water makes an ocean, so also is poem one have to start somehow and anyhow with time the person will graduate to a more professional level.

SYNW:  DESCRIBE YOUR ROUTE TO BEING PUBLISHED…

LAA: This is just like Yoruba's proverb that says "if you want to see the teeth of an elder, ask about her husband". This is a very tough and rough journey because the conventional publishers are not helping but thank God for internet, it is now easy and easier to publish through online websites like amazon, okadabooks etc

SYNW: WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO AN ASPIRING POET?

LAA: To be a good writer you must be a good reader. Read, read and read, reading is a good source of inspiration and make sure you write everyday even if it is just a stanza in the case of poem, a chapter in the case of prose and/or a scene or dialogue in the case of drama

SYNW: WHAT (IF ANY) SORTS OF EDITORIAL CHANGES DID THE MANUSCRIPT GO THROUGH? DID YOU WORK THROUGH THESE WITH YOUR AGENT AND/OR EDITORS WITHIN THE PUBLISHING HOUSE?

LAA: Well, no one is an island of knowledge. It is the best practice as far as I am concern to have a third party read through your work before you think of publishing otherwise it may be full of errors or passive words. I noticed in my writing journey that if you write and you edit you are likely going to see little or no error unlike when you have a third party reading and editing it for you. 

SYNW: FINAL QUESTION (PROMISE!): DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR THE YET-TO-BE-PUBLISHED WRITERS READING THIS? 

My advice is that they should not be in a hurry to publish and never allow money to drive their ambitions otherwise if money did not come their pens will run dry. Another thing is when they are writing they should put their audience in mind, fine it is their work but anything that does not appeal to your audience is rubbish. They should make sure they carry their audience along.

SYNW: TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR WRITING ROUTINE; WHAT’S A TYPICAL WRITING DAY FOR YOU?

LAA: Sincerely, I do not have a specific day that I write, I write virtually everyday as long as I am inspired. In fact I feel incomplete if I do not write.

SYNW: WHERE DO YOU WRITE FROM?

LAA: I write anywhere even if it is to use my phone's note pad or other electronic devices.

SYNW: ON THIS TOPIC, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO BUILD A PLATFORM AND GAIN READERSHIP?

LAA: I join writers’ platforms. If you want to be widely read, join writers platform like ANA, SYNW, WGM etc also participate in anthologies 

SYNW: FAVORITE MOVIE?

LAA: I don't really have favourite movie but I love Yoruba movies generally 

SYNW: BEST PIECE(S) OF WRITING ADVICE WE HAVEN’T DISCUSSED?

LAA: As a writer, you are the mouthpiece of your society, speak well of them through your pen

SYNW: SOMETHING PERSONAL ABOUT YOU PEOPLE MAY BE SURPRISED TO KNOW?

LAA: Nothing per say, I am a very open person with little or no secret

SYNW: WHAT’S NEXT?

LAA: Hhhhhmmmmmmm the next thing on my mind right now is my upcoming anthology; it is a global anthology that features people from twelve countries. I tag it War Against Fake News.

For more information about Society of Young Nigerian Writers, kindly send your mail to societyofyoungnigerianwriters@gmail.com or woleadedoyin@gmail.com or call +2348072673852

To be a good writer, always spend more time reading than you spend writing - Albert Afeso Akanbi

To be a good writer, always spend more time reading than you spend writing - Albert Afeso Akanbi

Albert Afeso Akanbi was born in Nigeria on 31st March, 1982. A writer & filmmaker, he holds a B.Sc. in Economics from Delta State University, Abraka, a certificate in filmmaking from High 

Definition Film Academy, Abuja, Nigeria and participated in the 2017 RNTC Media institute in the Netherlands Persuasive Storytelling and Journalism programme, In this short interview with Wole Adedoyin, he speaks on his life and writing.

SYNW: WHY DO YOU WRITE?

AAA: I write because I look at the world around and I feel moved by what I see.  There is much beauty as well as sorrow, so much laughter as well as tears, people want answers to questions they can't answer themselves, people want to hear the stories of others so as to know they are not alone in what they are going through...it is the duty of the scribe, writer or storyteller to make this happen, we freeze times for future generations, we are the memory of the world, this awareness is my biggest inspiration for writing.   

SYNW: WHICH NOVELISTS DO YOU ADMIRE?

AAA: The list of novelists or let me say writers that I admire cuts across all genre, cultures, place and time. For lack of space, I'll mention just a few here: The late Dr Carl Sagan, Dan Brown, late Chinua Achebe, late Mario Puzo, to mention a few. 

SYNW: DESCRIBE THE ROUTE TO YOUR FIRST NOVEL BEING PUBLISHED…

AAA: The story of route to my first publication *Cold Black Night* is an interesting one. Long story short, I had been writing for a few years, albeit as a young inexperienced, unpublished youth until I met someone who told me I could actually go commercial with my writing since the stuffs I had been writing and giving to friends to read were very interesting. Then I was working with the private sector, I adhered to the advise, created time and quickly went online and looked for some publishers, I contacted a few and then Rasmed Publishers in Ibadan, Oyo State responded, and the rest is history. 

SYNW: HOW HAS HAVING A PUBLISHER HELPED YOU?

AAA: For a young unpublished writer, getting a conventional writing contract signed with a publisher is like a statement of endorsement because it gives you this feeling that your work is good enough for it to be considered. In that sense, I think having a publisher is helpful. Even if your work was stolen, rather than feel bad, which is normal, you could actually feel a type of joy because it also proves your work is good for someone to consider stealing it. I once had that experience...

SYNW: IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU ’SERVICE’ YOUR BOOKS?

AAA: I don't think I get the meaning of the word "service" correctly, but if it has to do with promoting ones books and works, I think the use of social media is one ready and easy to use tool. 

SYNW: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO AN ASPIRING NOVELIST?

AAA: Keep writing, don't look back, stay focused, believe in yourself, trust in GOD, spend more time reading than you spend writing...

SYNW: WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? ARE THERE ANY AUTHORS (LIVING OR DEAD) THAT YOU WOULD NAME AS INFLUENCES?

AAA: I am currently reading Why We Struck, a story about the first Nigerian coup by Adebayo Adegboyega, I just finished reading Emeka by Federick Forsyth, a story about the life of the late Biafran warlord  Odumegwu-Ojukwu. 

SYNW: WHAT WAS THE BOOK THAT MOST INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE — AND WHY?*

AAA: The late Dr Carl Sagan's books, like Broca's Brain which I first read as a teenager, have really shaped my life. Though a scientist, though an atheist, Carl Sagan's moral code was light years above that of a great many religious leaders of his day and today, and they often appear in his works. 

SYNW: WHAT ARE YOUR 10 FAVORITE BOOKS —AND WHY?*

AAA: Like I said, my books cut across different cultures, time and place. Here's a list. 

1. Broca's Brain

2. Pale Blue Dot

3. Cosmos

4. Dragons of Eden

5. Mummurs of Forgotten Ancestors

6. Naked Sun 

7. Godfather 

8. Things Fall Apart 

9. Chariots of the Gods and 

10. The Return of the Gods. 

These are some of my favourite books because they show us who we really are and who we should be. 

 SYNW: FAVORITE FILMS?

Apocalyptic by Mel Gibson. 

SYNW: FAVORITE MUSIC?

AAA: I love Rock n Roll brand of music, the band Coldplay is my favourite band, and currently my favourite track is Church from their latest album, Everyday Life.

SYNW: IF YOU HAD A BOOK CLUB, WHAT WOULD IT BE READING — AND WHY?

AAA: Well, we would be reading books by the aforementioned authors and it's because, such books speaks to human conscience and are like an awakening agent, and giving the current situation in Nigeria, I believe we need that. 

SYNW: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS TO GIVE — AND GET — AS GIFTS?

AAA: Anything book on the subject of the philosophical aspect of morality. 

SYNW:  GIVE US THREE "GOOD TO KNOW" FACTS ABOUT YOU. BE CREATIVE. TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR WRITING.

AAA: I love truth, I believe in showing care to the next person, and I believe my duty on Earth is to play my part in making it a better place than I met it. 

And this is what inspires my writing, the need to help as many people as I can understand the reason why I do this and imbibe them if they can. 

SYNW: WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT YOUR READERS TO KNOW? CONSIDER HERE YOUR LIKES AND DISLIKES, YOUR INTERESTS AND HOBBIES, YOUR FAVORITE WAYS TO UNWIND — WHATEVER COMES TO MIND.*

AAA: I believe everything is said already in the body of this interview but I'd like my readers to know that, we are called or created to pursue our purpose, love GOD and neighbour, and leave a mark that will make the world a better place than they met it, because life is too short for anything less. 

SYNW INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH SERIES (FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, 2020)

For more information about Society of Young Nigerian Writers, kindly send your mail to societyofyoungnigerianwriters@gmail.com or woleadedoyin@gmail.com or call +2348072673852