Focus is important when catching dreams
This past was a very productive weekend. The post effect of productivity is a lighter heart and clearer mind. And that is embraced too, by bliss and less soul torment. On the weekend, I cleared some of the baggage that inhibits me toward an action-oriented life. For I had my many goals and dreams, which I wanted to make real at once with one energy. But on some spontaneous, albeit significant, and rare conversation with my life partner, I was told unapologetically that I waste so much energy shooting at many a star instead of concentrating it first at one star. My wife simply told me: "focus on your biggest dream that you had for a long time, and that is writing, which you're good at (she's nice to me, I know you may think differently)."
When I went to Rhodes University, after hearing of it by pure chance in some paper ad ('best journalism school in Africa' - it screamed) whilst in that back-of-the-world village, the goal was one: Go learn how to sharpen your writing skill for straight four years - and when you finish, write that killer-award-winner novel. I got there, and realised they don't teach you to write novels but rather to write (journalistic) - and the choice is yours what you do with that.
So, with my wife's weekender words in mind, I got reminded that the top of my dreams list was always crowned by one: Write a damned good novel. And I caught a wake up call that I better refocus and waiver away from some other somewhat good but distracting brand new dreams (put them off and start on this one biggest dream first). It's good I had that came-natural talk, which made me realise that I was starting to stop to see the bull's eye and my heart's appetite wandering about unguided.
Nothing wrong with focusing on many dreams, but if one of them is not taken serious enough with the laser attention it deserves, how come any of them be alchemised to reality? Think of the imagery of the alchemist. He needs to put one raw iron at a time into that furnace. For each of them needs enough heat to give in and be moulded into masterpieces.
So it is with that insight that my focus will be heavily on writing, sharpening and mastering this skill as I work on my novel and/or other books. In fact, I was already on the right way with my thoughts on two books before this weekend even cut in. But it was only yesterday that I bought a novel called Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o just to oil and rev up the machine.
If you aren't catching your dreams well yet, if you can't alchemise them and turn them into reality, how about you refocus and go big on that one long-standing dream that's so close to your heart? Would that be a bad idea? I'm trying it out.
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6 comments:
I think you will make an excellent novelist, Izz! Have you come further than your decision to resume writing or do you already have a story plan in mind?
I have a story in mind, the plan is being written down tonight. But as a matter of fact, it's all been in the works in my head for sometime since passed 3 months. Just battling to get it more focused.
Thank you for such a big vote of faith.
Hehe, I believe in you because you're hungry enough. No doubt about the skills. I started working on my novel in 1998. Put it on hold when I got involved in Eden - seriously. Not done with it, but now with my mom being sick and all, it's just got to wait. John Grisham once said in an interview that people don't make good writers until they are thirty. When I read that, I was eighteen and did not believe him. Now I sort of think: cool, I'll gather life experience and then when the time has come, I'll pick it up again, and when that day comes, I think it'll come pretty much by itself.
Good luck now!
You should complete it, if not, then start a new one for I believe your vast experience of interactions and many contrasting worlds can really teach people a thing or too in a novel. Bring it on please! Be a fellow writer.
I will Izz, truly. But not wanting to produce anything less than excellent (my constant dilemma, isn't it...) I know it's doing its job now just maturing... But I'll let you know as soon as it's up and running again.
Hey, you just said that I'm too hard on myself and that that's worrying. So I'm gonna say right back at you my friend. Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't take it too serious. Just pour your heart out on paper - and then become perfectionist when the first version of the manuscript is in your hands. That way, you will be working on something already tangible.
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