January 25, 2014.
Today’s
Creative Academy session was moderated by Prof. Mike Kuria of Daystar
University. The topic was Finding Inspiration and how to structure your ideas;
facilitated by both Kinyanjui Kombani and Richard Crompton- renowned authors.
The session was relaxed unlike the usual formal lecture setting; all were sited
in a circle, and asked questions which were addressed satisfactorily.
In
attendance were John Sibi-Okumu an actor and journalist, Mwalimu Andrew a humor columnist
with the Sunday Nation; Edward Khaemba the voice director of XYZ show, Ng’ang’a
Mbugua- a journalist and writer of Different Colours among other books and a
diverse audience of aspiring writers.
Inspiration seems to come from different quarters for different authors.
Kinyanjui who is the writer of The Last Villains of Molo; said that he gets his inspiration from daily
life, reading other authors and even listening to music. Crompton shared of how
real life issues of the 2007 election and the violence thereafter inspired him
to write his debut novel, The Honey Guide. As it emerged, they
both have a lot in common, like having a board where they write their ideas on,
as they develop their books.
On how to remain faithful to the plot and still
capture the audience’s attention to the end, Crompton said, “Plot is the most
important and least important tool to a writer. To make your story believable,
you may need to change your plot at some point, but make sure it has an ending.
Readers also need to have a reason to pick your book- theme”. Kombani also
focuses on developing characters, not so much on the plot. As it emerged, there
is no single rule to writing.
Next week we shall be discussing telling our stories
across generations with authors Muthoni Likimani, Binyavanga Wainaina and Alex
Nderitu. Come join us at #CreativesAcademy.
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