Creative of the Week: Abigail Arunga

Abigail Arunga (@AbigailArunga) is a passive aggressive narcissistically inclined writer who hopes her dreadlocks will one day grow to the length of Maxi Priest’s hair and acknowledges the fact that her father doesn’t think she has a real job. She hopes to someday have a lot more money than she does now by writing hella lot/winning the lottery/forcing as many people as she possibly can to buy her first – and the others that will follow – book. She is the author of Akello, a poetry collection. Formerly, she was the Digital Editor for Zuqka.com. Prior, she worked as a contributor for several local magazines such as Home and Living and Saturday Magazine. She was also a scriptwriter for the award-winning soap opera Lies that Bind. She began her writing career as an intern for Storymoja Publishers. She is a 2011 honours graduate of USIU.

1. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Always.

2. What is your creative process like?

I see something and the words come, and I write. That’s for the work I do that I like. For the writing I do that I don’t like, I procrastinate until my deadline comes and then I’m like oh shit.

3. How much do your life experiences influence your work?

In all ways life can possibly influence work; completely. My poetry is almost like a confessional. My favourite priest.

4. You are versatile as you write poetry, non-fiction as well as scripts. Is there a difference in how you approach writing for different mediums and what would you say to the skeptics who think writers should focus on one medium?

I mean, I barely write non-fiction. I’m not Owaahh. There is always a difference. With poetry I’m the most free I’ll ever be. With non-fiction I’m trying to sound like an adult. With scripts I’m just trying to get to the end. (LOL) Focus on one medium for what? If you can do more, do more. What’s with the limiting? (Provided you do them well.)

5. What are your thoughts on writing in Kenya, what challenges have you faced as a writer and how do you think we can improve on the craft?

Writing in Kenya. It’s a growing market so the opportunities are many. Which is good. But the standards can be low. Which is good if you’re lazy but bad if you’re trying to grow. Challenges? Your parents taking you seriously (LOL) and asking if you have a real job. Improve: more writers means more work to sharpen against which means better writers. At least half of the time I sell a book someone is always like, ‘Oh I used to write’ or ‘Oh I’ve always wanted to publish’. Then…write. Publish. Do it. There’s space for everyone.

6. You self-published a poetry collection, ‘Akello’. What has been the reception of the book and why did you go the self-publishing route? What was the process like?

I did. Whoop whoop! Next one is coming out in February, a slightly erotic chapbook. The reception has been what you would expect the reception for a self-published poetry book to be – a hard push. I’ve really forced people to buy this book. Poetry isn’t an easy sell. Selling it yourself isn’t an easy sell either. But I have been living off it (quit my job a few months before publishing) so it has helped me supplement my freelancer income. And I have digressed. Why self publish – because I felt like this was how I was going to get my money and my poetry’s worth. Publishing houses don’t do poetry. With that defeatist attitude, how were they possibly going to push my book? And then even after that they take like 70% of the profits? No, thank you. The process however, is not easy. You need an experienced publishing expert by your side  – in my case, my fantastically gifted cousin Ian Arunga (I like to keep it in the family) who basically did this book with me. Without him, this one wouldn’t have been out. Choosing paper? And font? Getting an ISBN number? He guided me every step of the way because there was plenty I didn’t know about.

7. What advice would you give an aspiring writer that you wish you had gotten when you were starting out?

Don’t do what everyone says you should do. Do what you truly want to do. (Like when I was told I should start performing so that my name gets out there and yet, I am truly shit at performance.)

8. What work/project are you most proud of?

Anything I do that I really like I am proud of. I’m super proud of my book, of course. I like most of my poetry, so yeah. (Also I drove to Rusinga and back in December last year for the Rusinga Festival. I felt like such an adult. A boss adult. A bawse lady.)

9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Richer. (LOL!)

Bonus Question

10. If you were a character in an existing book, who would you be and why?

Existing? Tricky. I just finished Marianna Jameson’s My Hero (Yes, it’s a romance novel. Yes, I read those. No, they’re not all bad. Marian Keyes is one of my favourite authors ever.) So since it’s the last book I read I’ll just go with that one… Maybe the lead protagonist, Miranda. She has things that I have, like general ballsiness and writing chops, and things that I want to have, like blunt and slightly painful honesty, and judo skills. (I’m lazy) Can I be Smaug just because I want to be Smaug?

You can buy Abigail’s book here and have it delivered anywhere in Kenya or abroad or on Kindle here.