Chijioke Osuji is a writer, photographer and poet. In this interview, he talks about his work process, challenges, and more. Excerpts:
How did your walk as an artist begin?
My journey into art began with writing in 2012, during the nationwide ASSU strike which lasted for six months. That proved to be enough time for me to develop a genuine interest, which started as a form of exploration and expression of personal frustration. Next, I started to learn photography and filmmaking, after which I picked up the camera and delved into documentary photography. A lot of my work captures mundane and fascinating individuals and sites. I believe it is only a matter of time before people’s frustrations gain expression, either in music, writing, photography or other forms of art. Writing is my anchor point in terms of my identity as an artist.
When I started writing, it was a daunting challenge. I never imagined I could write a book because the thought of working on over a hundred pages was discouraging. So I simply decided to take out time every day to pen down certain experiences. Interestingly, my first writing day was in my grandmother’s store room, after she passed away. I tried to hold myself accountable and poured out my heart.
What challenges have you experienced as a writer?
While writing in my grandmother’s store room, I lost some of my work and that affected me. Nevertheless, I picked on from there and moved on to the next experience. Today, I and my team have a digital publishing platform called ‘Thembari’ where published my books in audio format.
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Why audio?
It helps people listen while they do other activities. I want people to listen, because it has an entirely different feeling. So far, it’s been challenging because we are having to learn the nuances involved in getting people to listen to the book.
How do you handle writer’s block?
I see writers block as the construct of the mind, and that’s not to say that it’s not reality. When I experience writers block, I focus on something else for a moment. I could play a video game, go for a run or watch a movie. The key point is to discipline and bring yourself back to the position where you left. You have to make writing like a circle for every day. For instance, if I write today and feel really good about it, I would write tomorrow and continually despite the circumstance.
You authored a memoir titled ‘The Third World Millennial’. What is it about?
The book is a collection of essays where I delved into my own life. I picked out specific encounters and experiences in my own life. It’s like a critique of my own life, amidst all the challenges that come with living in a third world country and the reality of growing up as a millennial. Essentially, they are various essays of me trying to make sense of the world, my world, my experiences, my mistakes, my shame and my principles. In the book, I write about writing the book itself. I expressed myself truthfully.
What lessons have you learnt or had to teach yourself and how has that helped you?
What I have learnt so far is to be patient and stay true to myself. A lot of people tend to mimic others, which overtime sometimes results into a passionless career. The key is to identify what makes you happy and stick with it because anything worthwhile takes time.
It is important to be disciplined as a writer. You could have a word count target. It could be five hundred words or one thousand words per day or a week depending on how fast you choose to go. Completing a body of work is a marathon, not a sprint, it requires patience with your process, patience with your work and openness to learn.