The art of writing

Writing can be a very stressful and boring activity.
You sit down for hours trying to figure out the right words to put down only to end up with rejection. You put long hours of work into a piece of writing only to figure out that it's not good enough.
And the idea is something else on its own which seem to be most difficult part as some would say
Sometimes coming up with ideas prove to be most difficult especially for newbies who are just starting out in their writing career and trying to gain recognition in the publishing world. They spend hours, some even days trying to come up with ideas to engage their readers only to realize that their work isn't good enough. Publishing agents sometimes do become the real devils when it comes to writing. They make you feel you are not good enough or not up to the task and some would make you feel totally worthless.
During this periods of disappointment and anxiety, if there seize to exist the passion to move on, the zeal and energy to continue fighting for what you believe in, not because you have to but because you so desperately want to, you might just decide to quit straight away and this is just the type of situation that Raf happens to be in.



Born into a humble background, Raf new right from his childhood days he wanted to be a writer. He believes that is what he was born to be but the type of friends he found himself hanging out with made things difficult for him together with the fact that he happens to find himself living in a country where writers are undervalued.
One day in school, his English teacher decided to ask them what they wanted to become by profession and most of the students replied by saying 'doctor' 'engineer' 'pilot' and it was now Raf's turn. He stood up without hesitation and bodly, he said "writer"

"Come again !!" said the teacher while moving closer to where he stood.

"I want to become a writer " he replied back

"You want to be a whaaaaaat !!!!. A writer you call it !! You must be out of your mind "

Before he could realise the ongoing scene, he whole class burst into laughter.


Raf could never forget that incidence in his life time. Remembering the whole thing made him feel sad. His parents even made the whole thing much more difficult. They tried persuading him several times out of his decision but being a very adamant person, he couldn't give in and they resolve to use force which made him to be locked up in his room most of the time.


Raf had completed a story he wanted submitting to a literary agent for publication. He had spend long hours working on it day after day hoping for it to be his good fortune.
He figured that this would definitely be his opportunity since he is going to be submitting it to a different agent unlike the previous ones who had been turning him down several times.
"It seems you've got a nice story" said the agent after reading some of the synopsis

A moment of silence ensued between them for a while

"Have you been published before?" the agent asked after putting on his medicated round glasses

"No sir " Raf replied staring back at his feet.

"Well, your story will be reviewed within three weeks after which you will receive our feedback " the agent finally told him.

"Ok, thank you sir. I appreciate " Raf replied relieving the tension that was beginning to build inside him.



Raf couldn't stop counting the number of days left to receive his feedback. He had been thinking about what could be the possible outcome of the feedback
He analyzed all the possibilities and figured that the probable outcome would be positive since he had put in alot of energy and time
He had earlier told some of his friends about the whole thing. While some wished him luck, most of them stared back at him with the type of look that says "you are wasting your time. Grow up or be left behind "


"Hello, am I speaking with Raf? "

"Yeah. Of course you are. To whom do I speak with ?"

"Am the agent you submitted your work to"

At this point, he turned down the volume of his radio set. If there exist a means of entering the telephone, he wouldn't mind doing so

"Am so sorry we have to keep you waiting but just in case you should know, we have reviewed your work and it's a good piece of writing but am sorry to tell you that............. "

Before he could finish the sentence, Raf hanged up.


The following days saw Raf squeezed up under his blanket. He couldn't take his bath for three consecutive days and every now and then, he kept asking himself what he had done wrong to deserve the situation he found himself
He kept saying to himself "my best wasn't good enough. Maybe I should have spend more time working on it. Maybe I should have change the storyline. Maybe I was destined to fail "
Some of his friends even started panicking about his whereabouts but unknown to them, he had been in his room all the while.



"Daddy!!! Daddy!!! There is a man waiting to see you" his daughter said while sprinting towards him. Her faint little voice could be heard from a distance

"OK, I will be right there " he replied putting down the papers he was reading

He hurried towards the main door to see who it was and to his surprise, he saw one of his literary agent

"To what honour do I have this visit ?" he asked after serving him some cappuccino

"Well, I come bringing you good news. Your book is on our list of bestsellers for the following months to come and I hope you know what that means"

"Ooh my God!!!. Are you kidding me or what!!!"

"Of course am serious "

"Well, let's celebrate!!!!!!! He said out loud

Raf couldn't believe what his ears have just heard. He couldn't believe his third book on the list of bestsellers. As the pitch of his voice grew louder, his daughter came to see the ongoing scene

"Daddy!!. What's going on " she asked

"Sorry for disturbing you. Daddy is just in a very good mood " he replied while squatting down before her. He rubbed his palms on her shoulders.

"Don't worry, daddy won't disturb you again" he added

"Who would have ever thought my book would become a bestseller ten years ago" he said to the agent after glancing at the light skin of his daughter as she make her way upstairs