Q: What’s your name and where are you from?

A:  My name is Ewa Gerald Onyebuchi. I am from Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

Q: Talk about your journey as a writer. Was there any inspiration you can recall that started it all? When did you know writing was a passion for you?

A:  Writing for me was revelatory. I remember spending a few weeks in our shared cramped room, reading Buchi Emecheta’s Joys of Motherhood, mostly because it was one of the recommended literary texts for our Junior WAEC at the time. That book did to me what Chimamanda’s Half of a Yellow Sun would do many years later: transported me into a world of immense possibilities. And I could feel all the emotions, almost at the same time: pain, joy, rage, and sadness. At one point, I didn’t understand the need for that title, couldn’t reconcile the title with the depth of suffering the main character, Unuego, was exposed to. It didn’t make sense at the time, until years later, I decided to reread the book, and discovered that the title was, perhaps, right for the book. Maybe Joys of Motherhood was designed that way; to take both the glory and shame. I feel Joys of Motherhood nudged open a door to the vast landscape of storytelling, and the power the mind of a writer exudes. And that power, that unfathomable ability, lies in the creative prowess of a writer’s mind.

Q: Have you had any formal education in writing? If yes, what did you find most useful from the education? If no, how did you learn everything you currently know about writing?

A: No, I haven’t had any formal education in writing. I believe as writers, we grow by reading others, immersing ourselves in the stories told before, stories that delight us in their originality and language, learning and relearning, until we get better at it.

Q: Do you have a writer’s group that you work with? What other resources have you found that help you out?

A: I am a writer who liked working alone until recently. I enjoy my space a lot, and of course, community can be quite distracting if not geared towards the right cause. And so, I thought of the idea of community and after giving it a chance, I discovered that it isn’t a bad idea after all. Currently, I belong to a small niche of fantastic writers. And because I believe what we’re doing is so important, I’m always giddy with excitement each time we meet online, every Saturday, to share and discuss stories, essays, craft; ranting about life and the frustrating conditions of adulting, especially within Nigeria.

Q: Talk about one of your favorite pieces you’ve written. Why is that one your favorite?

A:  Sometimes, I’m too critical of myself. As such, I rarely fantasize about my published stories, maybe because I’m quick to spot red flags in the stories, while thinking of ways to improve on them. Of all my published stories, I think I love “While The World Slept,” published by Ubwali Literary Magazine. I had to tell that story because I felt there were not many stories that spoke to the blight of terrorism in the northern region of Nigeria. We talk about wars in Palestine, Congo, but sometimes, it appears as though the world has shut its ears against places like Borno, Adamawa, in Nigeria, ravaged by the blotches of terrorism and its insidious effects.

Q: What does your writing process look like?

A:  I write and then edit thereafter.

Q: What do you do for work? What other hobbies or interests do you have besides writing?

A: I enjoy taking long walks around the estate, inhaling the evening breeze wafting around me.

Q: As we all know, most people make little to no money for their writing, yet it’s still an important part of any writer’s life. How do you make time to write? Is there a particular time of day you prefer to write?

A: Writing will not foot the bills, at least not instantly. I do not have a kind of writing formula mapped out for me. Oftentimes, I write when I feel the prickly sensation of ideas on my skin. Strange huh? But this has been the process for me. I know when a story is ready to be told; I don’t force it. Also, I enjoy writing at the break of dawn, you know, that brief moment of calm by your window, with the world just crawling out of slumber.

Q: What are you currently reading?

A:  I’m currently reading a number of things: from short stories, poems, essays and interviews.

Q: Are you currently working on any projects you want to talk about?

A: Nothing much. Just a few essays and trying to put together a collection of short stories.

Q: What is one piece of advice you can offer to new writers?

A: This is probably one of the cliche advice to give, but please, read. And write. And then read again. Read in-between lines and sentences, study the story’s structure and thematic approach, understand how language is being explored.