To hone one’s craft
Pic courtesy Nathanael F. Trimboli
Before she became an acclaimed author of two novels Nayomi Munaweera’s literary escapades could be found in her journal. “I didn’t start writing fiction until I was in my late twenties,” says the author. While writing took time to rub off on Munaweera, she describes herself as a voracious reader, reading everything she could get her hands on- “an important part of my training”.
Before the award winning “Island Of A Thousand Mirrors,” and more recently “What Lies Between Us”, Nayomi’s journals were practise for the writer from the age of 16. For Nayomi, “I like the idea of having a documented life even if I’m the only reader of those journals,” allowing herself an understanding of her life on page and paper.
Her literary talent first peaked when Nayomi was 14 and her teacher read a passage she had written in class. “That was a huge moment for me,” but I little thought that it would foretell a career till much later. Her unassuming nature even found herself writing her first novel in secret, keeping it to private for about a decade. But for Nayomi, a little mystery is essential for her writing process. “I think its good practice for writers to work quietly, deeply and alone for a long time,” allowing one’s vision and voice to remain their own.
Just recently, Nayomi wrapped up her work as co-facilitator for ‘Write to Reconcile.’ This year, she worked with 24 young writers, helping them hone in and explore their creative writing skills. “Our students are always shocked when both Shyam and I explain how much editing goes into making a book look effortless.” Sharing their own messy first drafts with the budding writers, she and co facilitator Shyam Selvaduarai also emphasize the importance of editing. “Each of my novels has been rewritten at least 12 times,” Nayomi admits, adding that editing is an important part of the process many young writers need to give time to.
Another, she shares, is discipline. “You have to sit and write and rewrite for years before you get something beautiful.” For the author, that’s no exaggeration, taking nine years to write her first book, and four for “What Lies Between Us”.
Nayomi’s haunting narrative style and complex, yet utterly human characters are merely the result of years of disciplined writing. “I think I wrote and wrote until the style emerged by itself,” she explains simply. But it’s no cake walk. Together with time and patience, you also need “a crazy kind of endurance and dedication to your own craft”.
When she is reading, Nayomi finds herself flipping through timeless favourites like ‘The God of Small Things’, ‘The Satanic Verses’, ‘Beloved’ and ‘ Lolita’. More recently, she was seduced by Anita Desai’s “Clear Light of Day,” after meeting the veteran author at the Kolkata Literary Festival. What drew her to it? “It’s full of gorgeous language. It’s about partition but you almost don’t realize that because you are so drawn into the characters’ lives,” she explains, clearly passionate.
These days, Nayomi is busy with a third novel. It hasn’t however released Nayomi from the sludge that it writer’s block. But she sees it less as a pitfall and more as “an occupational hazard.” In fact, Nayomi’s remedy for the black hole almost every writer dreads is to use that time to re-energize. “Fill that time by doing research, read deeply and book events,” she lists. By the end of it, “you’ll have fresh eyes for it, almost as if a stranger had written it”, allowing one to see the flaws in their work.
What writers-up and coming or now a household name should remember she believes is simply to stay humble, and “don’t be mean”. “Also don’t worry about what your mother, your aunty, your community will think” she adds. “The empty page is for you, not for them.”