And there I was, sitting in a quaint first-floor flat, in the second oldest town in South Africa, my fingers tapping away furiously at my keyboard and my hand occasionally scribbling thoughts in the form of mind maps, with handwriting I knew I wouldn’t be able to decipher after a day or two. That’s how it happened. My second murder.
Very fortunate and surprised that I’m not on the SAPS radar yet. But let me be quick to explain myself before anyone decides to snitch on me. The murders are not real.
This year I had the privilege of going on a ten-day writer’s residency at De Oude Leeskamer in Stellenbosch. This opportunity came about because of an initiative from the Jakes Gerwel Foundation partnering with De Oude Leeskamer and Kwela Publishers, to give writers who are working on their second creative offerings, the opportunity to flesh out their manuscripts and take their writing one step closer to publishing a second novel. For me, it’s my second attempt at writing a publishable whodunnit.
Those who know me well have often heard me lament about how lonely the creative writing journey is. I often think this is because writing is one of those careers that can easily be categorised by non-writers as just being ‘a hobby’. As creatives, we have to put away our Superman capes, replace them with our Clark Kent spectacles, and find a day job we probably don’t like, just to pay the bills. But alas, that itch to create, create,
create is always nagging at us, and we have to make the time to put aside everything else that’s going on around us, and just write.
That’s what this residency has done for me. It offered me a quiet space to think, rethink, write, erase, rethink, scribble, get back to typing, and eventually commit another murder. Or two. This is my second residency with the Jakes Gerwel Foundation, and I must say that even though I feared that this second experience might be a lot more stressful than my first residency at the Paulette House, all apprehension flew out of my sunny room as soon as I met up with my mentor at De Oude Leeskamer.
I’ll list the similarities between the two residencies: Firstly, I was reunited with my lovely mentor, Angela Briggs, to help me better the manuscript. Secondly, my surroundings for both occasions were quiet and relaxing. You’d be amazed at how much mischief can be created on paper if there’s peace and silence around you! Being in this sort of atmosphere is a luxury, really, because many creatives in South Africa barely get opportunities to be in areas where they can just be alone with themselves and their ideas, and go wild.
The third similarity is that both residencies offer an anchor that helps steady the emotions that are so often tossed all over the place because of a lack of validation. I guess the feeling would be different for each writer. But for me, knowing that a lot of investment has gone into helping me continue to do what I love gives me confidence that I’m heading in the right direction, somehow. Having a few people in your corner, telling you that they recognise a raw talent that just needs some unearthing, is sometimes just what a writer needs to not only discover their style and preference, but to better that style and own it.
The biggest highlight for me was meeting renowned crime author Mike Nicol. In person. Not virtually or telephonically. But right there, where we could shake hands. Of course, I was a real groupie about the whole experience, but nobody was going to take that little bit of shine away from me! When Deláni Spies asked whether I would like to have a talk in the writers’ room, I recall casually shrugging and saying yes. When I was asked with whom I’d like to have the chat, my Cheshire Cat’s grin no doubt showed. I gave Mike Nicol as my first option and another writer as my second. I got my first option. Can you tell I’m still smiling?
The discussion was a full-circle moment for me, because Mike Nicol was one of the crime writers I’d read and tried to follow on social media. All those years ago, when I first came across his writing, I was unknown, never dreaming I would meet many of the writers that I have met over the past year. These two residencies have made all of that possible.
I loved every minute of my residency. Yes, there were one or perhaps two evenings where I frowned at my laptop screen, not very happy that I had spent the whole day researching and mind-mapping, only to come up with two paragraphs good enough to leave on my manuscript. But I guess every writer has those days. The overall experience, though, was more than worth it.
I wish every writer would get these types of opportunities. Can you imagine the stories out there that still need to be written? I can guarantee that everyone has, at some point, met a writer in disguise, a writer who’s had to stuff their ‘writing cape’ into a suitcase, and shove it far away into a corner somewhere because they don’t have the resources, space, and confidence to reveal themselves.
Well, I’m forever grateful to the JGF, De Oude Leeskamer and Kwela Publishers that I don’t have to stuff any capes into suitcases. I can just write.
