Join me on another chit chat interview with one of our own, the Pebble in the Pond. It is about to be a spectacular one, let’s go!!!
1.Good day prolific writer, hope you’re having a splendid day? As a form of introduction, kindly tell the audience your name, writing name and a little bit about yourself
Yeah, I had a great day. My name is Bismarck Faola, my writing name is ‘Pebble in the Pond’. I am part 5 medical student, a writer, a reader and the past Editor-in-Chief of Medivoice. I love reading, writing, sleeping and taking walks.
2.What inspired your pen name “Pebble in the Pond”?
The name Pebble in the Pond was inspired by a character in one of my favourite books. When a pebble is dropped in a pond, it causes ripples that spread across all parts of the water. I like to see myself as someone whose life touches everyone around me, hence the reason I chose that name.
3.Could you give a brief run through your writing journey, as to when you started, how it has been, and where it is currently at?
My writing journey started in 2020. I always had the urge to write, and this officially started during the COVID period when I started playing around with words, writing about my day, and it’s been really good. Overtime, I have been able to see great pieces come to life, effectively translating my thoughts to words. I have won quite a number of prices from it, and it has made me some cool dough too, along the way.
4.What has been your favourite write-up and how was it like writing on it?
My favourite write-up till now is “Bequeathed”. I wrote it in June 2021 for a mini competition which I won. I loved it because I was able to infuse my respect for my favourite author into it, continuing in his steps. It was blissful and I enjoyed writing it.
5.’Writers block’ is considered normal for writers. What do you think about this, have you ever experienced it, and how do you get past it?
To be frank I am of the opinion that it doesn’t exist. Well, one might say there are periods of low motivation, laziness, or lack of desire to go on. But calling it writers block, I have never accepted it. Even as a widely used terminology, there is a lot of controversy about it in the writing world that it really doesn’t exist. You can probably describe it as lack of motivation or inspiration but most times, it is the absence of the desire to complete what you’ve started. It’s just a fancy way of being lazy.
6.A fancy way of being lazy, I guess I love that description. So, there is a statement that ‘writers are readers, and readers are writers’. What do you think of this?
I am of the opinion that readers are writers, but writers might not be readers. Readers are writers because it is almost rare for you to see someone who reads and has never penned down one or two ideas . What reading does is that it exposes you to the beautiful ideas, and the world that exists in people’s mind. With this, you get a dilution of your own perspective and you write it down.Not all writers are readers, moreso, with the advent of AI, most people don’t read anymore, they just write with AI.
7. How do you manage to successfully merge your leadership and academic lifestyles together with your writing career?
It has made me climb the ladder of leadership in a club I love so much, and presently I am probably taking a break, but it’s still there.
8. What’s your favorite book genre?
My favourite genre is Adventure. I love adventure novels, especially magic adventures. It might be cliche, but I do love it
9. Any advice for up and coming writers, who are still ‘green’, and are trying to navigate their way?
My advice for up and coming writers is that they should read a lot more, and then try as much as possible to write everyday. If you feel your morale going down while reading soft copies or hard copies, move to audio books. In all you do, don’t stop reading.
10.Now, for a bit of controversy, what’s your preference ‘Nigerian or American books’, and why?
I think I am going to be a bit biased here, because I mostly read American books. Although, at the Medivoice book convention, I saw people relating with a lot of Nigerian books, and I felt left out. So, I made up my mind to read more Nigerian books going forward. But for now, I am an American book person, probably because I had more access to them growing up as regards the soft copies, compared to Nigerian books.
Thank you so much for your time Pebble in the Pond. This was an interesting session, and cheers to more in the near future.
You are welcome, it was my pleasure.
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