Wole Adedoyin interviews Edward Edmond Eduful: New Writers must Maintain Their own Writing Identity

WA: TELL US ALL ABOUT YOUR WRITING BACKGROUND- WHAT YOU’VE WRITTEN, WHAT YOU’RE CURRENTLY WRITING?
EDWARD: My passion for writing started in secondary school, but I shelved the thought because of my love for accounting. After graduating from the university, I couldn’t control the urge to hold off writing. My first article titled The National Service Hitches, was published in the Daily Graphic, a well-read newspaper in Ghana in 2008. I can’t describe the feeling that seeped through me when I saw my first article in print. It has been an exciting journey since. The newspaper, including its affiliate daily, The Mirror, would continue publishing my subsequent articles: What Happens To Ghana2008 Volunteers?; Job Experience- A Threat to Employment; Kintampo Waterfalls UnderSiege?; National Service Secretariat, Why?; Preaching in Public Transport; Society MustFight This Canker; Mothers’ Fortitude, among others.My novels: The Morning After Sundown; The Marriage Market; Kofi James, and On the Verge can be found on Amazon and Bookfusion- https://Amazon.com/author/eddylinto and https://bookfusion.com/books/3066169-on-the-verge respectively. I am currently working on “The Righteous Sinner”, a 1980s story about a young man, Nguzi, whose betrothed fiancée, Kazidi, has been forcibly abducted by a powerful king because of her moon-clad beauty. The only way to liberate her is through Bugaati, a young boy with an extraordinarily stealing prowess. Nguzi offers to buy Bugaati outright with gold bars. His father accepts, but his mother objects. Imagine how it pans out...

WA: WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT A PIECE OF WRITING?
EDWARD: In writing, it is a journey to an unknown world of endless possibilities, with numberless ‘transportation systems to your destination’. Choosing the right words, painstakingly, arriving at your destination, thus, reaching the goal of satisfying my audiences or readers after a morsel of word transforms into understandably readable pages that fill a void excites me whenever I take a writing journey.

WA: WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS AND WHY?
EDWARD: I have a lot of writers I enjoy reading their books. My favourite ones are:Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell), Chinua Achebe, Ernest Hemingway, Steve Jacobs, Peter Abrahams, and Ama Atta Aidoo. These writers would transport me to a world I seemed not to belong at the initial stage. In the end, I absorbingly fit in as a 'resident' without bothering about anything with their illustrative, human-centred figures of speech and word constructions.

WA: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO NEW WRITERS STARTING OUT?
EDWARD: It is great to read more about renowned authors and to learn something from them. New writers must maintain their own writing identity, thus, to be themselves. Success takes time. Research and read more. Getting published does not take a day. You need to hone your skills. There is nothing like failure in writing. Where there is a roadblock, retreat and analyse your manuscripts- proofread and edit to meet readers tastes and publishers requirements.

WA: WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE?
EDWARD: Going to writers conferences and workshops, and listening to conversations at parties, funerals, and how family members behave gives me the buzz when I have alone-time to visualise things.

WA: DO YOU HAVE A WRITING ROUTINE?
EDWARD: I have set up a writing space. Each day, at dawn, I spend two to three hours reading my manuscripts. In the night, before going to bed, I spend not less than an hour reviewing what I had put down in the morning.

WA: HOW, WHEN AND WHY DID YOU FIRST START WRITING?
EDWARD: The harmattan was blazing on the evening of November 2007 when I set out to write about the delay and truncation of national service allowance payment. I had to write since we had just graduated from the university and our livelihood was the allowance. We needed the money badly because most of the service persons had travelled from Accra to Kintampo, a town about 326 kilometres away, and were without money.

WA: WHAT WAS THE FIRST PIECE YOU EVER PUBLISHED?
EDWARD: I was doing my national service back in 2007/2008. The authorities had truncated our first allowance, insisting that service persons had reported late to their assigned workplaces. I wrote a feature- The National Service Hitches- in the Daily Graphic, the most circulated and renowned newspaper in Ghana, to respectfully draw to the attention of the national service authority that the late reporting was due to their reposting, which had delayed our early reporting. Gratefully, our allowance was paid across the country after the publication.

WA: DO YOU ADDRESS PARTICULAR THEMES OR ISSUES IN YOUR WRITING?
EDWARD: Addressing particular themes or issues is a mainstay of every writing. The issues are the ‘variable’ that seeks to address the needs of the readers or audiences; without it, much would not be achieved.

WA: HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED SENDING YOUR WRITING OUT INTO THE WORLD?
EDWARD: It was a dream come true for me. Seeing my first article published in the dailies was a heartening moment for me. It led me to take my writing seriously.

WA: WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FROM?
EDWARD: I get ideas from interaction with friends and family, research, extensive reading, notes-taking as I take a walk, and visualisations.

WA: HOW DID YOU GET YOUR PUBLISHER?
EDWARD: I self-published at the initial stage. Later, through online upgrade and searches, I got Amazon to publish my books. Pan African Writers Association and Access Publishers in Nigeria would print both hard and soft copies of my stories on the writing contest on open defecation: Toilet Paradise and Abiola Boomerangs: Builds Toiletby the end of 2023.

WA: TELL US WHAT KIND OF RESPONSES YOU GET FROM AUDIENCES/READERS.
EDWARD: I often receive mixed responses from my audiences or readers, notably constructive criticisms. These often spur me on to correct mistakes and research my subsequent writings. They serve as a ‘reservoir’, a ‘goading rod’ of go-to not to repeat mistakes made in the past. Where praises are due, they don’t hold them back.

WA: HOW CAN PEOPLE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YOU?
EDWARD: In August 2023, I was happy to have won a publishing contract with the Pan African Writers Association/ Access publishers- https://www.9jaliterature.com/2023/08/pawa-list-of-successful-manuscripts-for.html. I am on two online websites: https://Amazon.com/author/eddylinto and https://bookfusion.com/books/3066169-on-the-verge.

WA: TIPS, TRICKS, AND THINGS TO PASS ON TO DEDICATED WRITERS?
EDWARD: At least set aside valuable time of your busy schedule within the week to have routine writing goals. Never give up when the going becomes tough. Joining writing groups and attending writers conferences, workshops, and talks would rekindle, shape, and remind you of your writing prospect.

WA: ANY TYPICAL/COMMON MISTAKES THAT NEW WRITERS TEND TO MAKE?
EDWARD: At times, the angle (point of view) gets twisted from the start, which does not allow the subsequent paragraphs to interweave the starting point. Complex conflict, a plot not well set out, characters lacking purpose, poor dialogues, and misuse of contractions are just a few mistakes new writers are prone to.

WA: WHICH OF YOUR BOOKS WERE MOST ENJOYABLE TO WRITE?
EDWARD: I have written a few books. The Morning After Sundown, The Marriage Market, and Kofi James remain treasured books I have written.

WA: TELL US ABOUT YOUR FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK. WHAT WAS THE JOURNEY LIKE?
EDWARD: My first published book was On The Verge, 2015; it was self-published. It was exciting to take the first step and accomplish and publish my first book. It was a dream come true. That was when I had to learn about ISBN, barcodes, copyrights, and marketing. Aside from the financial constraints, it was a worthwhile experience; it helped me on my later writing projects to manoeuvre my way through the registration processes, unlike the first time. I had to go to selected schools in Accra with copies. I made some negligible sales, though, as a first-timer.

WA: WHAT IS THE KEY TEAM AND /OR MESSAGE IN THE BOOK?
EDWARD: There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for some who are drowning in the debauched lifestyle- overdrinking, drug peddling, womanising, and banditry. These individuals can turn their lives around when assisted by honest-hearted people who never give up on them. They can become assets in the community by helping those steeped in their bad ways.

WA: WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ONLINE?
EDWARD: I am on Amazon: https://Amazon.com/author/eddylinto and Book Fusion- https://bookfusion.com/books/3066169-on-the-verge. Facebook:  https://m.facebook.com/edward.edmond.14LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-edmond-116323244

Edward Edmond Eduful is a creative writer who has authored, among others, the following novels- “The Marriage Market”, “Kofi James”, “The Morning After Sundown”, and “On The Verge”. He is a Business Management graduate of the University of Cape Coast. He is a member of the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) and a chartered accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana. He is versed in corporate income tax, VAT, withholding tax, PAYE, and management accounts. In this interview with Wole Adedoyin, he talks about his passion for writing.