The Buzzing in my Head

For some reason the world around me seems to be buzzing lately, but it is a nerve wracking buzz with an edge of uncertainty. I feel like I am at a cross roads of some sort and I can't quite see clearly through all of the smoke and the noise that clouds my mind. Being a compulsive planner of note such a situation does not sit well with me.

In a little more than a month I'll be gone to Egypt. The preparations around this seem to fill my mind. I've sent my passport for the visa and have bought the ticket. The book I want to write there has been troubling me, so in a move to get a handle on the situation I have started the rough draft. I'm writing like a fiend, 5000-8000 words per day on the rough draft. The story is forcing its way out. It is rough and will need work, but I feel better getting out. This is helping to ease the mind noise a bit, but anticipation of the trip and what I'll find there is creating a loud noise so this small alleviation is hardly noticed.

I've been paid the first of my two big royalty cheques. It was for two short story collections prescribed for primary schools in Botswana. I co-wrote the books with two other Batswana writers. I hesitate to write the amount of the cheque, but as a service to writers who live here and are curious about such things I will do it- it was P84,000 and some change, this is in the middle of the credit crunch mind you. We had negotiated a non-royalty deducted advance paid out upon delivery of the manuscripts. I recently read a news article in The Daily News from a Setswana writer who had a book prescribed (poetry) who complained about the small amount of money he received from his book as compared to the publisher. I think his complaints were disingenuous and smack of inexperience and naivete in the publishing industry. I was more than happy with that cheque and the deal we made with the publisher.

Some of the noise in my mind is caused by the hype developing around the television series I co-wrote for PSI called Morwalela. It will soon be shown on Botswana Television (BTV) and I'm anxious to see how it will go. Combined with this is my column that will be starting the first week of April. And then there is the first romance which will be coming on in a few weeks.

Buzz, buzz, buzz- how can a writer work with all of this noise?