
It is no secret that I have been struggling with writing lately. It takes me a lot longer to come up with what to write about. Previously, I could draft a full body of work in less than 10 minutes but lately it has been taking me days, weeks and even months to come up with something new. This is not because I have run out of things to say or things to write about. I still do have things to write about. A lot actually. The difference between now and then is more to do with how I feel than not having what to write.
What do I mean? I once wrote an essay on the relationship between sadness and creativity. The relationship between the two, I concluded, was that it is easier for me to write when I’m sad compared to when I’m happy. It’s easier to give negative feelings or emotions names. It’s easier to describe them. My vocabulary is quite limited when I have to describe happiness but very wide when I have to describe sadness.
This is not because I have experienced more sadness than joy but maybe because when I feel negative emotions, they overwhelm me and I desperately need an outlet so I’m quick to grab my journal. There are many happy moments I haven’t journaled about simply because writing about them wasn’t coming naturally. Did you know that some of the best or widely recognized creatives did their best work in moments of sadness or depression? Sylvia Plath. Van Gogh. Virginia Wolf. That sucks.
So, because I haven’t been sad for a while and I’m definitely not depressed, I am learning to write from a place of Joy. As I was looking at the themes for the Afrobloggers Winter ABC 2023, I looked at this week in particular and it was about “a spark that makes you, you.” After much thought and debating on whether I will take part in the challenge this year after I failed miserably last year, I decided I would try.
I’m writing today because my spark isn’t sadness or depression. I’m writing because the very first time I wrote, I was happy. That’s the spark I’m choosing to light. The one that believes that even happiness can be written in the most beautiful, artistic and creative way. The spark that believes that my best work won’t come from sadness and the one that believes that we all deserve to be happy. We deserve to be happy and creative.

With that said, I’ll be taking part in the Afrobloggers Winter African Blogging Challenge 2023 (Winter ABC) this year. The idea is to write a post every weekday for the month of June. I’m not 100% sure I will make it through all those days but I will do my best. I’m doing this because one of the times I felt amazing about blogging was the last time I seriously took part in the Winter ABC. There was joy then and there will be joy now.
I will put all posts in this challenge in one place so you can find them whenever you need to. I’m also very excited to read from bloggers old and new. It’s aways fun to see the many different ways one theme can be interpreted.
I will be back tomorrow!
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Wonani Xx