WINDHOEK– South African writer Piet Van Rooyen argues that research can disturb the balance of a good book and advises new and young writers to strike a balance between word of mouth information and scientific research.
Van Rooyen, a professor in Political Science in his home country, shared his experience as a writer during a writer’s dialogue at the Word Fest that took place at a local restaurant, advising writers to find their “Hartland”.
A “Hartland” as he describes it is that particular place that speaks to your heart making it easier for you to write. “It is often a problem when a writer finds themselves in a place where the situation does not speak to their hearts. A character must speak to you.” According to van Rooyen, his writing started when he was at school, he could tell because his teachers were quite impressed with his compositions. But it was only when he took a girlfriend when he started writing in earnest and also started working on his first poetry anthology.
“It is very difficult to know which particular thing you are good at. Often many people die without knowing what they were good at” he says warning that writing requires hard work and commitment, especially novels that requires a lot of time, and publishing this novel can also take a good few months. “One of the things that can ensure the success of a debut is when it tells a strong story of someone . . . the life story of a person,” he says. “If you want to tap into someone’s experiences, try and get an idea that would most likely interest people, something they want to read about,” he explains adding that people become uncomfortable when writers delve too deep into their characters’ lives.
By Jemima Beukes