Why I love fiction

At my book reading, I am pretty sure someone asked ‘why I write’ or ‘how I manage to write’ – whichever it was, my response would have been the same. However, what I reflected on much later that week was why I love to read and write fiction more than anything else, any other type of writing. This is what I came up with:

Fiction is the one place where writers can tell the truth – messy, complicated truth – without restraint. Unlike academic writing, non-fiction or polite conversation, fiction doesn’t demand that I speak with references, explain myself and try not to be misunderstood. It doesn’t ask me to be politically correct, or to sound credible in the eyes of some distant, judging crowd. You might ask – ‘Oh, what about radical journalism? Sure, journalism can challenge just about anything. But even then, the journalist is still bound by facts, proof, and the need to be believed. Fiction, on the other hand, doesn’t beg to be believed. It only asks that you feel and pay attention.

An author and her baby

In stories, I can pour in all my observations – the awkward, the painful, the hilarious – and watch them come alive through characters who are free to be anything and everything: petty, uppity, noble, absurd, selfish, kind. And no one blames me for what they say or do. That’s the beauty of it. Fiction gives a safe distance, but also a powerful voice.

Because let’s be honest, there are people in the real world we watch with repulsion and cannot correct. People we admire but cannot approach. People in our real lives. Systems in our real world that we cannot question. But in fiction, there are no such restraints. In stories, we show hate without guilt. Love without fear. Vulnerability without shame. Fiction gives us that.

Yeye - Salewa's Bane

In my novel – The Ways We Fought – of course, all the characters are claimed fully and fondly by me (LOL). Yet there are those I empathised more deeply with as a reader, and one of them – a rather minor character – was Yeye (e shock you? Yeah, anyone who has read the book would likely be surprised). But isn’t it funny the things women will get blamed for – like the complacency and feebleness of a man? It doesn’t take much for a woman to be labelled a witch either. Sometimes, just existing too boldly is enough. What do you do when that’s how you’re perceived in your community? Do you stay and fight the narrative, or do you pack up your children and run? Is there the right thing to do, or are you a villain no matter what path you choose? Maybe it’s best to embrace being a villain after all; if they won’t respect you, then they should fear you. Was this perhaps the becoming of Yeye?

You see?! That’s why I love stories, first as a reader and also as a writer, not just for what they tell us about the world, but for what they allow us to feel about it.

Do you read fiction? Do you love it? Which fictional character (and from which book) has lived in your head rent-free since the day you met them?

You can now pick up copies at these locations in Abuja

Picture credit: Yeye – AI generated