By Friday I. Ejilogo
Once upon a time, the familiar phrase made popular by its use at the beginning of folk tales the world over, acquired new meaning as the theme of Abuja Writers Forum’s Free one-day Workshop for aspiring writers on Saturday, September 24, 2016.
Held at TERRAZZO, a popular relaxation and high-class events place at Port Harcourt Crescent in Garki, Abuja, the workshop attracted many budding writers from diverse backgrounds. Some came from neighbouring states; others had to give up important engagements to be there because it was just what they needed to get their writing off the ground.
Hauwa Gambo, a journalist from Kaduna bitten by the writing bug, likened her journey down to Abuja to participate in the workshop to Mohammed’s proverbial trip to the mountain because the mountain would not go to him.
“I had been yearning to attend a programme like this but there has been none in Kaduna, so when I heard of this one in Abuja, I could not afford to miss it,” she said.
The visibly exited lady was only expressing the thoughts of most of the participants.
The workshop, a brainchild of the Abuja Writers Forum (AWF), is one of the programmes the forum organises regularly to provide authors, dramatists, poets, playwrights, screenwriters and performing artistes a platform to hone their skills and air their talents. Others include the monthly Guest Writer Session which features the work of published authors, poets and playwrights; and the weekly Critique Sessions that affords writers the opportunity to have their works-in-progress reviewed by their peers.
Saturday’s workshop, the first AWF free writing workshop since the forum started its regular subsidised version, initially drew over 40 interested writers, but the number had to be pruned down as some late entrants failed to meet up with the pre-event reading list. In spite of this, the turnout was impressive. When the programme started at 9.00 a.m., the usual stiffness associated with a group of unfamiliar people meeting for the first time pervaded the air but the informal setting and Dr. Emman Shehu’s unique teaching style, in the words of Ohepo Ali, soon made the workshop “great fun and challenging.”
Built round the familiar “Once Upon A Time” start of fairy and folktales, the workshop, according to Shehu, was organised primarily “to unlock the budding writers’ creativity by leading participants to realise that everyone has a story to tell.”
Starting from, ‘Once upon a time’, he led the participants to develop the phrase into two short story outlines in a few minutes, surprising them with the realisation that each already had a story that just needed a little more effort to complete. With this story – the first for many participants – many excitedly discovered that their struggle to write had ended and that they could write after all.
