I may not have previously mentioned this, but I am a writer. I write short form fiction stories and as such, I have spent/am/will be spending quite a bit of time in various fiction writing classes. While I’m not entirely sure of what exactly a mentor does (I don’t think I’ve ever really had a mentor, other than my parents I suppose) I do think that a mentor is someone who you respect, whose work you respect, and who you feel you can and want to learn more from.
The person I spoke to was one of my professors, Chigozie Obioma. Professor Obioma led my Intermediate fiction writing class this semester and I will also be taking another class of his next semester. Professor Obioma is best known for his novel, The Fishermen, which was originally published in 2014 and he has another novel that is set to be released early next year, titled An Orchestra of Minorities.
Interestingly, The Fishermen won Obioma a spot on the 2015 Man Booker prize shortlist. It also earned the 2016 Nebraska book award in the fiction category, The Art Seidenbaum Award for first fiction, and the 2016 NAACP image award for outstanding debut Literary work. He has also had work published in the Virginia Quarterly Review and has written several articles for the Guardian. Yeah, #goals right?
Obioma has had a career that many writers wish for, and he’s really only just getting started. As a (hopeful) fiction writer myself being around authors, like Professor Obioma who are making a good living from their writing and are happy, is quite an inspiring thing. There’s a sense that “if he can do it, I can do it too”. It is also very reassuring to have him read my work and give me feedback on it. When I read my own writing I get frustrated because I think I can do better and I lament over the fact that I just don’t think it’s good enough but getting comments from professionals about what works really well and what could be working better does a lot to ease my anxieties. Even Obioma, when I asked, admitted that the apprehension that accompanies someone pursuing a career in writing never really ends. Of his upcoming second novel, he said, “Even though there are signs that it will succeed, you don’t know what will happen, whether or not the New York Times will review it, I think they will review it but then you don’t know what they will say. There is always this anxiety.” As a young writer, this statement is really reassuring, knowing that even successful writers get nervous about their work helps quell my own thoughts that I am the only writer who isn’t totally sure of what I’m doing.
Writing is a difficult career to pursue, Obioma mentions that his advice to burgeoning writers is to have another job because writing as a career is incredibly unpredictable, and devoting all of your energy to a career of writing may later lead to regret because it is hard to find success, “even when you do succeed you may not be able to make a living from it”. Perhaps a bit foreboding, but Professor Obioma can be trusted to tell the blunt truth and I appreciate that.
If you are interested in learning more about Professor Chigozie Obioma, his awards, his books, or his other writings, Here is his website: https://www.chigozieobioma.com/
(Image source: https://www.chigozieobioma.com/)
Did you see that? Did you hear that? 
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