In November of 2023, Thirty West Publishing House embarked on its most ambitious #AntiWriMo project to date: The Ternion. This three-novel series is written by 9 authors, all written in one month. The Ternion is an experiment in creativity, community, adaptability, and stress; and it was successful.
Today, we are proud to take a moment to highlight one of the many people behind the pen involved in this incredible collaboration.
Ibrahim Sofiyullaha is a budding Nigerian writer who loves to tell stories and capture the beauty and drama of nature. He has an eye for the subtle nuances that enrich his descriptions and imagery. He enjoys reading poems, history, and war stories. He is always eager to learn and grow as a scribe.
1. What did you want to be when you were a kid?
As with many kids, I grew up in the trenches in Ogbomoso, we all wanted to be medical doctors. Because that was, at the time as we were told, the only profession with a guarantee of a comfortable future. We learned wrong though.
2. What was your favorite class in school?
100 Level. I realized no one was coming to make my life better. I had just won a government scholarship to study an Engineering course at a reputed University. I realized life has done its part. That was when I started worshiping my pen.
3. What was the hardest part of working with multiple authors for the #ANTIWRIMO project?
The fear of having my idea flagged. It was my first shot at fiction and I got it right. Or I should say I got the right team to work with. Nicole is one hell of a genie
4. How old were you when you first started writing?
I can’t recollect vividly. I can try a guess though. I’d say at age 13. For someone with a completely different mother tongue from English, that’s incredible.
5. What media other than books inspire you?
Art is famous and timeless. I am talking about Monalisa by Da Vinci. How could someone from ancient times, lacking the tools that aid today’s artistry, attain that mastery at that level of sophistication, with little details taken into account?
6. What was your favorite contribution to the #ANTIWRIMO project?
That’d be the writing part of course. Every bit of it is my favorite.
7. In your opinion, what is the best piece you’ve ever written?
It was a piece of writing I penned for my University during a football competition. It was my launchpad to the limelight. That was the turning point.
8. What fictional character would your best friend compare you to?
The Prophet. The protagonist of the Khalil Gibran piece.
9. Which writers had the most influence on your style? On your content?
Robert Greene. The author of 48 Laws of Power.
10. What is the biggest challenge you've overcome as a writer?
Crushing the temptation of generative AI that seeks to rid the essence of the art that sets writing apart.
11. What was your first publication?
If you mean printed publication, that would be in my University press club which I now head.
12. What does your drafting process look like?
Like a child just being taught how to write. Ideas are unsorted, scattered, incomplete, and unordered. So, I just write things randomly anywhere I can first get my hands on.
13. How do you deal with critics and trolls?
Critics? Most times, when coming from sane minds, I take them as the truths I can’t obtain from friends. Trolls? I read to laugh. I deal in banter too. So when directed at me, even if touched, I lie to myself to laugh it off.
14. What book do you wish you could read again for the first time?
The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene.
15. What kind of writing is your favorite? Why?
I am 21 years old. I am still forming myself. I don’t have an established tone yet. In fact, this piece is my first attempt at a fictional work. My first shot at it.
16. Which point of view is your favorite to write from and why?
First person. This is because this most times makes readers assume themselves in the spirit of the character. For example, when something is being held in suspense, readers would want to struggle to find out, as if they were the person. Unlike in third-person writing, that would make people wait to be told. There is a difference. Waiting to be told and wanting to find out.
17. Are there any major themes that span your work as a whole?
Inspiration. Poverty.
18. What are some of your favorite writing-related resources that you would recommend to aspiring writers?
Movies. I watch great movies with immaculate conversations.
19. What is your least favorite part of being an author?
The upcoming stage. Imagine toiling to write what not so many are interested in reading if there are any
20. Is writing your full-time job?
Not really. I am still a student. In the final months, hopefully.
21. How does writing intersect with your personal life?
Ans: I am called a loner. Introvert. Hermit. There are times when you are consumed and all you can think of is just trying to word a feeling that’s refusing to be scribed into writing.
22. What does your editing process look like?
I’d say it's funny. I’d laugh at myself for making silly mistakes. Typos are unavoidable though.
23. Do you have one word that you always misspell?
That has to be a “questionnaire”. Not sure that’s even correct.
24. What are the top five books on your TBR list?
25. Has your writing changed over time, and what do you attribute that to?
Significantly. I used to look for words. Now, I will explain the grammar I am looking for. And I think that is the height of it all. Knowing wherever you are headed, you can never be stuck.
26. What was your first writing rejection like?
It was deserved. I saw it coming yet I kept hoping for what would not be.
27. What project should you be working on right now?
I am planning on starting my memoir. I feel like I should start putting my existence into words now rather than later.
28. What was the fastest you ever decided to DNF a book?
I feel sad not completing books. So, I never set out, or at any point decided to abandon a book till forever. I close the book with a deceitful hope of opening it at the earliest opportunity.
29. What was your biggest fear when you were 8?
Not making it big in life. Still my biggest fear. I am a boy from the muddiest of backgrounds, in the most rural area of Ogbomoso, Nigeria where people die before they get transported to the nearest town with a considerably better healthcare facility. Having to single-handedly sail against the tide, with no help. All along knowing trying my best is not a guarantee to get the best. That’s it.
30. What does “made it” look like to you?
My writing featured in Reuters and the BBC.
Julie, or Sylvia, part of The Ternion, coming June 2024. Presales are now live! You don’t want to miss this huge moment from Thirty West.