Elevate Expertise: Interview with Jhagi.bhai, Steem-powered Author

Welcome to Elevate the Arts, a weekly Spotlight series where we highlight artistic talent on Steemit.

Spotlight Media is an open media network with a goal to elevate talented Steemians. We provide a platform/stage for people who haven't had their 15 minutes of fame, or require extra appreciation, as decided by the quality of their submissions and the response by their friends and followers!

With this vision in mind we aim to shine a bright light on these amazing people and elevate them to produce a larger web of influence in Steemit and beyond.

To achieve this mission we offer weekly contests open for anyone on steemit to compete for a large Steem Power Delegation Prize! We also publish weekly articles such as Elevate the Arts to bring under the spotlight various underrated artists.

Today we bring to you our first guest on our Spotlight Series: @jhagi.bhai. A creative writer, she has been entertaining readers with her amazing stories and we decided to interview her to learn from her experience in literature and how it plays in Steemit in general. Interviewed by @ogochukwu

• Ogochukwu: What is your name and where do you come from?

  Jhagi.bhai: You can call me Jhagi Bhai. I’m from a tiny two island republic in the Caribbean: Trinidad and Tobago. I currently live in the USA.

• Ogochukwu:How did you learn about steemit and what motivated you to join?

  Jhagi.bhai: Oh, I am into armchair economics and one of my favorite youtubers, Gregory Mannarino spoke of Steemit. I wandered in and just had to jump onboard. What a great concept.

• Ogochukwu: Does writing energize or exhaust you?

  Jhagi.bhai: Perhaps both. I can write for some time when i’m in a good ‘flow’. Feels great when you’re exploring an imaginary world and watching stories unfold. But after a long spell of writing, I’m done. I need chocolate. Sometimes beer. Lol.

• Ogochukwu: Do you believe in writers block?

  Jhagi.bhai :Yes. There are times when the empty page feels like an insurmountable obstacle. When every written letter is painful. On those days I just journal, to keep the fingers and thoughts together. If I don’t type fast enough, I can’t keep up with the run of my thoughts and fiction writing demands this specific discipline for me at least.
  When there’s an action scene, the writer has to capture it one word at a time. Your imagination flows through your fingers in an unbroken skein. To write effectively I believe you have to write all the time, interrupted of course by intensive reading.

• Ogochukwu: According to you a big ego helps or hurts writers?

  Jhagi.bhai: I guess it depends. If you’re a celebrity blogger, your opinion is why people come to your site. They want to see what you’re up to, and what you think about the world. The Kardashians come to mind.
  For me, as a fiction author, I work hard to remain invisible. My presence is unwelcome in a written piece. I’d say author intrusion makes for bad fiction, so I minimize my presence within my words. I have been working on reducing my ego as well.
  Mostly because I’m somewhere in between Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. The ego is that part of you that demands. Smiling. I don’t encourage it.

• Ogochukwu:Do you think that someone could be a writer if they don't feel emotion strongly?

  Jhagi.bhai: Good question. I’m working on adding emotionality to my stories these days. A really good writer told me, when we care about our characters, the reader will care and, when bad stuff happens to our characters, the reader will react.
  If you think about it a little, does the writer tell the reader how the character is feeling? For example, Susie felt angry. Or does the writer show anger? For example: Susie felt her lips tighten. Her heart beat faster and she clenched her fists. Which one works better? Maybe we have to do some of both; the takeaway really is, how does the author provoke emotions in the reader? I’d say you could learn this given time, but it’s easier if you feel deeply; this translates into what the character experiences because you feel it first.

• Ogochukwu: What other witers are you friends with on Steemit and how have they helped you improve?

  Jhagi.bhai: Oh, very good question. Steemit has created a community of writers complete with a workshop on discord, a curation trail, a website, and a radio show, all of which helped me immensely. The workshop allows writers to submit their pieces for crits (helpful criticism).

  There are authors and a book editor in the workshop who review your work. Imagine having weaknesses in your writing explored and improved by experienced writers and your peers. That’s what they do in the workshop.
  The discord chat group draws us in, it’s a fun place to meet, tell funny stories and hang out with other writers. More than anything, the company and interaction with writers will shape your writing. Strengthen your voice. If you are committed to your craft, you will improve.

• Ogochukwu: What does Literary Success look like to you?

  Jhagi.bhai: Deep question my friend. I’d say just having an audience is enough for me. I’m happy to have my words read and appreciated. I’ll admit, getting a few crypto doesn’t hurt either. Down the road apiece, if I could make a living doing this. creating worlds, having fun imagineering (according to Disney) and being a paid fictioneer, I could see myself settling down to a really great life. For now though, it’s not practical to give up my day job.

• Ogochukwu: Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

  Jhagi.bhai: Definitely. One book in particular: ‘Stealing Fire From the Gods’ by James Bonnet has changed my approach to writing completely. Bonnet explored all the great stories looking for common themes.
  He discovered what makes fiction great. I can’t distill that in a few lines but he showed how great fiction teaches. It helps the reader navigate the passages of life by giving lessons carefully sugarcoated to make them palatable.
  Like mixing medicine with honey is a good analogy. Timeless classics all do this, give you advice disguised as entertainment. The day I read Stealing fire, I decided I wanted to do that. To share my experiences through fiction, with the purpose of helping those that read it along the way. Might be a stretch though, I’m not that good of a writer….yet.

• Ogochukwu: What is the one thing that you would give up to become a better writer?

  Jhagi.bhai: My friend, writers give up almost everything. Writing is solitary. We find a far seeing place somewhere in our lives (for me it’s my bedroom) and we project our minds into time and space looking for stories to tell. Making up people and places along the way.
  We sacrifice time for this. Time spent with family, friends. Time to sleep, to exercise, watch TV and just veg out. We give up the most precious thing for the reader, we give up the moments of our lives so our audience can be entertained. It might not seem like much to non writers, but as an older woman, time is precious. It’s the most valuable thing I have and authors give it willingly. I can’t give up much more my friend. I don’t have much more to give. Smiling.

• Ogochukwu: What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

  Jhagi.bhai: Procrastination. Smiling. You may understand how addictive social media has become. Steemit pays you to post, so we post. Add to the mix, chatting online with friends and we still haven’t mentioned youtube or facebook; time to write is eked out of what’s left. I will admit, I know the Internet is habit forming but I still find myself wasting time youtubing. Very bad for an author.I am working on it though. I try to restrict my online time to a minimum during the work week and on weekends I write before I hang out. It’s a challenge though. Smiling.

• Ogochukwu: What is your favourite underappreciated novel/poem?

  Jhagi.bhai: That’s a hard one. Under appreciated? Hmm. I’m an oldie, my reading spans decades. Everything from The Executioner to Harry Potter and then some. But I always come back to The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy. Honestly that book was foundational to me growing up.
  There was a movie in the 80’s or 90’s but it didn’t do the book justice. I dare say the book was popular when it was written years ago but not so much today. That book taught me it was ok to be funny with fiction; it’s ok to take fiction lightly. Some literary authors sight down their noses at humor, taking themselves and fiction way too seriously.
  I try to work humor into what I write; more and more lately. Humor is perhaps the last place where a person can say what’s on their mind without being labelled as something undesirable. Comedians lampoon everyone without fear. Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers’ guide showed me the way. Love that book even today.

• Ogochukwu: As a writer , what would you choose as your mascot/avatar?

  Jhagi.bhai: Laughing. I’ve never thought about it. Now that I have, perhaps a fembot. Laughing. Not the Austin Powers version, but a sentient, feeling being, granted an eternity of time to observe and comment on the human condition. Preferably with humor. Grinning. A wiseass robot. Now that’s me.

• Ogochukwu: What is your advice to Steemians who just joined the Platform?

  Jhagi.bhai:I’d tell them find your community. Steemit is like a rushing river. Everyone wants to be heard above the sturm and drang. Storm and turmoil. Promises of payouts, easy money and subpar efforts will drown your voice out, even if you have something useful to say. So find a group of like minded individuals to hang out with.
  Share your content with them. Work at improving your contributions first within your group, then eventually your group as a collective may be heard above the din in the steemit world. That’s what the fiction workshop did for me. I tried to post fiction for weeks with little attention.
  Now, my work gets reviewed, sometimes curated and generally appreciated. It keeps me coming back to Steemit; I have no doubt new steemians will find similar groups to participate within. Steemit builds communities, the best advice I can give newcomers is to engage with existing communities that capture their interest or, if they are able, create one. Smiling. Who knows what the human mind is capable of? We may be spiritual beings having human experiences, piloting organic spacesuits on the alien planet earth. Just jump right into the stream. Find your place in the river and grow there.

We thank @jhagi.bhai for agreeing to the interview and hope her future posts receive the appreciation and support that she deserves from the community.

If you know any artist (writer/painter/musician etc) friends who you believe should be on Spotlight mention them in the comments.

Check in with spotlight on August 25th to join our Writing Contest. More details coming soon.