Dumelang, and hello!
Welcome to the BTS of LittleXplorer, starring Zandile, a budding writer and long-time lover of reading.
and encouraging
Although I’ll admit that, in recent years—much to my shame—I haven’t written and read as much as I would have liked, having let negativity creep in to keep me from expressing myself. In a way, starting this blog is my attempt at gently pushing myself out of that and encouraging myself to put my writing out there. So if you’re here, expect a variety of things as I shake off the writing rust, so to speak. There will be book reviews, musings on recent things I’ve learned, and hopefully some participation in writing prompts.
Featuring: Reviews
One way I can think of getting myself to write is by writing about something I’ve enjoyed reading, which—I’m accused of never shutting up about the things I like, so this might be the easiest!
It helps, too, that I’m on a mission to read as many books as I can, from as many genres as I can, while on occasion, meeting my self-set requirements for reading materials. Those requirements are mainly—but not limited to—books that: explore diverse groups, feature central female characters (I’ve been on the hunt for stories with black female leads, or any other POC leads), as well as books written by black authors, and female authors (I’ve also been hunting for Science Fiction written by these authors). If you’ve been craving these sorts of books too, then I hope my finds are worthwhile, and if you know of any, feel free to bombard me with a list.
Also Featuring: Ramblings of a Lonely Writer
Quick confession time? I’m a profuse researcher—I’m talking ‘You have the definition of the word already, you don’t need to do a thorough analysis of its etymology’ type of researcher.
Am I good at translating that research into great academic text? I wish, but I do try my best. More than anything, I learn so many interesting things while I do research for my fictional works, or when I read a news article, and even on the rare occasion when I find myself ‘Doomscrolling.’
Yet, with so much information flying in all the time, it feels like some interesting things I learn fly out just as quickly to make space. Still, if my formative years cramming for one exam or another have taught me anything, it’s that I always remember things better once I’ve written them down—like a grocery list I don’t need to consult once I’ve put technological pen to paper.
These days, I want to write down and remember the things I didn’t know about my country and my people. I’m proudly South African, and although my teachers did their best, I always felt that there was more to learn than I was being given. Even beyond school, I do feel that, at times, what was being offered to me was more of the world, or an imitation of the world, than information about my continent.
Like my mother says, “Don’t you have that internet of yours? Teach yourself.”
So that’s what í’ll do, as best as I can. In doing so, writing about the things I learn as I come across them, hopefully I will have compiled a fun textbook for myself, one that I can always return to and re-educate myself with, should some of it’s contents fly out of my head again.
Likewise, I’m hoping to meet other like-minded people who’ll share with me their knowledge, no matter their location or cultural background because—again—research nut? I’m not opposed to learning about something new, especially if it intersects with my culture or continent.
Full disclaimer, though—I’ve hit roadblocks when researching African history before and find that sometimes the information isn’t as readily available or weighty as I’d like. So, despite my best efforts, I might not get things right. Never fear, though, as I always do my best to be considerate and kind.
All in all, if you do end up in my corner of the blogosphere, feel free to leave me some comments and feedback. I’d love to hear from you! Let’s create a welcoming and positive space where we can share our constructive thoughts. Happy exploring!
LittleXplorer 