Writing is my skill

JOSEPH KABULETA

What you need to know:

On his new book. Former sports journalist Joseph Kabuleta launched his second book Strength of Character at Pearl of Africa Hotel. DEUS BUGEMBE caught up with him about being an author.

Did you ever see yourself as an author before?

Yes, writing is my skill. People express themselves differently, some people in songs, others in speech, poetry and many other ways. Writing is my way of expression and it is the way I put forth the things I have learnt. I have always seen myself as somebody one who was going through journalism but with the ultimate destination of being an author.

How long did it take you write the book?
I would say almost two years because you keep on chipping and changing. Then I went and preached what I knew and people told me how it changed them and then I added them as stories because you do not just front a theory without saying I spoke to so and so and it changed their life this way, that’s what gives punch to the story.

Why write such a book right now?
It was the cardinal thing in my mind. I was wondering why I’m a certain kind of character that I do not want to be, that I despise. And why can’t I be what I want to be? And how is it affecting me as I have spoken before it affected my marriage and so that is what I was thinking about. And usually you write what you are thinking about.

Who is the target audience for the book?

Anyone can read the book. I use many bible characters and a few quotations to fit into the subject. However, I have given it to even Muslims and those who have no particular inclination to believe in the bible, for some reason they do not take it as an authoritative word of God as we do. However, the lessons picked from there help everybody and if the people reading look past the blocks and focus on the stories and examples of real life people whom I know and spoke to.

I also use characters from the bible and characters from contemporary life such as Shaka Zulu, Saddam Hussein people whom everybody knows, telling you their specific characters and what led to that. While of course I will use people such as King David, King Saul in the bible and contemporary people everybody knows as well as throwing in other world leaders who everybody can relate with. So it’s that sort of book that uses the bible extensively but the message there extends to especially people who don’t see the bible in that light. It touches aspects every single one of us faces.

What is the book about?
Character, people think they know what character is about until they read the book. Character is about us, who we are, the way we relate with people. Now, I describe character as the art of relating with people. It is about us and everybody.
Do you plan to write more books?
Yes, I will be writing most of the time.
A piece of advice to aspiring authors …?

Just write. Everybody has something on their mind. Everybody has something that they are passionate about. One of the speakers said we read books is that we cannot live long enough to experience everything ourselves.