Lois Nguveren Ugbu won the Prose category in 2022's edition of the New Man Gospel Writing Contest hosted by The New Man Movement. In this exclusive interview, she shares her writing journey, creative process and how she pulled off writing an award winning story in five days.
NELOC News: Can we meet you?
Guest: I am Lois Nguveren Ugbu a 200 level student of the
European Studies Department, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo state. I
am a Christian with an amazing passion to communicate Christ in words
and letters and I am an omnivorous reader. I am also from Benue state
and I am Tiv by tribe.
NELOC News: You recently won the 2022 edition of the New Man Gospel Writing Contest. How did you feel when you were announced as a category winner in theGospel Writing Contest?
Guest: I was so excited. I didn't see it coming at all.
NELOC News: What are your writing aspirations for the future?
Guest: I
want to be able to do a lot of writings to tell the world about Jesus
especially prose and any creative piece. I don't look towards being
famous, I just want the works to reach thousands of people. I hope to
meet people affected by the power of God through my works and
communicate with them too.
NELOC News: What other things do you do apart from writing?
Guest: When I'm not writing, I'm volunteering or teaching. I love to add value every time through volunteering and I love to teach,. At other times, I get to learn what I love to learn
most - languages.
NELOC News: As regards your dreams and aspirations, what is/are your greatest fear(s)?
Guest: My greatest fear sometimes is that I might have a bigger or different
assignment and might have to abandon my dreams totally especially the
dream of traveling the world.
NELOC News: What and Who inspires your writing?
Guest: I love to read my work to myself and just look at the creativity and
smile and I love the smiles and reflection I see on others too. It keeps
me writing. Also, many people motivate me to write. I'd just pick out Jackie Hill Perry (Gay girl, Good God) and Adegbola Goodness (Complete).
NELOC News: When did you start writing? Can you give us a background story?
Guest: I started writing sometime in secondary school, but because of laziness, I
never placed a finger on it. It was a casual thing I did. I just wrote a
piece on every of my birthdays and saved it up, maybe for an anthology,
I'm not sure. The New man Gospel writing contest is my first official
work actually.
NELOC News: How did you know about the New Man Gospel Writing Contest?
Guest: I got to know about the New Man Gospel writing contest from Mr Philip Vincent who happens to be the head of Publicity at the New Man Movement. I saw the information about the writing contest on his Whatsapp status.
NELOC News: As a Writer, what is your creative process like?
Guest: Because I'm a fictional writer, my creative process is mainly inspired by my immediate environment and issues that drop into my spirit. Whenever I get an idea, I simply pray over it and then it builds into a story. From that point, I start to write and scriptures start to come together and make the work whole.
NELOC News: What are your thoughts about the Christian fiction writing industry today?
Guest: I think the Christian fiction writing Industry has really grown and it's now so creative and powerful. My life has been affected by a lot of Christian fiction positively and the creativity always left me amazed and spurred me to write better.
NELOC News: How do you think Christians can write compelling stories to promote the gospel?
Guest: 4. Christians can write compelling stories that promote the gospel by always pointing people to the cross, to Jesus. Make sure your writing always draws attention to "HIM" and not your creativity. Of course your creativity will make people want to read but the whole point must be Jesus. Jesus + Creativity = a whole article or story.
NELOC News: As a result of the contest, how has the New Man Movement impacted your writing journey?
Guest: New man movement boosted my confidence. Having to get reviews from people made me so happy. I felt like I could actually write then I started writing and submitting writings at different places.
New man was a starting point and a push for me.
I needed it. Thanks to the New Man Movement, God bless the whole team and move the work forward.
NELOC News: What would you love to say to encourage other writers?
Guest: I'd
love to tell other writers to keep at it. No matter the genre of
writing you are involved in, keep writing, don't stop. Writing sometimes
seems really difficult even when you know what to say, but don't stop,
stay at it, you'll come out just fine.
NELOC News: What do you think about the New Man Gospel Writing Contest?
Guest: I think the Writing contest was such a great one for me. I had to do
alot of praying, reading my Bible, calling people, running around. I
wrote 5 days to the deadline. I was so scattered but it was an exciting
and educative experience. The measures taken were fair and simple. God
bless the New Man movement.
NELOC News: What new things do you hope to see in subsequent editions?
Guest: I hope that it becomes bigger and better. I hope contestants get to meet physically too. Maybe just the winners and they present their piece to a crowd and if possible constructive criticism comes after. It will be a beautiful experience really.