Meet the award winning writer: Patrick Fynn

Famous writer Maya Angelou stated in her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” So, when a writer invests time and energy into a book, I feel it is a fete that warrants an enquiry to into what story they have to share with the world.

Over the weekend, I had the privilege to interview social media enthusiast and writer, Patrick Fynn about his motivational book You Are on Your Own and his upcoming work, Sleep Is For the Weak.

He describes himself as a young man with an obsession for the most beautiful things in life: “I write, I speak, I treat and I lead”.

According to Patrick, the motivation for his book came as a result of the disappointments people get because of how much they expect from people. “I noticed that it is quite a life-threatening situation for people to nurture expectations from others. I realized how we can never win complete, wholesome loyalty from anyone. A few disappointments kicked me to rise to the occasion to save the day, when I need to. So, I thought, "Why not put these ideas on paper?". And I did. And it became an amazing book. I can say it's been my greatest achievement so far, because it was the most tedious, most exhaustive project I've worked on. The lessons, the networks, the profits, the losses have been tremendously helpful”.

“You are on your own” is summarized in the concepts of self-reliance, independence and trust in one's own abilities. The synopsis reads "You star in a number one top-ranking movie called Your Life. Everybody else is a supporting cast or film extra in the movie of Your Life”.

The award-winning writer describes his books as his greatest life achievement till date. “You Are on Your Own”, his first book, which was released in 2016 won him “Student Author of the Year” and one nomination in the Most Influential Student Writer category. According to him, so far, his books are “doing well on the market”.

Patrick revealed that he was commencing work on his second release, "Sleep Is for the Weak". On the issue of combining his writing project with his job as the Public Rations Officer for musician, Okyeame Kwame and studying Community Medicine and Health at the College of Health, he said: I've been quite sluggish on my next book project and others because of my schedules. However, I write for my blog, newspaper, online columns and on people's request.

A typical day in Patrick’s life is filled with music and studying. In his own words, he explains that he “loves music” and it easy to see his obsession for music. “I spend a chunk of my day listening to music. There's never a moment without having headphones on. I love to study as well. Details matter a lot to me, so you'll find me studying from books, movies, documentaries, articles, and what have you”.

It comes naturally to expect that Patrick will venture into a course purely in communication or media however, he stated clearly that being in the arts is inherent. When I asked him why he ventured into Community Medicine and Health, he explained: “that's a profession I will always die for because I love life-saving but I found myself doing PR because I write, speak and quite have a good taste for the arts”.

On opportunities, he’s experienced through the arts, he said after his debut publication, he got the recognition and opportunity to co-author an anthology "Growing Up". “The experience I gained helped me to publish for other authors as well. I'm hoping to become a better writer/ publisher in the near future”.

Patrick stated, regardless of how well his book was doing on the market, generally, low patronage and low readership are the most difficult challenges he’s faced throughout his writing journey. He lamented that “as a writer, it is very soul-stifling and spirit-dampening to notice that people do not patronize our art. Low readership has been discouraging. Especially when write up is exhaustive and will require long reads, most readers show little interest”.

Patrick anticipates that by 2018 his second book will be ready for publication and public consumption. With all the recognition and great reviews he received for the first one, one can only wonder how interesting and captivating this one will be. He is a determined writer with a lot of promise for the future so it is my wish that he attains higher heights in his writing journey.