AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT | An Interview with Doctor/Writer Chinaza Eziaghighala on Writing, Medicine, and Inspiration
Chinaza Ebere Eziaghighala is a medical doctor who tells stories. An interdisciplinary writer at the intersection of health, film, comics and literature, she is a University of Iowa International Writing Program and EbonyLife Creative Academy Alum. She won the 2021 Twelve Days of Brittle paper stories competition and was Longlisted for the 2020 African Writers Awards (AWA) and the Wakini Kuria Award. Her works are in/forthcoming Brittle Paper, Afritondo and British Science Fiction Association Focus magazine. She is a member of the Science fiction writers association of America. Connect with here: chinazaeziaghighala.disha.page or on her Twitter @chinazaezims.
* Planet Scumm conducted this interview with Kelly via email. Some text has been lightly edited for clarity. *
Chinaza Eziaghighala’s thrilling tale “A Dose of Insight” appears in Issue #15: “Arcana Major.”
Our esteemed leader Tyler Berd interviewed Chinaza about her work as a physician, how that relates to what she writes about, and about her inspirations.
PLANET SCUMM: Does being a writer make you a better physician? In what ways?
CHINAZA EZIAGHIGHALA: Being a physician allows me the opportunity to take care of people in their most vulnerable state. When people fall ill, they come to me naked, pleading, hoping that I offer some respite. In some ways, I think that is what writing does. People read to find respite from the world around them. They read to discover, to evolve. They plead with the author in their most vulnerable state and say, "I trust you to give me the best story experience of my life." The question then is, will I deliver on my end? Will I give the reader that blissful experience that they seek? Being a physician offers me no choice and I try to bring that attitude to my writing because their lives, at least in that short moment when they consume my work, are literally in my hands.
When you read fiction, do you crave more escapism or catharsis?
Both. There is always overlap for me. Some works have been so cathartic that I cry in the end. Many works. Others have helped build my imagination by expanding my mind. Most times, I just crave something I do not expect.
Who are the artists and authors that most inspired you to become a writer?
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She was the first writer I read who sounded like me. JK Rowling. Her Harry Potter universe made my childhood. It opened my mind to many possibilities. Chinua Achebe. His writing reminds me that I can be my true self when writing — a philosophical Igbo thinker. Mashashi Kushimoto. He created one of my favorite characters of all time—Naruto. Eric Roth. He wrote Forrest Gump, which, for reasons still unknown to me, spurred my interest in writing for film. Stephen King. On Writing reminds me that I just need to focus on the work and stay happy because staying happy is what matters. Neal Baer, MD. He makes being a physician-writer look so effortless. And so many others.
Your submission letter mentioned a difficult experience that inspired "A Dose of Insight." Is there any part of the real-life roots of the story you'd like to share with the reader?
I'd rather keep that private. However, it has a lot to do with the systemic healthcare issues in Nigeria—something I hope can be rectified in the coming years.
Your debut novella comes out next year. Describe the hypothetical reader who might most fall in love with CHIMERA.
For the budding reader yet to discover their love of reading.
As a writer for the primetime series Itura and given your various experiences in filmmaking, can you think of any techniques or aspects of craft that prose writers could learn from screenwriters?
Prose is its own art form of course, but I think that learning to tell visual stories even in prose can make a world of difference for a reader—truly engaging the senses and creating a whole new type of experience. I also think that screenwriters write great dialogue especially because people speak in real-time. Prose writers can learn how to write authentic dialogue from screenwriters. Finally, there's this technique in screenwriting for writing scenes where you come in late and leave early. It could be coming in halfway through a conversation or an action sequence and leaving right on/before a major climax. It builds tension and I think that can be employed in prose as well.
