Rising Stars: Meet Gamal Williams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gamal Williams.

Gamal, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I recently retired (April 2019) from the Navy after 20 years of service. I decided to stay in Chesapeake, VA, since 19 of the past 20 years have been here. Virginia is home now. I got into writing by chance. I would often write long posts on social media about social issues; police violence, voting, economic disparities, to name a few. Friends started telling me, “You should write a book!” or “You need to write a book!”

Late last year, I sat down and wrote a memoir… and I hated it. It came of as self-serving, pathetic, and feeble, at least that’s what I thought. Now, I am not knocking memoirs. They have their place and do a lot of service for people. I just didn’t want to be known as the “Look at my struggle and how I overcame all of this tragedy” guy. So, I dismissed writing a book. In April of this year, however, I began having this recurring dream. I would have this dream 4 to 5 times a week for almost a month. In it, I worked in a small convenience store, and two men come in and rob the place. In the commotion, the police arrive and I get shot and killed. The first time I had the dream, I woke up sweating and my heart jumping out of my chest. But the dream kept returning. Soon, I became conscious that I was dreaming within the dream and began observing. I noticed the layout of the store, the clothes everyone wore, their voices, their accents, faces, everything.

Finally, I woke up from the dream at about two in the morning, grabbed my laptop, and began feverishly writing. I sent it the ten or so pages to a friend who was also a publisher. She loved it. Those pages became the basis for Chapter 1, “A Night at Brown’s,” in my book, Fin. The characters began to come to life to me. It was around that time that parts of my never-to-seer-the-light-of-day memoir came back to me. I figured I could still address some of the topics I did in my memoir without overtly addressing them. I decided to let the characters deal with them, put them in similar situations and see how it unfolded. Issues such as depression, anxiety, alcoholism, domestic violence, and child abuse. I wrote it with my heart as the characters grew and became a part of me. When it was over, I let someone read the first draft and they called me crying, anger in their voice, yet laughing. I was confused by the response. They replied “I am too! I have a range of emotions all trying to win out!” That’s when I knew I was on to something.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Smooth road? God, no! Listen, writing is hard. I mean hard. The words came easily. I would churn out page after page of Fin in no time. What was hard was making it all flow, making it make sense. Editing is by far the hardest thing I have ever experienced. When you first write a story or story/character arc, you think it’s the best thing ever. It takes true honesty with yourself to admit that either what you have written isn’t good, or it is good but doesn’t act in service of your story. I went through about 7 or 8 rewrites of Fin before I felt good enough to say I was ready for the world to read it. At one point, I hated the book. I was in the middle of the third rewrite and it became a chore. I wanted nothing to do with the book and almost walked away. Then I heard a podcast featuring Jordan Peele. The podcast talked about writer’s block. (Getting advice from established authors is a must! Be it books, podcasts, whatever. They have a wealth of knowledge!)

In the podcast, Jordan Peele said, and I am paraphrasing, “When you get stuck on a project when it just isn’t flowing or working, go do something fun. Say to hell with this and go work on another project!” He then recounted how he was in a similar situation, where he had 4 or 5 projects going and nothing moved him, so he walked away from all of them and decided to go work on a fun project. That project ended up being Get Out. For me, it was my son asking me for a book. There was nothing prominent in literature for young Black boys where they are the protagonist. There isn’t a Black Harry Potter. So, I decided to write him one. I walked away from Fin and wrote the first chapter. He was asleep when I was finished so I slid it under his door. He woke up the next morning, saw and read it, and loved it. This went on every night for about two weeks. When he finished the last chapter, he ran up to me and asked, “Are you going to write another one?” I said yes. That book is called Jump, and it reinvigorated me to go back and complete Fin.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Well, I still work for the military as a Government Contractor, but I would love to transition into being a full-time author. I wake up in the morning with characters and stories in my head. It means I am either certifiably crazy or I am supposed to be an author. (Though some would say its probably a bit of both!) I also want to help foster STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) curriculum in low-income schools. I started a non-profit called High ESTEAM (Engagement with Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) earlier this year, but it got a bit derailed because of COVID-19. Part of my royalties from Fin, and hopefully from Jump as well, will be going to funding such curriculum in low-income schools, especially in predominately African-American neighborhoods.

What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is authenticity. Being your authentic self, not what the world has painted you as, but what you know you are. Sometimes our authentic selves need serious work, and that’s okay. We just have to commit to continuous improvement and growth. I am guilty of not abiding by that at times. I almost walked away from Fin. I had to admit to myself two things: 1. I loved to write, and 2. Whatever I write, it isn’t going to be easy. Once I accepted them, it changed my outlook on the writing experience. I may never sell another book, and I am fine with that. I had a story to tell and I told it.

Contact Info:

• Email: authorgamalwilliams@gmail.com
• Website: www.authorgamalwilliams.com
• Instagram: @authorgamalwilliams
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/gamal.williams.16

Image Credits
Gwen Wilson Photography (Color Images only)