Kofi Nyameye is a writer and evangelist from Accra, Ghana, and his writing often explores different aspects of human nature. His latest work for Asimov’s presents a unique twist to an old Bible story. Read “The Pit of Babel” in our [September/October issue, on sale now!]
Asimov’s Editor: What is the story behind this piece?
Kofi Nyameye: “The Pit of Babel” started out as an idea I wrote down in one of my journals around seven or eight years ago. The working title at the time was “Dig,” and it was originally going to follow the last remnants of humanity digging a giant pit to the center of the earth for some reason or other. I thought it’d be cool to jump from character to character and chronicle the infighting and sabotage that would inevitably happen.
So I wrote the idea down and then completely forgot about it for several years, but then . . .
AE: How did this story germinate? Was there a spark of inspiration, or did it come to you slowly?
KN: . . . one day I was reading the Bible and I came across the story of the Tower of Babel, and I remembered the idea I’d had several years before. I asked myself what would happen if instead of building a tower to Heaven, mankind built a tunnel into Hell? What would happen if I completely turned that story on its head? And it just built itself from there.
AE: Do you particularly relate to any of the characters in this story?
KN: I don’t know if I’d say I relate to him, but I absolutely love the character of Lucifer. (And okay, maybe I relate to him just a little bit.)
I’m a Christian and an evangelist, so you wouldn’t think I’d say that about the devil, but this is one of the few times that a character has shown up in a story and just absolutely taken over the whole thing. I particularly loved exploring his pride. Look, the Bible’s been written, right? From a Christian point of view, you’d think the devil would know by now that he loses in the end. So why does he continue to do it? That was interesting to dive into.
AE: Are there any themes that you find yourself returning to throughout your writing? If yes, what and why?
KN: My answer to this question changes, depending on where I am in my life and my creativity. Right now if you pushed me for an answer, I’d say “human nature.” A lot of the stories I’m writing right now are in a way trying to answer the question “Why are we the way we are? Why do we do what we do in spite of overwhelming evidence that it is a bad idea?”
AE: How much or little do current events impact your writing?
KN: Almost never. I’ve tried. It comes out sounding false and forced. Most of those stories, I never finish.
AE: What is your process?
KN: I always start with a first draft that’s overlong and quite meandering. I sit down with an idea, and the first draft is me discovering for myself what kind of story fits the idea. Mind you, that doesn’t mean the draft I’ve written is that story. It’s just how I discover what the story should be.
In the second draft, I rewrite the whole thing and come out with a story that makes sense and has all its logic, character arcs, etc. in order.
Then I do like four to five drafts after that where I edit and tweak till the story flows as smoothly as I can get it to. Then at that point I just have to let it go.
I feel like as a species we would be wise to slow down a little, instead of speeding up even more.
AE: How do you deal with writers’ block?
KN: Ha! I’m still working on it. I’m trying to learn to keep showing up anyway.
Talking through the block with a couple (trusted) storyteller friends also helps.
AE: If you could choose one SFnal universe to live in, what universe would it be, and why?
KN: I only just read Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky earlier this year, and I feel like Kern’s World would be fun to live on for a bit. Not sure about staying permanently, though.
AE: What SFnal prediction would you like to see come true?
KN: Almost none of them. Maybe space travel. Aside from that, almost none of them. I feel like as a species we would be wise to slow down a little, instead of speeding up even more.
AE: What are you reading right now?
KN: Atomic Habits, by James Clear. I know, I know: took me long enough. But here’s the thing: I’ve been dealing with a deep depression for the past couple of years, and it really slowed down my writing to the point of pretty much stopping it entirely. This book’s helping me get back into the consistency of writing and just showing up for my life in general.
Honestly, it feels really good. And isn’t that just a great place to end this?
From Earth to the Stars 