Daryll Goodchild; self-published author on a mission to help other writers

By Jarryl Bryan

Self-published author Daryll Goodchild has won the Guyana Annual Magazine open short story contest for two years straight. Armed with his second win, Goodchild is intent on bridging gaps and helping other writers find their inner muse.

Goodchild, who is 23 years old, sat down for an interview with this publication, where he spoke about his journey to winning the 2020 Edgar Mittleholzer open short story prize, as well as what the future may hold for him.
It quickly became apparent that from an early age Goodchild, who grew up in Enterprise on the East Coast of Demerara, was a voracious reader but never really flexed the writing muscle- until high school.
“I attended St. Stanislaus College, where I experienced a renewed desire to write, for self-expression mainly. Usually this took the form of poetry, and occasionally I’d also write a short story in between,” he said.
“I played with form and tried to see which one expressed my thoughts best at the time, poetry has never failed to do this for me. So even now as I write short stories, my style is to play with the rhythm of words and word groups.”
Explaining his modus operandi, Goodchild noted that he tries to match the emotional pace of his writing with sentences that are long and rhythmic, or short and jerky sentences intended to have the reader stop and think. According to Goodchild, his writing allows him the freedom of self-expression.
“I believe this time of self-expression is good, and a necessary staging ground for first understanding oneself, and this in turn helps one to look outward, realise that problems are so rarely unique problems to one person, but that the only difference is in the process of experiencing that problem. From there, the door to many characters open, and prose emerges before poetry,” he explained.
With the Guyana Annual magazine, Goodchild had a platform to explore his style, self-express and vie for the competition’s top honors. Last year, his story ‘Old Mr. Greaves’ copped the AJ Seymour prize for best short story. This year, it is his ‘Lucky stars’ story that has won the Edgar Mittleholzer prize for best short story.
“Lucky Stars was born of deep thought paid to the concept of hard work and materialism. It explores the rewarding nature of hard work, and the consequences of being solely materialistic – a risk that can pose personal harm,” he explained.
In describing the importance of the Guyana Annual, he noted that the magazine is a consistent platform for prose writers and other creatives to introduce Guyana and the world to their work… in fact, he noted that there are few other opportunities for writers such as himself.
And it is this lack of opportunity that is partly responsible for Goodchild self-publishing his book ‘Crassin de Riva’, which he launched at the Boca literary festival last year. Goodchild made it clear that he was unwilling to wait for years before traditional publishers published his book, during which time he would suffer what he called “creative death.”

“The self-publishing of Crassin de Riva was not as difficult as I thought, but it’s also not solitary. It’s accomplished through support from many, and still is thriving due to the support of readers, friends and family,” he explained.
“I took the route of self-publishing mainly to avoid the creative decline (and death) that can result as one waits years for a reply from a foreign publishing house. With Guyana lacking that service, writers here have to look to the regional press, and it’s a longer shot than some are willing to make,” Goodchild said.
In addition to self-publishing his book, Goodchild was part of the Guyana contingent that travelled to Trinidad and Tobago for Carifesta XIV. According to him, the opportunity allowed him to participate in workshops and make useful contacts with performers, other writers, published authors and publishers.
It was an immersion in the caribbean culture and regional literature that Goodchild needed. And he is now intent on using his experiences to help other writers, something which manifested in the virtual writers retreat he organized recently.
“Already I am trying to bridge gaps using the experiences and knowledge I now possess. Weeks ago I organised the first writing retreat between Guyanese writers online. Together we went through content that could assist my fellow creatives to create a draft, submit to a process of beautifying and editing it, and finally making it available to others if that is the purpose of the writer.”
According to Goodchild, such experiences are good for writers looking to find critique partners and beta readers, who will be important in improving the quality of work they one day hope to have published. Asked to provide advice to up and coming writers like himself, Goodchild had this to say.
“Don’t just write in isolation. Experience life, care for people and their lives, and *participate* in activities that grow your skills. And when you finally pick up a pen to write, you’ll have something to say.”