WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT STARTING AS A WRITER.
IT’S NOT THAT HARD
Everybody can write.
“Everybody writes” says Ann Hadley
I want you to know that everybody has innate communication gifts through writing and speaking. However, those who make the most of them and those who are at ease with it are mostly the ones we see.
You reading this, are capable of writing anything. Anything you put your mind to understand you can communicate. Writing is just an avenue to communicate what you have understood or are trying to understand and honestly, pretty much everybody writes!!
Getting started isn’t as hard as you think, especially if it's something you want to begin doing for a living or for a career. When it comes to writing, it almost always begins with the person and not the piece they are writing. Before you figure out your writing style and voice and what-have-you, you need to figure out yourself.
Take these few steps to help you get started on your writing journey.
Start with why. Simon Sinek’s book encourages every person venturing into something to start with why. Your why helps you discover yourself in your writing journey mostly. Why do you want to write? Whatever the reason, it is valid. Maybe you want to write so you express grief, that's good. Maybe you want to write so that you can show others what you are learning, that is perfect. Whatever the reason is, it gives you perception into your purpose and calling as you embark on a journey to communicate them. Be certain that what you want to write about is a part of you that you can easily share and not something that would become hard to be consistent at.
Commit to learning. The easiest way to grow faster at a thing, is to learn consistently on it. Whatever topic you choose to learn has been written by someone before and is dominating that space. The best way to pick your pace is to learn from them. You would always need a mentor, regardless of distance. Understanding your why gives you the privilege to be definite about your path and the people who would lead you on that path, as a character in the holy book says, “follow me as I follow Christ”. It is important who you commit to learning from.
Write. Everybody writes quite alright, but a writer in the sense of becoming an author is one that comes with having a sect of people read your work and anticipate them. To write, you just have to put pen to paper but to become an author who has published works or someone who people can call a writer, you have to write. Write consistently. Writing consistently fine tunes your language, style and presentation. It is what makes you acceptable to the audience you target. Choose a time, most likely in the mornings to write because the day gets busy and you need to be present. Be present for the goal of becoming a seasoned writer. Search writing prompts and get to writing daily, that's how you build your writing strength.
Show your work. A popular writer, Austin Kleon gave a notion about showing your work in his book “show your work”, and it speaks of putting what you write out there for your people to find you. Vegetarian diets are made by and for vegans, and this goes to show that you need to show up with your work for the people who would love to listen to you find you. Most times, what you show up with are things that are already a part of you. That’s why it is necessary to find your “why”. When you eventually find your “why”, show your work. The internet has made it possible to show your work, with one page websites available, you have no excuse.
With this, I’ll wrap up how to start as a writer.