 |
| Maya Angelou reciting her poem, "On the Pulse of Morning", at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
“There’s no such thing as a natural surgeon,” Someone
argues. The same holds true for being a writer. You will have to work your way
from the bottom rung up to the top.
Like
all things worthwhile in this existential life, writing is the product of time,
patience and intense sacrifice. We can grow up without maturing but we cannot
experience the stages of maturity and still be children.
Writing
is a delicate art. In writing, a reaching out to the individual heart occurs. The
writer lays pursuit of a million nameless emotions; it’s his duty to present
these to the mind of the reader, untainted. It’s almost an impossible task
since the writer is deprived of the tools of expression. S/he depends entirely
on the power of imagination, the mastery of language and skill at working with
imagery.
Writing
and all the while, believing the reader would discover for himself the unspoken
expressions tossed in between the phrases. Tell me that does not require a work of genius.
You
can’t just dump yourself on the bed a complete analphabetic and wake up the
next morning to find you have by some natural
process, become a writer! Not only is it impossible, it’s not realistic. Mastery
in any field worth the grain comes by sweat, tears and blood.
Maya
Angelou once made a statement to this effect, ‘Being a natural writer is like being a natural surgeon.’
Don’t
drag fear into the picture. Becoming a writer is tough work. Yes. But you can’t
achieve anything trucking with the hounds of fear. Even though it still doesn’t
change the fact that becoming a writer is not piecemeal, you can kick start your
journey into the realm of letters right away. You learn mastery by being
consistent.
Courage
will defeat fear of ridicule. Don’t let nobody bring you down with their
taunts. Believe in yourself right from the onset. Remember, if the guys who
built the pyramids did not believe in their capacity, Gaza would be just
another plateau buried and lost under desert sands.
There
is no such thing as being a natural writer, just like there’s no such thing as
being a natural surgeon. It all comes through practice, practice, practice.
Keep
your pen bleeding.
Akpan
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feedbacks welcome and appreciated.