She’s a Natural Writer. I’m a Natural Surgeon

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

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7 Ways Random Writing Can Boost Your Output

Seeking the best technique to get you out of that uncharacteristically fallow period and boost your output a 100% more?

What you need, my friend is random writing!

This statement raises an interesting question:

                                    What is random writing?

Random Writing is talking on paper.

It’s the process where the writer freely expresses his feelings and thoughts as he pours out the contents of his heart on the page without stopping to edit.

That sounds a lot like free writing but it’s not. Free writing is done in careless abandon and is a kind of prewriting process that helps you unclog your mind and get on with the real project. Random writing is the real project in draft! I’ll talk more on this later.

What I’m about presently, is how this writing device can boost your output.

1. Discover Something to Write

Random writing does not require a title or a theme. You put your pen to the paper and let the first words that appear guide the flow. Just keep on writing and you’ll be amazed.

2. Bust the Block

Do I need to explain this one?

One of the best ways to get your juice flowing when you’re stuck is to random write. Just talk to yourself on paper. Sometimes, a little rambling might be sufficient to give you a good wind but don’t let up if it don’t happen when you expect.

3. Stay Focused

You are either a writer or you’re not. Writer’s write, it’s as simple as that. Juggle your creativity, stay in the middle of the road with random writing.

4. Develop A Unique Writing Voice

One of the benefits of conscious writing is that it opens up your soul to soar. You are given wings to explore the details of the real self. The deeper you reach within you to splash raw words on the pages of your journal, the closer you come to carving a niche for your writing style. You ain’t writing to fulfill a specific writing structure and this helps you discover how you truly sound on paper.

5. Invent A Writing Style

When you lay raw, unedited words on paper, it’s not impossible to stumble on a new style of writing. Especially, if you do stuff like poetry. Because, this kind of writing is not planned, you might create a seemingly random pattern in your writing and come to adopt it as a personal style. It happened to me!

6. Stay Productive

Your mind is always talking. Capture those words on paper and judge ‘em later. You are always certain of stuff to write without the over thinking involved.

7. Conquer self-Doubt

Defeat the inner critic who keeps screaming, “You know you can’t write!”

Write anyway!

You write without thinking too much about what to write. Let the words flow one after the other. Don’t try to judge, put everything down. There’ll be time enough for editing.

You won’t need everything you write but the ones you do need will make all the difference.

Keep your pen bleeding!

Akpan

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Writing Every Day: Steven Barnes

Well, look at this. We made it back again. I've had to change my blog template a little bit and the header. Hope you like it.

My writing schedule up until two or so years back was pretty much cutout; write every day, all day. I wrote every chance I got. I never did this to meet a specific word count; I just kept up my scribbling until something else came up or sleep took me.

The difference between my writing in recent years and the early years is this: These days, I write to a quota.

Back then, I wrote poetry and lyrics.

Over 400 newsletters, every one of ‘em teaching, urging, pushing me on writing and personal development have popped into my inbox courtesy of Steven Barnes (that’s the guy in the picture with his wife, Tananarive).

            Steve re-introduced me to fiction and story writing. I was all over poetry and lyrics before I met him. For the past three years, I’ve had Steve’s famous words posted on my laptop desktop. The one that states,

“Write Every Day. Read Ten Times As Much As You Write!”

We have an interesting model for excellence in this business. This is the part three of the Writing Every Day series, and hopefully, the last of the whole business. Now, let’s concentrate on writing, shall we?

1. Write Like You Gotta –

            “Don’t let false modesty make you retreat from your own excellence.” – Steven Barnes

There’s no humility or humbility (quoting Dickens) about this. You’re either aiming high, reaching for excellence in your writing life or you’re not. It’s just as blunt as it is. Putting your talent to use means the real you living lavishly legendary. Tell yourself this ain’t about besting somebody else, it’s not about making folks bow down to kiss the soles of your feet, either. Let nobody talk you out of your dream saying you’re overdoing it!

            Every day, as you enter your writing space, come with the attitude that this is one thing you just can’t exist and not get yourself completely lost in. You’ll find that nothing and nobody can discourage you from coming into the fullness that awaits the consistent writer.

2. Write for Mastery –

“Any skill you wish to master must be addressed every day. Even if you don’t spend a huge amount of time at it.” – Steven Barnes.

Writing as a daily affair ain’t all about getting a certain quota of words on paper. It’s not even about proving to yourself or people that you can do it (although, sometimes this can act as incentive and get you going on particularly dry days).

Above all else, writing every day is for mastery of your craft. It’s probably the strongest reason why you don’t need to know where the damn things headed all the time.

You’re training your senses to switch in and out of the zone at the snap of your fingers.

3. You Need Guts! –

            “The world needs your stories, and you must have confidence to serve that need.” – Steven Barnes

If you thought this was all about you, think again. God gave you something to do. It’s the guiding light your world has been waiting for.

Every day as you write or when you feel you ain’t up to it, remember somebody out there is waiting for your story. That’s one sure-fire way to get you scrambling out of bed and scrawling till your fingers ache.

4. Write with Passion –

We’ve been talking about writing every day but what exactly does one write about? Steven Barnes answers that question with these words;

            “What are you must passionately interested in?

            What imagery pops into your dreams most regularly?”

Making a commitment to come to the pages of your journal every day could be a trifle intimidating. Thinking about all those blank pages waiting to be filled can throw a jump into the most courageous of hearts.

            ‘What the hell am I supposed to write?’ Anything you damn well please. Just let the words flow from your heart. Don’t worry about making a lot of sense. Let the words figure themselves out. Your job is to be present at your table and take the dictations from your muse.

5. Unlock Your Creativity –

“You also need the clearest, most direct and open channel to your creativity that you can find.” – Steven Barnes

You’re mining deep into your subconscious for the hidden self. Writing every day unlocks and develops your writer’s voice. That’s the reason you need to let the words flow naturally. It may sound stupid sometimes but you gotta keep writing if you want to meet the guy on your inside face to face!

Forget Not To Remember…

“

Write every day. Read ten times as much as you write. Unless you are doing this, forget all the fancy lessons…

1,000 words a day for three years would take you to the magic “million word” mark, at which you are operating in a completely different space from those who have never imposed such discipline. – Steven Barnes

”

Imagine how you would feel three years from now and one million words to your credit. Now, take that feeling and explode off the page. I’ll be seeing you around in three year eh… sorry, I mean soon.

Keep your eyes locked on the dream and you know how to do that, don’t you? Of course,

… Keep your pen bleeding!

Akpan

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Writing Every Day: Stephen King

Stephen King is a prolific writer who has authored close to seventy novels and short story collections. A man operating such a high-octane version of literary genius ought to have a lot to say about churning out hundreds of thousands of words round the clock. I think we can trust him to drop the payload right into our bosom.

King’s thoughts on the issue follows closely on the heels of Ray Bradbury’s tips and that incidentally makes this post the Part Two of the Writing Every Day series.

            “Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life,” said Stephen King. But, I’m not gonna use this as the first tip. Just telling you to keep in mind how the ideas to spur you on are supposed take shape and evolve. That was dessert. And now, the main course for the evening:

1. Write in a Serene Environment –

            “If possible, there should be no telephone in your writing room, certainly no TV or video games for you to fool around with. If there’s a window, draw the curtains or pull down the shades unless it looks out at a blank wall.” – Stephen King

The life of the writer (the writer who takes his job to heart) is a solitary life–a life haunted by aloneness. It ain’t enslaved by loneliness but rather strengthened and sharpened to spear points by it. The writer learns to strip to his birth suit in front of the world (that’s what you do when you shed your soul on the pages of your journal) and yet, be totally unashamed about it.

2. Write to a Schedule –

            “Your schedule–in at about the same time every day, out when your thousand words are on paper or disk…”

            “Your job is to make sure the muse knows where you’re going to be every day from nine ‘til noon or seven ‘til three. If he does know, I assure you that sooner or later he’ll start showing up.”

            “Basically, mornings are my prime writing time.”

3. Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough –

            “You need a concrete goal, as well. The longer you keep to these basics, the easier the act of writing will become.”

            “I like to get ten pages a day, which amounts to 2,000 words. That’s 180,000 words over a three month span…”

“

As with physical exercise, it would be best to set this goal low at first, to avoid discouragement. I suggest a thousand words… I’ll suggest that you can take one day a week off, at least to begin with… Resolve to yourself the door stays closed until that goal is met. – Stephen King

”

4. Get a Writing Space –

            “(It) can be humble (probably should be) and it really needs only one thing: a door which you are willing to shut. The closed door is your way of telling the world and yourself that you mean business; you have made a serious commitment to write and intend to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.”

            “You need the room, you need the door, and you need the determination to shut the door.”

5. Are You Having Fun, Yet? –

You should. This is best when it feels like a ball. Don’t get too serious with stuff such as these or it feels like work. And when it starts feeling like work, that’s the red light–you’re throwing in the towel soon.

            “Writing is at it’s best–always, always, always–when it is a kind of inspired play for the writer.”

            “When I’m writing, it’s all the playground.”

            “My writing and the pleasure I take in it has contributed to the stability of my health and my home life.”

            “When you find something at which you are talented, you do it (whatever it is) until your fingers bleed or your eyes are ready to fall out of your head.”

License to Explode into a Million Seeds from the King!

“If you feel you need permission to do all the reading and writing your little heart desires, however, (four to six hours a day, every day) consider it hereby granted by yours truly.” – Stephen King

There you go you got your ticket handed to you on a silver platter, if there ever was one. Now dig into the toolbox of the imagination, explore all the details of the genius within and remake your world every day, one word at a time!

Keep your pen bleeding!

Akpan

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Put The Fuel On It

In these days, the urge is pressing to be keen on what you do and to convey a measure of elegance into the practice of it. Outside is busting with millions of attractive distractions. Quite a few of these pests are almost worth the abandon of a life long career as a writer and to lay pursuit. "Almost", but not quite. And of course, you know "almost" don't count in the upward climb.

It is a fine line between idling and rusting. You may want to stack your writer resources on your way out because faster than you can see it coming, you'll be out like a candle in a storm. It's a 100% guarantee! Thinking you can switch in and out of the zone at will and at alarming irregularity is a signal there's a lot of soap opera history you haven't caught up on yet. On becoming a writer worthy of the name, anyway.

Consistency sets your bones afire as it does preserve your juice in a blanket of warmth when you have to make the little deals that take you off your writing. But, with the outward pull of enthusiastic temptations trying to trap your attention, you have a battle on your hands, a war you must win. Passion is the flare that ignites the dynamite. But, passion, on a personal level, is a process. I hardly make out that distinct quality but as product of an intense other. More on that later.

From another angle on a broader plane, you can only be consistent at something you have fallen for; something that really turns you on; works your genius and makes your consciousness spring each time it crosses your mind. I don't invite my dreams, but with the certainty of tides rising high, they will keep walking through the walls of my unconsciousness in all their arrays; the horrifying, the terrifying and the gross out. My muse does make uninvited visits too and I do try to the best of my ability to keep him entertained during the periods of his stay. Yet, I can and do make appointments with my muse. I must if I want to succeed as a writer. This idea has its own arresting clarity.

Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working. Picasso

There's a process at the helm of everything that is continuing. Passion as a rule, is not an exception. I view this like a sort of teamwork going on. Without consistency, passion is nothing but paperwork, it never comes to anything like a wild stab in pitch darkness. You just can't groom passion without consistency. It's a two-sided coin in spite of everything; consistency feeds on your passion and grows fat on the stimulus. Your passion is a drive, a hunger that comes with a twinge of appetite for consistency. Get up and get going, already. Once you find your itinerary, stick to it with passion. Be consistent at that one thing. Read. Research. Write and Read. Read ten times as much as you write.

Life is everything we plug into it. Our writing grows and matures if inspired. We actually thrive beyond elementary stages when our passion, touched by stints of consistent attendance at our writing tables, drives us into the heart of what we do. The impact eventually, turning us into human hand grenades.

When passion comes, with it comes creativeness. Guess an element of truth exists in the age-old writer slogan,

Write With Passion!

Keep your pen bleeding!

Akpan

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Remarkable Adventures

Writing can be a terrific adventure. Moments fueled by unfolding layers of exciting activities. Pages after pages of stolen mysteries whipped up by the sound of paper.

Faced with the possibility of failure a writer feels the eyes of discouragement stalking his will with a white hot glare. I have had moments of doubt myself. Still do, sometimes. I think the one single ingredient that kept me going were Maya Angelou’s words, ‘There ain’t nothing to it, but to do it’. Yes, there’s no other way to keep up but by keeping up. When we finally find the courage to go on, we would have achieved an endless access into the streams of our creativeness.

Our journeys in the world of the imagination can be tinged with a bit of magic. But first, we must find a way around the obstacles and get our creative juices boiling. Finding what works for you, the subject that makes you tick would be one step in the right direction.

Often, we find ourselves picking someone else’s vines, writing stuff that’s totally off limits to us. And many times, the stuffs we write about may not even spark one single flame of interest inside us.

Beating our tracks back to familiar grounds could very well set us off to a good start. I’ve learned how tough it is to be inventive wading through strange waters. When you walk into a topic you have no business in the world messing in, you’re stuck. You just might want to give up on writing entirely, thinking it’s not for you. It takes just that little effort to run into a wall.

When we are unblocked we can have remarkable and diverse adventures - Julia Cameron.

The point is to find a primary genre and put a tag on it. From that instant forward, the block becomes somewhat of a myth. Discovery of a genre we can naturally adapt to unplugs our muse, puts the wind at our backs, and then it slides us into the embrace of remarkable adventures.

Keep the scribbler's pen bleeding!

Akpan

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