How to Write

Friends (and foes alike) are increasingly approaching me asking me to make writers out of them. I have often sent them away telling them am no writer and what I jot down every week are just the misguided ramblings of a Layman. They have however become relentless and taken all my peace away. In the interest of harmony therefore, I have decided to share a few tips on how one can take off as a novice writer. Whether one becomes a fully professional writer after that largely depends on personal effort and passion.

Observation

For one to become a writer, he or she has to hone their power of observation. This means paying attention to news items, other people’s discussions (as in eavesdropping), and watching any activities and events taking place in one’s presence. Observation is key to writing because ideas will often come from the unlikeliest of sources. In line with observation, it is critical to make some kind of record because good ideas are fleeting and can evaporate in a jiffy. It is a good idea to always have on your person, a pen and small notebook to jot down in a single line, any idea that is observed or thought of.

Reading

There is no short cut here. To be a good (or bad) writer, you have to read widely. It is good to mix both fiction and non-fiction. It is also advisable to read different genres. The benefits of reading are two-fold. One, it gives you new ideas and information. Secondly, it helps you to develop your style because this will be a cross-breed of the reading you mostly partake. It was recommended to me to read at least 15 pages of non-fiction a day and as much fiction as I can find time for every day. You can find something that works for you and faithfully stick to it, Every Day!

Practice Makes Perfect

The only way to learn how to write, is by writing (preferably every day). Everything you write, (be it an SMS, email, letter, or even comment on Facebook or Whats-app) contributes to making you a better writer. You therefore have to make it count and do it properly. The best way to ensure that you write every day is to set a daily word target (200 words a day would be a good start).

Grammar and Punctuation

In writing, there is no room for slang and broken English unless you are a famous writer who is well known for writing that way. If you want to get anywhere as a writer, you have to write in correct grammar for the language you choose to write in. The key to correct grammar is simplicity. The rule of thumb, especially for beginners, is to use the level of English used in Standard Five. Short sentences and little or no vocabulary works for me and I would recommend it for you as well. If you don’t understand anything well, don’t use it in your writing.

Research

There is nothing as bad as a piece of writing in which the facts are incorrect. Whenever you write anything, always verify the facts. The only way to do this is by conducting thorough research on all the facts you wish to write about. We are fortunate to be the generation living in the information age. With a heavily loaded internet, research has never been easier. Research on the internet however, needs to be conducted with extreme care. There is a lot of false or unverifiable information out there. You should only get your information from reputable sites such as Wikipedia and Wikihow.

Proof Reading

Truly beautiful writing is only created through proof reading. This is the intense process of reading through your completed work and correcting it. Personally, I have never written anything that was perfect. I have always found those small spelling errors and typos during proof reading. It is also through proof reading that I have come to learn that the autocorrect function does not always know what you want to say. It often misses the context of a word and you can only find the anomaly through proof reading. Some sentences are too long and others have superfluous words. Proof reading helps you to weed out unnecessary words and split winding sentences into short and precise ones.

Platforms for Showcasing your Writing

There are many forums where you can put up your writing for people to read and give useful feedback. This is important because unless other people read your work, you might never how good (or bad) you are. My forum of choice is blogging (such as this Layman). Blogging is highly recommended for any aspiring writer because it provides a continuous showcase of your writing and enables you to track your progress through the days. The most popular (and free) blog sites are blogpot.com and wordpress.com. It is also possible to blog on the online Standard Newspaper site standardmedia.co.ke under U-Report.

Now that you know how to go about it, you can get started immediately. Those of you who will take this up will never regret it. Writing is a very fulfilling hobby which can also become a reliable source of income. I will however not delve into how to sell your writing here. I will have to wait for you to attain some reasonable proficiency before I can show you how to become a full professional.