If you want to be a great writer, I recommend chewing gum. It’s been one hell of a year, and I just had to do a review of things. How did I get this far?

This year alone, I have been published in Guardian Nigeria, The Kalahari Review, Sahara Reporters, Pulse Nigeria and several other spaces including academic spaces. I have written content for more than 150 businesses. For me, I have dominated content spaces whether we are talking about passion, money or just for the sake of living for a purpose. I am doing what it takes to be called a professional writer.

Let me thrill you even more. I just received news that one of my academic articles has been approved for publication by an international journal in their December Issue. I started chewing gum again this year after a long time since I stopped. Only recently did I notice that it was becoming a habit. I am really scared for my teeth but I still recommend you get yourself a pack of chewing gum.

The path ahead of anyone who mistakenly admires the writing lifestyle is arduous. You will stay up late at night and take selfies to remind yourself of the grind in a few years. Sometimes you take those pictures because how can you forget all you had to do? Yesterday, I went to the store to get grocery after weeks of being locked up in my room. It was the only break I could squeeze out of my tight schedule. As I walked through the shop aisle, I picked out all the essentials; some canned tomatoes, chakalaka, eggs, milk, and chewing gum. I dropped the meat and fish because I am going to order soup from Sunnyside and microwave portions as needed.

Two things you cannot play with as a writer is time and chewing gum. Chewing gum will keep you awake for enough to finish all the thousands of drafts. Understand that not every writing you will do is going to come from clients. There is writing you do that is merely for professional growth and your network. I do these kinds of writing and a lot more, every day. And each night when I look at all I am able to achieve, I cannot but forgive myself of this addiction to chewing gum. I know it might mess up my teeth but I am trying. The most important thing is to tell the story. And you must make every word count.

This month, my team at Creative Freelance Writerz-Africa has organized a workshop and we invited some seasoned writers. If you go through our website, you will find a lot of publishing going on. We decided that we want to train writers who are consciously able to create quality stories and dominate their own workspaces. It’s quite fun when I think of how much writing has changed my life and personality. I think everyone deep down wants to be a writer. Not everyone will be.

However, if you must become a writer, then there are stories and ideas that only writers more experienced than you can share. When they share it, these ideas will open doors for you, help you become the more skilled than you ever were. If you want to be taken seriously as a writer, or you want to take your writing seriously, then join the Chapter 20 workshop on the 26th of September. Don’t say you never heard.

We are already selling tickets fast and you should hurry to signup. Okay, back to my story. When it comes to skills and talent, I think the effort is more important than muse or talent. A lot of talented writers are out there but they sleep too much. I am not saying this as motivational hogwash but sometimes, deprive yourself of sleep so you can achieve your dreams. How can you even sleep when you have hundreds of rejection emails and only those few acceptances? How do you sleep at night? Just kidding but you get my drift.

Go register and join the workshop.