INSPIRED TO WRITE

by | Sep 10, 2016 | Editor's Muse | 5 comments

Inspired to write!
By Damilola Jonathan O. (Creativeriterz team members)

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Blogging is one of the most bastardized writing tools in Nigeria, the community of blogs are filled with flat, crass and baseless content. Most times recycled by Nigerians who have heard that Google AdSense pays in dollars, a large percentage think it is the alternative for internet fraud (yahoo yahoo).

The first people who had webpages called them “web logs” which we now call blogs, links.net (the first blog) was created by Justin Hall. The term blog came up in 1997, not long at all. Blogging was a process of journaling or keeping logs, keeping track. These people were making history, they needed to document, they were laying the foundation for generations, early bloggers had the world of internet at their feet, they were INSPIRED!

A lot of code writing and programming made publishing an exclusive preserve for nerds and very few writers could actually use the internet as much as we now do.

The question for the 21st century blogger

Is not how to code a page or where to get posts, a lot of people copy and reblogg unoriginal content all for the traffic and money. There is no incentive to achieve the exceptional, not many people question the value of their output.
The question on a lot of minds is:

How do I get Inspired to write?

1. Read: NO! Most writers hardly sit around reading volumes except when they RESEARCH, a number of writers I know have excitable minds and can hardly sit through stretches of text. People hammer on Reading so much that most of us feel discouraged, we think our inability to finish reading 100 thousand pages implies that we are not good writers.

2. No, research should be your greater goal, DEFINE A PROBLEM, then seek answers and your reading will yield better value. A writer has an ability to identify gaps that need to be filled, knowledge that needs to be passed on. Writing is about reaching out, meeting a need and staying connected to an audience.

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Example:

Some weeks back, I had this burning question about understanding how successful bloggers achieve their heights in Nigeria. Yesterday, 8th of September was when I got back from my Masters Programme and had time to do something outside academic work so I ran a search and got the profile of 10 leading bloggers.

Who Comes to Mind?

When you hear blogging in Nigeria, who comes to mind. Follow this link to see  this interesting result I got, I found that most of these writers focused on either entertainment, technology, writing or education. Your writing should have DIRECTION and PURPOSE

3. Personalities: attach your ideas to personalities, find out WHO is a key player in the problem area you have defined and read about them. I remember someone asked me to write a speech “Pathways to Progress and Unity”. While researching the topic, I found Tony Elumelu and later discovered that he had a site for his speeches and his repository of knowledge was more than enough for what I needed to write.

So when it comes to writing one of the key issues you have to resolve in your research is WHO?

I will conclude this lesson with a question I gave out once, I asked some of my students and friends who they would want to be if they had a chance to choose someone’s life. Here is an answer from Sinmi Joel, she is one terrific writer:

“I would be me!
1. I wouldn’t want to deny the world of such a gift.”

As much as your writing may reflect similar styles, themes, content as some other writers, you still have to always be yourself. Being inspired to write involves a kind of vulnerability (As Eyitayo would say), where the writer’s life ceases to be private and consequently becomes an open spring that does not run dry.
Lesson QUIZ:
Where do you Get Inspired?

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PS. Eyitayo Ogunmola  is the CEO, Human Capacity Development Center and PMhub inc.

Designs by: Fate Charles,

5 Comments

  1. creativeriterz

    Thanks so much Innocent. Glad you loved the post.

    Reply
  2. weighttherapyblog

    Yea,it is indeed a nice write up,Weldone.
    I respect your brilliance,keep it up.
    Talking about Where you get inspired?..Does it mean one can only write in that place?what if you need to write at a particular time and you can get to that place!is there a way around it??

    Reply
    • creativeriterz

      Thanks for your compliments, glad you liked the post. About locations that inspire you, its not a ritual kind of issue. Sometimes people visit the beach, go to the park or take road trips when they need to have alone time and write. This does not mean that a writer should start looking for such locations before being able to write. It should be once a while, taking a break from the buzz of life.

      Reply
  3. teemee1410

    Wow!…beautiful write up. Now I know I don’t really have to have red all the books in the world like Jonathan De-first to be a writer. Thank you for shedding this beautiful light on what writing entails.
    But, how can one become a writer with a private life?

    Reply
    • creativeriterz

      Hmmm….a lot of people have asked this question in my inbox. I will try to address the issue of privacy as a write, I believe it is important that writers help their audience to know that they should not be judged by what they write. Thanks for reading and I am glad you loved it.

      Reply

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