THE
AGONY OF BEING A WRITER.
Writing is usually the last language skill we all
learn. In early primary the first skill we obtain is listening followed by
speaking, reading and finally putting it down on paper by writing.
A writer can write for personal enjoyment or use, or
for an audience which can be known or unknown. Blogging to be precise is an
example of writing to an unknown audience, meaning, the blogger will not know
who will read an article and how the article will be perceived.
All that can be done is try as much as one can, to
ensure that whatever you write is substantial, informative and will be of help
to your readers.
Writing can be done from a wide perspective, that is
personal experiences, social issues, politics, religion, upcoming events, own
imaginations and many more others. And to make certain that your readers get
the best is to ensure you are well armed with facts and are knowledgeable about
what you want to write about.
As easy as it may sound, writing comes with its own
pressures;
Convincing yourself that you have content worth
reading, believing that someone would care enough to open your work and try to
understand your writing and not be lost in your language. Believing that your
story would benefit another soul which can relate through your work.
Imagine writers
as bellmen, trying to inform people of the happenings around them. Most of us
bellmen spend hours on end figuring out the right words to make our readers
stop, just for a second and consider the article before them.
Our hope is someday, somebody will bother to question
our writing, not criticize, but tell us how something could be done better.
This could be a plus on our side since that individual took time to read our
article and saw the worth to commend us or correct us where he\she felt we were
wrong. Our wish is that at some point our articles shall spark debates on
humanity. That a reader might reach out to us to get clarity for that one line
they cannot seem to forget.
The pain of typing yet resisting the publish button,
many bloggers know this, because we feel that there is a missing piece. A piece
we might not get hold of in a day, weeks even months. Forcing us to go back,
experience, research and place our puzzles in order.
Spending hours staring at the cursor, knowing your
audience wants you to deliver yet lacking the right words that could better
explain your story. Each line, each
paragraph is filled with the uncertainty of how it shall be perceived.
When you finally decide to publish your work, non-writers
will see these epistle of words, unaware of what the writer went through to
ensure that the article came to be, unknowing of our silent expectation that
the work would make someone question something before it is too late.
Some of us write for glory, some about glory. But we
all write to leave earth better educated than we read about it.
As once said, writing is hard sometimes. The craft is
challenging, the pressures of publication and promotion daunting. The best
thing we can do is to get out of our way, and remember that writing is our
passion, our play, our refuge and our privilege.
BY SUSAN DORICE KWEGAH
Suekwegah.blogspot.com
Twitter @SKwegah
Instagram @ Sue Kwegah
Facebook @ Sue Kwegah
0742836055
