How to Write

You and I spent many years in school. With the focus of acquiring lifelong skills that enable you and I to reach the peak of our career.

When a person is tagged as being educated , everyone expects the person to have learned the necessary fundamentals of learning . Some of them are reading, speaking, and writing.?

Research also shows writing is like a mental workout for your learning process .?

Worthy to note, that Writing strengthens memory, helps clarify thinking and helps you actively to grapple with new information.

But I am saddened that many people , who ascribe to themselves as being educated, can't perform this art called “Writing”. which is a high-level of learning.

And If you are wondering why it is? important to learn how to write. Consider what Paul Graham said about writing.

“ Writing about something, even something you know well, usually shows you that you didn't know it as well as you thought. Putting ideas into words is a severe test. The first words you choose are usually wrong; you have to rewrite sentences over and over to get them exactly right. And your ideas won't just be imprecise, but incomplete too. Half the ideas that end up in an essay will be ones you thought of while you were writing it. Indeed, that's why I write them.”

So, know that writing can benefit you with many things but importantly two things?

• Critical thinking and autonomy?
• Personal Growth?

Critical thinking and autonomy

In today's world , where information overload , virality of fake information, brainwashed ideologies, and bizarre concepts are the order of the day.? Writing grants you deeper understanding to decipher what is right, wrong, good and bad with minimal?bias in your judgment.?

Writing empowers you to become a leader and autonomous in your field, uphold what you believe in, and creatively tell the world what you specialize in .?

The world has enough followers, we need more pragmatic and charismatic leaders.?And to be such a leader, you need to learn how to write.?

Personal Growth

Many young professionals, entrepreneurs,?industry-experts?and students complain and wonder how? they can develop themselves holistically? and which will get them to the peak of their career.

I tell you to start writing!

Writing enforces you to implement what you are learning in all parts of your life.?Writing is a tool for self-discovery and a way to inspire others.?

Many business professionals use writing to establish themselves as thought leaders in their industries. By sharing their knowledge and expertise through articles, blogs, or even books, they build their credibility and advance their careers.

Even private writing practices like journaling can be transformative.?Journaling allows individuals to reflect on their experiences, set goals, and track their progress. It's a powerful tool for personal development.

Now, we know that writing is crucial to our self development journey in life .?

Here are few steps to follow when you decide to write?

Always write on what pick your curiosity

Anytime I have a deep discussion with a friend or younger ones . And I tell them to start writing even if it is just journaling . Next question I get is “what should I write about ?”

I tell you to write on any topic that picks your interest.??

Sometimes you walk down the street and see random stuff or have random thoughts? . Then begin to wonder about the stuff or the thought. If you ask two , three questions about the stuff or the thought. I advise you to just write about it .

If you genuinely care about the stuff or the thought , it means there is a high chance someone is out there, in the world that also cares about the stuff or thought you cared about .?

Research about your curious topic?

This seems straightforward but many people will ask how I should research the topic??

In today's world of the Internet, everything is smart move.?

No matter what topic picked your interest , someone, somewhere has written, filmed, talked, created and discussed about it before , maybe not literally.? But an attempt must have been made about the topic before.?

So go on the Internet, read about it , watch videos on it, see the threads on the social networks.?

Note, as you are doing all these , jot down thoughts on the topic, references and if possible read books. Have discussion on the topic with friends, family members, and talk to available experts on the topic.??

All these processes will give you deep knowledge and a rough overview of the topic. Then I think you are equipped to start writing your essay.

Write your first draft in simple words

Having gone through that time-consuming research, you will have all kind of juicy-ideas that you want to write down and if you aren't careful , you will move into the state of graphophobia ( The fear of writing).?

Then, you wonder why are you afraid,? after all the knowledge you have acquired about your chosen topic.??Don't panic, it is normal as human to encounter fear,? when we want to venture into the unknown.?Your fear might come as a result of thinking , what I am about to write, will it turn out great or not ??

?Just remember practice makes perfect.? So shoot your shot at writing.

Take a deep breath, sit down,?another deep breath , start writing , preferably as a starter,?write on paper. It gives you a complete focus.

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Write your first draft on paper. Don't bother much with grammatical rules , just write till you think you exhausted your thoughts on the topic.?Then you are ready for the next phase .

Take a break from what you have written?

If you have done prior step well, you will have a feeling that you conquered the giant in the room.?Take that energy to do something else.

Just excuse yourself from what you have written. It might take hours, days or week before you come back to it . It all depends on you and how fast you need to complete the writing.?

The purpose of the break is to relax brain muscles utilized during the writing and enable you to bring?a fresh perspectives and better insights to what you have written.?

?Review your writing?

After the break, you got back to writing,? then realized some words, sentences or paragraphs don't align well. Maybe some terms definitions aren't clear.?

In this session, you rearrange them, redefine and delete some words, sentences if needed.?All these are done, just to have a chronological writing and synchronization of ideas.

When you are done dotting the is and crossing the ts .?Read out your work, to hear the tone your writing gives. Because there is always a tone each writing gives, either you notices it or not.?

What tone do you want your writing to give ? Professional,? Entrepreneurial,? Expert-oriented or maybe a Life-long learner ?

It all depends on you.??Repeat this process till you are satisfied with everything about your writing.??

Then you do the holy grail!

Send it to a friend

When Chefs cook, they taste it before serving the restaurant's customers. Also when a company developed a new product or service , they do beta testing by inviting only few trusted potential consumers to try the product or service and give their feedback.??

These feedbacks either good or bad, first it is genuine and second , it is used to better the product to achieve product market fit.?

Your writing is not different to these products or services. You need to do beta testing or give a fellow Chef to taste and give his or her opinion.??

When you are done with your writing . It is time for feedback,? in order to get better . Send your writing to a friend.?

Tell them to read what you have written and give their honest feedback on it.?Though, it's better to send to friends that know you well, care about you, and wants to see you develop.?These type of friends will give a better feedback that will benefit you either the feedback is good or bad.?

After the feedback,? work on the suggestions your friends gave. Then publish online .?

Wow, congratulations, you made it ( Buy yourself a chilled Zobo).?

Note

Zobo is a nutritious natural drink made in Nigeria.

Thanks to Abdullah Salaudeen , Precious Oladipupo and Muneeb Zafaran for reading drafts of this.