Want to Write Moving Essays? Five Tips to Help You.

I do not want to write essays that sit down mum on a plain sheet. I know written words cannot talk but they have the power to move readers. And I want my essays to move my readers. This has always been my motivating factor whenever I write different kinds of essays--personal essays on motherhood, award-winning competition essays on Nigeria, a travel essay on Uganda, journalism pieces on subjects like politics or tribal marks. This has even been more challenging with my academic writing.

When I speak of ‘moving essays’, I speak of certain qualities, many of them inherent in the essay itself, that make your essays affect your reader in a certain way. It may give them new knowledge. It may make them laugh. It may make them cry. It may make them nod in agreement. It may do several things to them. In all your writing, write moving essays.

Let me tell you how. If you want to know more, read on.

Moving essays take time. I know that is not what many people want to hear. Your essay must move you first if it has to move other people. What do I mean? Often, an idea strikes you and you want to write about it; there is an essay competition that you need to enter; do not be tempted to start writing immediately. Think about the issue. Have a conversation with it. Ask other people about it. Do your research. Sit with it. Let it live in your head. Let it move you, let it take over your world, and then it moves your hands to write.

First lesson: it is only when an essay has moved you that it may move others. 

Second, an essay is a story; tell it. The more you begin to see essays as stories—you know tales by moonlight or your best movie—the easier it becomes to tell. And by this, I mean, once you figure out the plot of your essay—to borrow a fiction lingo—that is your beginning, middle, and end, every other thing is easy from there. You break it down in your head by asking: what is in each paragraph? How do I want to open each? What is my hook? How do I wrap each paragraph up in a way that ties the whole essay together? What does each paragraph do to my reader?

Second lesson: your essay is a story, listen to it, then write it as it guides you. 

Third, find your voice. You may be exposed to different forms/styles of writing. However, you need to find your own voice. It is your signature, that stands you out. If you ask me what my voice is like as a writer: I’d say chatty, playful, fun, moving—yes, that word again. Your voice is ultimately tied to what you want your story to achieve. And this mastery of your writing voice takes time. It is like Dare Art Alade’s music. In his early days, his voice—not the singing voice—was not quite distinct. He did RnB, a bit of hip-hop, and featured some other singers with different styles. However, by the time he mastered his voice and knew exactly what he was on about, he stood out. It takes time. It is a slow deliberate process, it cannot be jumped. For a writer, sometimes this happens as you walk through your drafts—a first draft is hardly good enough, even for the best writers. The more you do this, the better you get, even as you begin to get a better grasp of your flow and style.

Third lesson: Be deliberate about what your writing sounds like. Do not let your voice get lost in the cacophony of sounds you listen to. Find your voice. 

Fourth, master your craft. I know, the third point is about mastery. However, mastery of one’s craft is more for me, a deliberate process to get yourself introduced to the resources you need for your writing growth. This may change at different points in time. When I started writing, I soaked myself in a lot of non-fiction. When I felt as if I’d mastered the craft well, I began to expose myself to the mastery of fiction tools. I am still learning that. Recently, it has been more about copywriting, UX research, and writing—I have a big dream of working with a (social) media giant. Haha. This may sound cliche but is true—read, read, read. Read wide by consuming a variety of materials. Read deep by focusing on niche fields of interest.

Fourth lesson: what you need to master may change per time based on whatever goals you have but your ability to write words that move is one that is constant. Despite the changes in craft mastery, do not lose your focus.

Fifth, pick the stones. In my house, we refer to stones, especially in òfadà rice as ‘oh god’ because that is the expression whenever your teeth crank on a stone instead of rice. That is what happens whenever a reader happens on a grammatical error, a change in tense, an inconsistency in POV while reading your work. These stones, become that cog in the wheel, preventing them from moving forward. It is important to fix them. You can do this by reading again and again, or getting a second eye to take a look. Only then, will your readers find precious stones, hidden gems, in your work.

Fifth lesson: picking your stones makes it easier for your readers to be moved. You are not an ‘oh god’ writer, you are a writer that moves your readers to say ‘oh god, this is good!’.

Go on, start writing, start moving. You’ve got this champ!

All that I have, I was given, so I always try to give back, as much as I can. This article is an adaptation of my talk during the Persons of Letters writing workshop. Thank you Micheal Aromolaran for the invitation.