Michael Ogbu

Writing is arguably one of the most sought after skills in the world. It is as much a skill as it is a way of life, especially for a man of letters. Anyone who has gone through a formal education must have indulged in one form of “writing” and for one reason or the other. But, beyond that, writing is one of the most effective and yet, diaphanous methods of communication. It is a lifelong ability that is needed and applied in every sphere of human endeavours. Writing is a skill that compliments and burnishes every other individual skill, and as such, is considered the most revered of all skills.

The dream of becoming an accomplished writer is one that is greeted with a significant dose of satisfaction when actualised, yet, it has been confirmed to be one of the most ditched. As some reports would have it, a higher percentage of persons who venture into professional writing tend to falter along the way, and end up switching to other careers. This, as discombobulating as it may sound was to be my story, too. I had wandered on and off a countless times, going back-and-forth, oscillating on the journey to becoming a writer, and not without a plethora of abandoned and misplaced drafts.

I still can’t exactly place my hands on when and how the dream was birthed in my own case. In truth, I have in the past decades of my life conceived, midwifed and pursued more dreams (most of which were outrageously lofty) than I could come to count. But, in all of it, it is this – becoming a renowned writer that had excited me the most, and has outlived every one of such other dreams. It has been the one that I always would have to fall back on, and it could possibly have been the oldest of all my life pursuits.

Unconsciously, I have had to arrogate to myself as being a writer, carrying myself in that dignifying demeanour for as long as I could remember. Along the way, I found that, I would linger when I write, injecting extra moments and details into creating each given piece. Whether it was in my school days when we wrote essays, or in recent years, on the social media where I shared trivial posts, I have figured that I have the propensity to expend more time on writing than I would any other engagement, doing so with the least drudgery, ever. Matter-of factly, I found that I always would lose track of time in most occasions.

 I also came to understand that it would matter to me, more than anything else that my writing, (any piece of writing at all) appeared not only appealing, but compelling to the readers. And in time, I began to relish the outcomes, finding my journey and the resultant growth quite enrapturing. Expectedly, the ultimate reward, the recompense which is only to be gleaned from readers’ feedbacks (formal and informal) began to trickle in; proffering the greatest of gratifications that any writer would ever desire. Truth be told, being qualified or even as little as associated with a cerebral ability as good writing would make anyone feel exhilarated, if not arrogantly fulfilled.

But, amidst the vulnerabilities of those validations, I began to realise that there was more that I needed if I was to become an accomplished writer. It was something more than mere validations. Something more valuable. More substantial. An unquenchable hunger. Then, I recognised it had to do with my lack of zeal, and the will to commit to turning my craft into a gainful career. At that point, writing and the accompanying validations began to feel like the candy with its taste dissipating at the instance of its melting on the tongue. Like a bubble. Earlier on, I never had considered becoming a writer for any reason other than passion. So, I merely wallowed in the encomiums that came with my invaluable skill without ever thinking of a way I could convert it into something more worthwhile. Something profitable. Writing for me was meant to serve the sole purpose of visibility, not even wealth, or a more purposeful reason of impartation. So I merely wrote without focus, direction or any defined purpose. This, I have come to realise had been my major obstacle to becoming a successful writer all the years. The same is also true for many aspiring professional writers out there.

As it was in my case, the major limitation every beginner has had on this journey to honing this much venerated craft has been a lack of true and defined purpose. This is because, at the early stage, we all are either doomed to assume ourselves as too great a writer or are intensely ahead of ourselves that we fail to walk through the crucibles. We tend to arrogantly conjecture that writing had come to us naturally, and for that, we could make great writers without following the requisite processes. Without even having some plan or purpose. This is more so at our current time when everyone brands and parades as a writer. With the social media and the internet having bequeathed the world an interminable space to author and publish, writing has assumed the image of an all-comers affair. But, that is not utterly true. Writing howbeit, still is and will remain one of the most delicate crafts, and like every other technical skill, it entails an appreciable amount of professional rigours to undertake.

The fact that the pen has been unrestrainedly placed in the hands of many, most of which are not-so-good a hand, good writing is fast eroding the world, thereby, placing huge premiums on a few number of good writers. In other words, the world is in dire want of good writing, more than ever, and for one to make that notable distinction; to rise above the mediocrity of the crowd of writers means to be prepared to find a true purpose. It means to sit back and reconsider our given purposes, longing for that which would make all the difference because in true and defined purpose lies the underlying principles of its success.

Apparently, writing is still one of the most profitable skills on the face of the earth – even more profitable today that it has ever been which makes today the best moment to take up writing as a career. The global book publishing revenue as of 2023 stands at $129 billion as reported by Aspiring Author. And this stat, as you can see is only for book publishing. Writing has proliferated into so many other profitable genres today. It is a real gold mine which is why it requires some real work, some real digging. I tell you this, today is not the right day to down your tools. It is rather the day to write right. The day to roll up the sleeves and start shovelling for that true purpose. Because, when you finally find it, I bet you’d find your own hidden gems in the world of writing.