What Are You Writing?

No matter how boring, busy, productive, destructive, innovative, challenging, sad, mind blowing or crazy your life has been, it becomes a story when someone sits down to recount it. Note that this person would only be recounting what you have already written, no additions or subtractions.

It’s all you from preface to epilogue, you are the bestselling author of this story.

There are two principles in writing by Seth Godin that I quite agree with. These are; “Who is it for? and What is it for?” I interprete this as “to whom and why ?”

To whom?

Who are you writing this story to? Is it to your parent, social media, your friends, your crush, your mentor, to yourself or is it to posterity?

Why?

Are you writing to pepper dem, belong in the circle, impress him or her, or to teach a lesson?

Whether you know who you’re writing to or why you’re writing, the fact remains that you are writing. Everyday you wake up is a new page. Every step you take will make up a line of the story. Every decision you make starts a new paragraph that will take you through suspence and eventual consequence of those decisions.

One thing a good writer has is an outline; a guide, ground rules that your story is based on. Do you have an outline or are you just going with the flow?

Everyone knows about trend. There’s always that new thing in fashion, hairstyle, clothing, food, show, quote and even mood. There is always something that’s top on the hashtag trend and I don’t believe this is negative, not until you make it the outline to this book you’re writing called life. These trends come and go after a while so basing your life on them is as good as giving the pen to a one year old to scribble for you. The child will move the pen as he pleases without following the lines or being conscious enough to write out readable letters.

What exactly are you writing?

I am a firm believer of the truth that no one else can be you the way you can, just like you cannot be anyone else the way they can. Which makes me very confused when people go the extra mile to be a photocopy. You are already an original for crying out loud! Why not pursue being the best of yourself?

I’ve tried but failed to fully understand why people follow a different outline on every page they write. Why waste an original ink on a fake story? Why choose to allow people who aren’t on the same value level with you influence a paragraph in your story?

Again I ask, what are you writing?

Why do you allow stereotypes put a full stop on a sentence you are yet to complete? I’m talking about gender, age, background, finances, ethnicity, you name it. Why allow people say you cannot write a particular line just because a set of people could not? Or worse, tell you to write it because your predecessors did.

My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee…. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

Proverbs 7:1&3

I love Proverbs and wisdom in general. The Word is my outline.

I’ll end on this note; that I will not live my life based on someone’s story. I’ve got mine to write. Yes I will allow editing from those I consider mentors in the writing field and I will take advice from those that have groomed people in the art of writing. However, I will not become someone else’s story no matter how nice it sounds.

The summary is this; be the best of you by being you with all you’ve got! Say yes to an August of authenticity and say no to plagiarism!!!

Thank you for reading 💖