Author name: Onyemechi Nwakonam

What Teaching Kids Taught me About Writing? When I was called to be a home lesson teacher. I had no experience. No clue. But the person asking me to do this believed I could do it. As with things I am confused about. I called persons I knew had the experience for advice Googled. Checked YouTube. Figure it out When I started I knew beyond doubt that I could figure it out. I just didn’t know how . What was special about this was the time between learning a technique and putting it in practice….

Happy New Month Welcome to March What have you been up to ? It is the third month of the first quarter of the year. The year has been moving so fast. The goals are staring at me and grinning in mockery. Gather your strength because it will be needed. National Poetry Month . It is in three core areas. Read Write Speak You can fill in the blanks. Next week I will send the plan for the month to help you prepare. Open to suggestions.

Rethinking Writer’s Block: Is It Really Burnout
Writing Burnout is not what you think
Status Quo
We hear these tips from writers . Don’t go too far.
The invisible boundaries we must not cross.
If we do. Oh it must not happen.
What if it does happen?
Your very love for the craft becomes a burning hate for the craft.
The work which once gave you joy becomes an eternal misery.
The Shift
Over the week I have been asking myself a simple question.
What if the reason I feel burnt out or writer’s…

Why is writing difficult?
In reality it is of two folds the type we call writer’s block and the other is the skill to write well.
I made a podcast episode talking about this question in detail.
You can listen here
Spotify​
Apple Podcast​
Let me know if you have any questions.
Until next time, keep writing
P.S
April is National Poetry Month. Hope you are planning and preparing for it.

2 February 2024
Happy New Month.
The year is moving so fast.
All my goals are yet to start
Progress
This week I wrote 5 fifty word stories and 5 short poems .
Over the weekend I will edit and submit to Literary Magazines.
In today’s episode of archive of excuses
I am waiting for inspiration to strike.
I used to think inspiration was what made great work.
I was wrong.
A great work consists of
A great story
The Manner of Telling
The perfect example of this is a young incompetent painter…

Complexity is my Enemy
I am overwhelmed.
I am scared.
So I don’t write.
There would be nothing to be overwhelmed about if I wasn’t over analytical wanting to get all the pieces together.
Here’s the funny thing. Even when I think I have gotten all the pieces together there will always be more.
Looking at my writing life I have looked for what my goals are for the year. I noticed that all the goals are based on the foundation of practice.
Since everything was so complex and abstract. I sought…

I don’t have enough time to write.
This newsletter is the beginning of a series on writers’ excuses. If you have excuses you want me to write on, you can send them.
As I am writing this newsletter I have to look at my life and see that I am answering a question and countering a statement I make.
How do I find time to write?
I don’t have time to write.
What’s the real issue?
I have asked myself this question: what is the real issue? What does not having enough time to write mean for me?
For…

I am happy to know this at the start of a new year.
The problem was not the goals or results I wanted . It was the lifestyle I had.
What I mean is that if you look at the life of famous writers. There’s really no pattern. The only link is they all had their own lifestyle that allowed them to write.
Some writers sacrificed parties so they could write. Others changed from novels to short stories.
Still they had their own lifestyle peculiar to them but allowed them to write.
As regards the goals…

Thank you and a Happy New year​​
As the end of the year draws so close. I want to thank you for being there all through 2023. For the feedback and the replies. This helped with the assurance that someone out there is reading my emails on writing.
I have all your replies in my favorite folder.
Mistakes were made
It’s a phrase that denies responsibility. Instead I made mistakes as regards writing. Well I wrote some stories. If you look at it you will see it is a form of progress because I have…