Author name: Onyemechi Nwakonam

I have been following my own advice from last week newsletter on keeping a journal for story inspiration. The approach I use is writing the things that happened in the day as highlights.
Kind of memory triggers.
At the end of the week I use them to write a short fiction in one sitting.
I find that for short fiction if it takes more than one sitting it changes it becomes another story.
I use the Grid Diary app to journal for now.
On Writing Schedule
While everyone is not the same and the path…

What is the use of writing?
At a point we ask what is the use of writing.
Especially for writing like journalling and creative writing that is not necessary for a commodity.
What I see in the face of Ai is like the game of chess. The chess AI plays better than humans but we compete with ourselves .
Five years ago. Wait two years ago we discard the thought of robots writing literature now the argument has changed.
One thing is that the landscape of writing is changing .
People are bridging…

What makes writing good enough?
Personal Update
I have been writing my tests in school. Preparing for exams.
What makes writing great?
As a beginner when I read great writing it resonates and I love it.
But when it comes to writing mine there is that missing link. It is like an empty drum.
What is missing I don’t know. If I knew, my writing would be great.
One of the challenges of a beginner is that we don’t know what we don’t know.
I have been thinking ” how can I know the missing link”.
I…

The courage you need to write
At first when I started writing I thought it was because I didn’t know that much about the techniques that’s why I was scared. Until I realized that other pro writers where scared.
With every passing day I write . My admiration for the writers that show up to write grows.
Writing is an act of courage. Everyday I have to muster the courage to show up and write.
Quote
You need a certain amount of nerve to be a writer – Margaret Atwood.
I write in terror. I have to…

Quote
You fail only if you stop writing.” Ray Bradbury
Progress
Last week I told you about starting Small as a writer. I have consistently been writing for ten minutes everyday.
When I feel tired and overwhelmed, the goal is to show up as a writer and it is not necessary to write a “great” or “perfect” . Doing this reduces the pressure.
I feel more like a writer.
Ray Bradbury
One of Ray Bradbury Advice for young writers and beginners is to start writing a short story every week. I am taking…

I finally solved it!
After trying and failing to build a writing habit.
I asked myself one simple question and you can do it too.
What is the smallest amount of time I can dedicate to writing no matter how bad the day is or how much motivation I lack.”
For me it was ten minutes.
Since I write poetry and short fiction I use
Five minutes – Poetry
Five minutes – Short Fiction
I write in the morning it makes me feel better through the day. And if I ever miss I can make up in the…

Starting Small. Submitting your stories
50/50
This week on Tuesday I started writing using the 50/50 framework to reduce overwhelm and get started.
The 50/50 challenge is a challenge to write fifty words poem and a story.
Most of the problem and feeling comes from not doing the work.
This week I will edit the stories and submit them to literary magazines