Writing is an interesting thing to do. It is a way to express what is within your inner self to the world. Writing has never been more fascinating than it is in this era, with technology all around us, information dangling everywhere on our faces , media streams and houses all around us to spoon feed us with all the information of events taking place everywhere within and without our borders. It so goes without reproach, that writing informs, educates, implores, and grows a person that does it, or that who partakes of its doing.
Getting back to the whole gist of this article, what does one, in this century and time really need to do some writing? Like I said above, this era and time gives us a lot of advantages over the people who wrote before us. William Shakespear didn’t have all we have now, and neither did Plato or Aristotle.
With my experience, I have put together top 4 tools of trade every writer today needs to have in their hands, and under their belts for a successful writing expedition and/or career.
- A Diary
Writing, like every other art is based on ideas. Ideas don’t come easy and the bad news is, they don’t come when you need them, but they flood you when you don’t. Just like it can take you several minutes to remember the name of the shop you bought the sewing needle from when mama asks you but immediately she leaves, it instantly comes to your head bragging, “Here I am! Here I am!” So do ideas.
It is time to show these ideas that you can be the cunning one this time and with your diary and pen, you can always put them down whenever they come. Wait, I know what you are thinking… “..this guy is insane, he just talked about the 21st century and still talks of a diary, I have a smartphone!” Well, I am not insane, I know. Now take your smartphone and keep it in your pocket, and get yourself a diary 🙂 .
2. A blog.
We no longer have to write our scripts on pages of paper to take them to the printers. Please note I didn’t say – “We no longer need to …” For your manuscripts or books or papers to get to as many people as you would want, you have to make as many copies, and that won’t be for free. Technology and the internet offers a solution that is ready to take your words to the entire world. According to the World Bank, in 2014, 43 persons per 100 people were internet users. What do you think of now?
You can start your blog at the various free blogging platforms – Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr, Medium, Ghost, Squarespace, Wix, Kasoma Africa. Please get the list of the 8 most popular platforms here. Now this is the time you can pull out that smartphone I implored you to stick into your pocket. You can blog using it.
3. Social Media Accounts.
You are probably on Facebook, Twitter, VibeCampo, Whatsapp ( so obvio ) and many other social media sites you think will make you the next best social being. You are right, you need them. After writing that awesome post on your blog, you need to get it to your fans and friends on Facebook, followers on VibeCampo and Twitter, to your contacts on Whatsapp, and crushes if there is any network that call them so :). They will be your first readers, and believe you me, you will get more than enough audience you need.
4. An aggressive personality.
This is not the last, this is only last in my small curated list, that is just meant to give you a gist of what it takes to be a writer in this century, so at least if Plato wakes up today, he’d see something different. A writer always has an eye for new things, new places, news, I mean, anything that looks out of place or mysteriously in place. A writer always looks out for what to write and this is what you need to be to have great content. Being aggressive will give you good command of what people are looking for an certainly want to read about.
This means that the tool this time is you.
You can always type your thoughts and any other tools you think there are in the comments. Till we meet again. It’s been nice talking to you today.
Writer: Brian Nyagol (C.E.O VibeCampo Social Network.)
1 thought on “Top 4 tools of trade for every writer today.”
I relate to this post in a lot of ways as a writer. In my handbag, I always make sure to carry a notebook(diary) and a pen just in case the ideas come flowing. Secondly, I have a blog poetviona.com. I am also active on Social Media and care about sharing ideas especially on Twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp. I am also aggressive in reaching out to my mentors in order for them to share with me their journey and how I can learn from their stories.
However, I would also like to say that it is a journey and therefore on keeps learning.
Thank you for this informative yet easy to relate to article Brian.