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When The Message Is Bigger Than The Messenger

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s a writer, you get ideas for all kinds of content. But there is a time (which happens once in a blue moon) when you get an idea to write a book. This time, you know it’s different. It’s as if the universe is giving you a chance to write a book that will transform lives. This time you are ready because you have the capacity. 

As you start writing, the ideas flow like water in a stream. Suddenly, it’s as if you are a messenger receiving a message from the universe. 

Somehow you know you can’t mess this up. You can’t fail this time. This is the book that will save lives. This is the breakthrough moment for you as a writer. 

And if you get this right, you will write a book readers all over the world will love.

In 1974, Toni Morrison read a newspaper article about the life of a black African-American woman named Margaret Garner. What she read was so profound that it triggered an idea for a book in her mind. For many years, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She had gotten an idea for a book that would change the world. She had no option but to go ahead and write the book. Thirteen years later—in 1987, Toni Morrison published Beloved. 

The book examined the destructive legacy of slavery as it chronicled the life of a black woman named Sethe, from her pre-Civil War days as a slave in Kentucky to her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1873.

Part of Morrison’s project in Beloved was to recuperate a history that had been lost to the ravages of forced silences and willed forgetfulness. Like Chinua Achebe, Morrison wrote Sethe’s story with the voices of a people who historically have been denied the power of language. 

This book which is considered by many to be her best is a work of art that changed the world. 

In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for her book, Beloved. In 1993, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the first black woman of any nationality to win the prize. 

Toni Morrison is one of the most decorated writers of her time. It wasn’t because she was talented more than other writers. It was because she listened to her muse and didn’t allow anything to deter her from achieving her writing dream.

In her most famous advice to writers, she wrote, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

Whether you are writing a fiction or non-fiction book, when you get that rare book idea that comes once in blue moon, as a writer, you know you can’t mess it up. 

Sometimes, if you don’t take action, this book idea will remain at the back of your mind, disturbing you, urging you to go ahead and write the book. 

If you are surrounded by people who are not writers, they may not understand how you feel. 

You are the only one that knows you have an important mission to fulfil.

The question is, what should you do? Here are four things you should do right away:

  1. Write Down The Book Idea

    The first thing you should do is to write it down. Once you do this, continue to work on your book idea. As you do this, it will continue to expand until it becomes clearer and distinct.

  2. Break Down Your Writing Goal Into Smaller Goals

    Divide your writing into manageable tasks. Break down the big writing goal into smaller goals. This is the best way to overcome procrastination. Next, start writing. Write every week. Don’t worry if your writing pace is slow. Remain consistent until you write the last word. Whether your writing pace is fast or slow, the most important thing is that you are making progress.

  3. Remove All Distractions

    Make sure you create a writing space that is devoid of distraction. Create an environment that makes it easy for you to write. It’s important to consider the best time for you to write without distractions. When you do this, you will achieve your writing goal faster than you thought.

  4. Get Accountability Partners

    Several studies have shown that getting an accountability partner will increase your chances of achieving your writing goals by 90 percent.

When I started writing the second book in Ray Okon series, I sought the help of six of my writer friends. I requested that they help me stay on track. I knew I had a business to run and several projects to attend to. I could easily procrastinate and push my book writing project to the bottom of the pile. 

I wanted to write and finish that book. I told them that I would be writing at least three chapters each week. At the end of each week, I would share my progress with them. They agreed. They helped me stay on track and I was able to write and finish the book.

I’m grateful to my accountability partners for their kindness.

Ask your writer friends for help. They will help you stay on track. This is the best way to achieve your writing goal in today’s world that is filled with lots of distractions.

The time for excuses is over. The time for procrastination is over. Go ahead and write that book in your mind.

Once you finish writing, if you want Ifeadigo Publishing Company to publish your book, our team is ready to help you achieve your writing dream.

I hope you got value.

We wish you all the best. 

 

Kind regards,
Stanley from Ifeadigo.

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