The Making Of A Good Writer: My Story

Photo: Daniel Dela Dunoo

I am obviously not in the league of towering literary figures such as William Shakespeare, Stephen King,  J. K. Rowling, John Grisham, and Jane Austen among others; I am neither a Chinua Achebe nor an Ama Ata Aidoo. The Peggy Oppongs, the Lawrence Darmanis, and the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies are way ahead of me. However, I have a story to tell; a story about humble beginnings and a rewarding journey. Peradventure, some reader may find some encouragement to persist in the pursuit of a career path that may seem far-fetched.

My story

I did not major in courses such as Communications, Literature, English, Publishing, and Journalism among others. My majors at the University and at the Polytechnic a couple of years back did not point to a writing career; admittedly I started doing some bits and pieces of writing in my early teens (and continued all through school – both academic writing and doing some personal writing stuff) but it never crossed my mind that I will ever pursue a career in writing.

Suffice to state that some of the world`s great writers have diverse educational backgrounds that aren`t related to literature. A few phenomenal Ghanaian writers who come to mind are the engineer-trained Nana Awere Damoah, the Statistics-trained James Ebo Whyte (Uncle Ebo Whyte), the Physics-trained Martin Egblewogbe and the Chemistry-trained Kobina Ansah among others.

I am a practicing writer, though marketer-trained and theology-trained. My pursuit of a writing career began in earnest shortly after graduating from the university a couple of years back with absolutely no contacts and connections in the literary/publishing space. As a practicing writer, I have made some modest strides in the literary world; my articles, short stories, and poems have been widely published on websites, blogs, magazines, newspaper publications, and newsletters not only in Ghana but also in other nations such as Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and the United States of America. I have had the privilege of being the author of seven (7) self-published e-books. I have also written large volumes as a ghostwriter and have edited a wide variety of manuscripts. Surprised? Well, there is a secret; better still, there is an open secret; one that many good writers are fully abreast with and consistently leverage on.

Stephen King, a multiple award-winning and best-selling novelist put it this way: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” Ray Bradbury, a novelist, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and poet focused on the ‘writing a lot’ part when he noted: “Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer but if he applies the old-fashioned virtue of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of a career for himself.” These are great points to soberly ponder upon and to actualize if you are desirous of making a name for yourself in the literary world.

Now, before I could do a good job at writing and writing a lot (‘putting in the old-fashioned virtue of hard, constant labour”), I needed to learn how to read. Once this hurdle was scaled, I needed to develop a sound reading habit. I will share a brief personal story of the route that has brought me this far, tracing my humble beginnings.

I am fully persuaded my modest achievements thus far in the literary world would have merely been a fairy tale of proportions akin to “lady bird stories” had it not been for the pivotal role reading plays in my life.

When it all began

It was not until I got to primary five (As early as primary one, some of my mates could read) I learnt to read through the ‘iron-fisted’ tutelage of an elder brother.

           

Prior to overcoming this hurdle, I was one of the worst performing pupils in my class. My examinations scores and terminal reports were a disaster. I remember that occasionally, during class reading sessions, especially when our teacher was absent but had pre-informed the class captain to lead the class through reading in turns our English Comprehension test book, I will move from my seat to either a back seat or behind the class. This was quite embarrassing, to say the least.

Things however began to take a turn for the good shortly after I learnt to read in class five. This was in part because I developed a love for books. I read voraciously, spending a significant chunk of my spare moments reading “bedtime stories”, “ladybird stories” and several other books, including “Arabian night”. I also made time to read my school books.

           

In the course of time, I observed a radical change in my academic performance. For sure I was not one of the top ten pupils in my class of about fifty pupils. I was certainly not trailing behind either. I had shot up from being a below average student to being an average student and inching closer towards the above average circle which I eventually attained when I enrolled in the Senior Secondary school.

           

As a ‘reading addict’, I came across numerous unfamiliar words. I frequently consulted my dictionary in such circumstances. This helped broaden my vocabulary since I was learning new words by the day. This had a direct and considerable influence on my written and oral communication.

           

As the years went by, I added to my reading list motivational books and faith-based literature (Christian literature to be precise). These influenced my values and character profoundly; many valuable lessons were learnt and imbibed which till this day holds true in my life.

If there is a single habit that contributed significantly in piloting me through many years of schooling, I will dare say it was my reading habit. I read voraciously whiles a student in two tertiary institutions and that paid off well; it made a huge difference in my academic performance and ensured that I graduated with distinctions.

The writer`s habit

As an adult, and more so as a writer, I haven`t dropped the habit of reading; I simply cannot do without it. A brilliant mind was noted, “the day you stop learning, you start dying.” I still love to read good, motivational and educative books. I read virtually every day and this in part makes available some raw materials with which to create literary works that are worth reading. It was Benjamin Franklin who opined, “Either do something worth writing about or write something worth reading.” I have chosen to do both, but primarily the latter (and reading will of necessity feature prominently).

 Written by Daniel Dela Dunoo

(Writer, Editor, Blogger & founder of Topnotch Writing Solutions)

Email: danieldeladunoo@gmail.com

Blog: http://theroyalwordsmithgh.wordpress.com