My Lessons Learned From Writing Regularly

I thought that I would be better at it by now but I am not. Even with several published newspaper and magazine articles—and some at international level, a regular blog and 10 books to boot, I have barely scratched the surface of the literary world. Holding copies of my books on a queue won't win me the kind of fame someone once found in holding a paper bag of githeri on election day.

We all go to school when we come of age and are expected to keep up with our classmates. But that is not always the case. There is always that one thing that holds one behind, be it academic or extracurricular. Correctly spelt words was that thing for me and I feared to write. One day, someone talked about confronting one's fears conclusively if you must grow beyond them.

That is what set me on the path to writing. And every time I do it, I am confronting a fear that kept me in the shadows for a long time.

I was not a born writer, and several other writers that I respect too were never naturally good at it. If you know of someone that fits this script, please urge them on, it could end up being the one thing that betters the world as we know it.

I found myself compensating by writing board papers for my bosses when I was hardly in line to report to any board. It's not without peril as it has gotten me nearly expelled from a members club and some social media forums. It has had me locked out of contention for advisor-based assignments by jealous types who felt that my presence would render their usefulness untenable, but equally, I have landed assignments that are very dear to my clients. And the penning goes on.

I have come to believe that sometimes God hides our blessing deep inside our weaknesses and lets us unlock it in the same way one must slaughter an animal first to make shoes or sustainably cut down a big tree in the forest to make a table that then gets handed down for generations to come.

If you plan to write for the money, you may be disappointed. Skill and serendipity must align to get you known and bought. You must write for the love of it. But it is in the habit of consistently penning that one gets better. The 10,000-hour rule comes into play and just like a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step, start yours today.

Some of my regular readers have developed the skill of forwarding my writings as their own original works. And worse still, some local printers have gone behind my back to produce my books for street vendors who pocket everything. If you never bought them from a supermarket or me, then just know that you are encouraging book piracy.

In Kenya, writing is not for the faint-hearted. The actual writing ironically is the easier part. Paying lawyers and spending time seeking compensation almost always is a wild goose chase.

We are in a country where you pay dearly after doing the right thing and instead, you get handsomely rewarded for being corrupt.

So, why work so hard when it never pays? Why not get into this craft whose only rule is, 'just never get caught'?

In Kenya, the daily occurrences have been rendered too blunt to prick our individual or collective conscience by our permissive attitudes. And when they are sharp enough to prick, we simply are too weak financially or socially to make any meaningful impact. Blackmail writing pays well here but it has its perils and those cut out for it can advise you about it.

Don't get me wrong about the love for writing. It has put food on many tables, bought plane tickets and yachts for some. And if you wish to follow suit, then, please find time to write and not just forward other people's work as your own. Let your original Twit, SMS or WhatsApp message become the first paragraph of an article. Then let the articles become chapters of a book. The fame from writing may win you a promotion at work or an admirer worth your attention.

When you are an author abroad, people find you complete. Here at home, people ask what else you are doing to make ends meet. When they get to know what you write on, they tell you that their preferences are in genres you never write on, but ironically, they will read your book if you give it for free. They will even come back after reading it for a detailed discussion. Many are not socialised to accept local authors.

I recall an incident where a well-paid executive in the corporate communications sector, accepted to buy a book from me, he took it and failed to pay for it, despite several reminders. We still meet and greet but we never talk about the book. The same guy runs an essential service and wonders why I don't promote his business. He is a very cold and inconsiderate chap. But thankfully, I have lived on to write some more.

But now, I will test the International market. I will offer my stock in trade to a world that I never grew up in. And if the results prove positive, I will let you know just for knowing's sake. I will let you know if ours is just to produce for a reading crazy world or not.

And even if I don't succeed out there, I will keep on writing. The late Henry Ole Kulet remains a true inspiration and I yearn for his kind of success, our different genres notwithstanding. Joanne Rowlings, the author of the acclaimed Harry Potter series, wrote right from her childhood, but it wasn't until in her 50s that she found fame and a decent wad of money. Granted, we have very successful one-hit wonders, but I am in it for the long haul. I still need the kind of endurance that can carry me through. I will find it in the positive minds around me as I grow a thicker skin to protect myself from the naysayers who form the unhelpful majority.

Are you brave enough to share your story? Let me know.