MY STORY :My blogging journey.
As a young energetic, practising investigative journalist, a writer, photographer and motor enthusiast, i still have a long way to go but then. Am on the perfect track running my own race. Having been born from a âgreatâ family, who support me fully is a blessing on itâs way since i got everything i need to make it and also help the rest on the same.
â
To me numbers have never put me down, I am my own inspiration but then,i have mentors too who have seen me grow in my writing journey,Mr .Gabriel Dinda,a writer and also the C. E. O And founder of Writers Guild Kenya just to mention but a few have greatly inspired me to âwrite for changeâ.
I am a believer of lense(s)and pen(s) for a better tomorrow and consistency in writing, which is not everybodyâs cup of coffee got me thinking of how i can as well encourage people to write daily and also keep up with their style but then, i created ten rules that have enabled me to do this perfectly without interfering with any of my schedules.
1.HONE IT CONTINUALLY ;To grow daily and keep a blog lively, and your readers commenting is every bloggers dream, numbers speak a lot. Depending on what exactly you craft on paper. People will buy a great commodity and stick to it, depending on how the packaging is done.
Thatâs why companies which make huge profits still maintain loyalty to itâs customers at all costs. It is the same with writing, people will only read your content and have comments both negative and positive depending on what you deliver.
2.ALWAYS KEEP YOUR STANDARDHIGH; To build a brand for yourself, consistency is key. There are so many musicians but we all know âSAUTI SOLâas one of the very best boys choir ever.
Theyâve been on top of their game ever since, but i believe they started from scratch and had to greatly invest in time, sweat and energy to get to the top. That means that itâs not an easy task to craft the best, but you can stand out if only you work ahead of the rest. personally, i canât write like Ngugi wa Thiongâo, i can never be Lindah Ogutu the news anchor for crying out loud but i can make âMEâ a brand of my own without being somebody else photocopy. â
3.ACT WITH INTEGRITY; Being young and keeping up with the first moving world today is one of the greatest challenge i face but then it also makes me work even harder. At times I am normally at home compiling a nice piece and once i get online, i find over 700 whatsapp messages from different groups, online buddies, my close circle and family whom i greatly consider.
But the thing challenge is that reading all this is impossible. The worst comes in when we meet in open forums and they probably think I got a âprice tag âand i just donât want to associate with them when in real sense I am doing what i need to. Missing dinners at friends place,changing environment month in and out and also missing my family members which i really do is at times depressing but then worth it, when you know exactly what you handling. At times i have to comply with these, which requires imtergrity.
4.GRIT YOUR TEETH AND FORGEAHEAD; Everyday to me is a brand new platform to make change (s). A while ago, people used to tell me how blogging is âhardâand it required specialized skills and capacity to own one.Every time my tutor came in class and asked how we were doing with our blogs, Iâd hide, and bury my head in the sand, I did this because guilt was eating me up from the inside.
â
It felt so odd of me.But then, on one of the classes, he threatened those without blogs on getting zeros on the final class if we couldnât adhere to it. This shook me greatly and the following day had my first story on Boniface Mwangi(a photojournalist) and got a round of applause from my classmates which made me even write more stories. I learnt that in life, we have to âSTOP âlistening to what people say in order to be the best.
5.KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE; While doing my first post, everything was a mess, half badly attached pictures, poor alignment of my work and so many grammatical errors. Today i can sit down, sip a cup of coffee and converse with other writers like Speranza(My favourite blogger) Since Iâve mastered the art of good writing.
I really donât need people to follow up on what i actually do for now, but i can speak what i believe can bring change. I sometimes switch off my phone and any other âdisruptive elements âand just read what others have written to acquire more knowledge in what they do as well as photography.
6.YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND; Have you ever talked to a 20 year old who replies Like a 50year old ?This is probably what âmostâpeople think of me.In my first year in campus, i never talked much, i always came to class on time and only left when my lectures were over.â
â
This surprised most of them, i familiarized with the environment around and today still when i speak people take me as a very serious person. And even laugh sometimes when they sayâŠ..âLynda hapendi ujingaâ...At times itâs good to know your lanes, when to act funny and when to act as a boss! Be true to yourself and people will give you the respect you deserve. Speak goodness keeping in mind that people donât forgetâshitâ!
7.WHAT IS YOUR EDGE ;I speak greatly of good stuff ,i try as much as possible to scribble in the morning when my energy levels are high. I then get friendly editors who read and correct my grammar, perfect clear shots from high megapixel cameras from my photographer⊠Ooh yes, i got one by the way. Who never disappoints in order to stand out.
â
â
â
Itâs impossible but with great support system you can. Others will simply say i got the so calledâGood connectionsâand thatâs why i got everything easy. Now thatâs their opinion which is completely non of my business. What people donât know is that you need to properly organize yourself and also have friends who want to see you shine. All this is very possible since i believe in positivity.
8.ITâS ALWAYS ABOUT THE READER; Whom in this case is like your client, think of yourself as a Chief executive officer in your writing company. Build a brand in your writing, let people consume what you want to put on the table.
â
Let people appreciate your art and at the end youâll surely earn it. You may spend sleepless nights editing, attaching photos and comparing notes from one writer to the other but when your moment of glory comes youâll gladly grab the royalties. Donât imitate, speak your mind but donât be abusive, itâs only a fool who doesnât accept criticism.
9.WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE; I believe 20million people in my country (Kenya) can afford a 10shilling pen and piece of paper to bring change. You doing have to compete with anybody in this race,the most important thing is that you got to have the âeyeâ.Change will start with me and never a million people. Try as much as possible to read as many books as possible, once in a while cheat on Facebook by reading a book.
â
10.SEEK A MENTOR; In school, people find it hard to believe that am serious, the other day when someone read my blog, he said âI canât believe you can write nice stuff Lynncy, i think you only write when you are normal â.This made me laugh my lungs out. To me life has never made me âserious âas they say. I mean why should i, when i got it âALL â.Donât be mistaken though⊠I too believe in getting or having a mentor.
But donât do everything he does because he or she could try bungee jumping and later have them break their spine when you could comfortably seat on the couch and enjoy some Netflix.