Authorship is the quality or state of being an author, which simply means an act of writing a book, article, essay, e.t.c. But this write-up is going to lay more emphasis on book writing which include but not limited to, educational subjects, literature, motivational, emotional, cultural and general views.
One major thing to understand about writing is, 'passion'. In any area you may wish to specialize in, you must be passionate and enthusiastic such that you would feel relieved and fulfilled whenever you are working on your piece.
This article is aimed at helping those who have zeal for authorship but don't really know how to go about it. Writing a book may have nothing to do with your academic discipline. For instance, a graduate of Biochemistry may be a prolific writer while someone who had a B.A in English and Literary Studies might not be able to author a story book of children category, and that doesn't mean he's not brilliant.
Now, if you have read this far, it means you are really ready to learn the subject of authorship, and I'm quite sure that the simple step-by-step approach underneath would be so gainful to you.
1. KNOW THE TITLE OR SUBJECT YOU WISH TO WORK ON: The first thing a reader of any book would see is the title or subject. Therefore, as a writer of a book, article, proposal, etc., the first question that should come to your mind is, "what is the suitable title for my work?" It is when you get this right, that you can move on. So, writing is one step after the other.
2. GET A GOOD OUTLINE: Just like when you want to write your normal WAEC or NECO Essay in English, the teachers of English Language had taught us to always prepare our outline before starting. The same method can be very helpful when you are working on a book project, or even articles and lots more. Kindly ask yourself thus; "how many chapters am I working on?" Let's assume the answer is, 10. You will now base your outline on 10 chapters according to what you want to be in each chapter. E.g.,
chapter 1 - introduction
chapter 10 conclusion
3. HOW TO FOLLOW AN OUTLINE: Arising from the above explanation, below is a sketch of a simple literary outline;
*Title: Kola and his friend
*Chapter 1: Kola's background and present class.
*Chapter 2: More facts about Kola - he's brilliant and very respectful to his parents.
*Chapter 3: He (Kola) had a friend, named Dotun. They were in the same class.
* Chapter 4: Dotun was not brilliant, but Kola thought he was brilliant because he's an expert in cheating.
* Chaptet 5: Dotun was arrogant too. He disrespected teachers and his parents.
Chapter 6: Kola tried to correct him but he refused to change.
Chapter 7: Teachers warned Kola to desist from moving with Dotun, but he still loved him, so, he continued moving with him.
Chapter 8: As Kola continued moving with Dotun, he too was gradually becoming arrogant.
Chapter 9: There was a day in the examination hall, Dotun was caught cheating. He was later expelled from the school.
Chapter 10: Kola was surprised, he thought Dotun was brilliant. But he thanked his destiny that the wayward boy didn't corrupt him completely before his eyes were opened to the truth.
Now, with the above simple outline, a literary work is 60% done. You only need to be following the outline and expanding the points in each chapter. However, there may be some little diversions and extra points as you proceed in your work, because new ideas might be flowing to your brain at that point, but not total deviation from the outline. The outline is your steering now.
4. GATHER YOUR INFORMATION: For example in literature, if you are working on a detective story, you must make adequate enquiry to make sure that you are original in your presentation. So, depending on your genre, you must have every necessary fact and never be an ignorant of what you are preaching to the public.
5. TIME: Once you set for work by achieving the 1 - 4 above, make sure to be giving at least, one hour per day for your work, because if you abandon the write-up for too long, you may lose focus. So, try to be regular in your writing once you start, five days in a week can still be ok if your schedule doesn't permit you to be writing every day.
6. READ OVER AGAIN/HIRE AN EDITOR: After concluding your work, kindly take your time to read over again, you will be amazed to see some funny mistakes you made. You might even ask yourself questions like, "did I actually write this or someone else did?" Funny. But you did! That's to tell you that mistake has no master. Better still, you may need an editor - someone whom you know is highly experienced in the job can also be of good assistance. This is recommended.
7. UNDERSTAND YOUR SYSTEM: Just like many of us when we were in school, some found it easier to read during the day, while many preferred night reading. If it's more convenient for you to write during the day, key into it and never say because Professor Wole Soyinka says he usually writes in the night, you too want to be writing in the night. You are not going to get it right.
8. MOOD AND EMOTION: Writing is all about thinking. Therefore, your mood matters a lot before you lay your hands on any work. Simply, your output is a product of the state of your emotion. Relieve yourself of any worries, e.g., heartbreak, dissapointments, failures, and so on before you proceed in your writing project. It's very essential to be emotionally balanced each time you are returning to your computer.
Conclusively, writing is a product of passion and determination. It might not be a get-rich-quick avenue, but there is no gainsaying in the fact that your passion in this regard can bring you fortune in so many ways, even at the most unexpected time.
Odunayo Ogunmodede
isaacodunayo35@gmail.com, 07033504020
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