THE HABIT OF WRITING BY_ SUMAILA ISAH UMAISHA

When you catch yourself doing something you feel is unbecoming of you, stop immediately - even if it exists only as a stream of thought. Do not tell yourself you will stop sometime in the future, because that is how habits are formed.

Starting a bad habit can be as simple and casual as a butterfly straying playfully from a path into the bush. At first, it seems harmless. But before long, you find yourself deep in the thicket of the habit, struggling to retrace your steps.

Starting a good habit, on the other hand, is often a Herculean task. It is like beating a path through the bush with your feet. At first, the way is rough, narrow and difficult to follow. But as you walk that path repeatedly, it becomes clearer, wider and easier to navigate.

What negative attitude are you developing towards your writing career today? Laziness? Procrastination? Not reading the works of other writers? Being oversensitive to criticism? Stop it now. Take back your creative power!

Do you sometimes feel the urge to wake up in the night to write? Do you observe people closely - how they react to circumstances, relate to one another and navigate life - in order to reflect these characteristics in your work with greater credibility and emotional depth? Has a story been running through your mind, clamouring to be written? Take the plunge. Turn these and other positive impulses into habits of creativity.

The first step, or leap, is usually the hardest and scariest. But once you take it, the journey becomes easier, almost a cruise.

Stop the habits that hold you back and embrace the ones that move you forward. Above all, keep writing!

© SUMAILA ISAH UMAISHA 

- Nigeria.