Write Africa, Write for Africa.

You want to write as a contemporary African? You want to earn from that? Right place you are in.

I, like many other’s have wondered when we will write not only African books, but books for Africans.
Most novels have lost that African touch because the voice is not ours. We have a new voice, the voice of the youth. A more modern one that reflects today and if everyone is dead set on pleasing others and not giving home, we beg to differ.

This blog is set to revolutionize writing for Africans whose only hope seems to be the youth so with the tips and articles here, I hope you can help us help you do it!

Again this blog wishes to aid the young world wide on how to monetize their writing talent online. With a variety of tools and methods, we hope you can also benefit from your skills and utilise it to the max.

Read through.

post

The Gravity of Life

That pull exists in life. The desire to be more than we actually are, the quest to get more out of life than life seems to offer. It might be for the better, or worse.

It is in Man’s innate nature to proove to himself and others that he can be MORE. Though admittedly there are some people whose zeal to succeed is just not there, they believe in living only.

Others believe that if life is worth living, it is worth living well. More often than not, these are the people that end up making it to the top.

Most times these are the people who never thought they could make it, they toiled and soiled from the very root till they made it to the top. These are the people that the society looked down on because they had neither a noble background nor influential families but alas fate had other things in stock for them.

Everyday people who move from the blades of grass up are making it in life, and their past becomes either forgotten or a point of reference. They become among the most respected, most influential, men that speak and are heard even before their voice hits the ear, the become models for us in the society. This is what happens when fate shoots a persons luck up. Hopefully, his luck will stay up for the rest of his life before the pull of gravity decides to bring it down.

Some however watch helplessly as karma flings them from the top of the success tree down on dirt and ashes, a few of whom rise from the ashes like a phoenix. These are the one’s who know what truly the pull of gravity back to earth means. The impact of the force at which they land shakes them up and probably breaks their vital organs so much so that they may never rise again.

The bottomline is, you cannot stay at the top forever, there has to be someone before and after you likewise being at the rusty bottom of the chain is not permanent. The most important factor is that you decide to beat all odds and climb the forbidden ladder and when thrown by the forces of life, you try to climb right back up. In this life we are living, life itself is attached to hope.

I Write My Mind

Not in reality. In reality I am far too lazy to write. But in my mind , I write everything. When I am feeling sad which is rare but spontaneous , I write paragraphs and chapters of sad stories and my sorrow filled life then console myself afterwards.

I write about a girl looked down upon by everyone because no one understands the way she thinks, no one cares to, her conversations, monologues, the colour of her skirt one sunny day all well written with good diction and a colourful array of big vocabulary some whose meaning I do not know. And then I write about how that girl grew up, became a successful beautiful woman who makes it big in the financial world and has dozens of billionaire suitors chasing after her, of course she marries the smartest.

The other day, I wrote about her demise, It’s sad. They have two beautiful kids but then she lived a successful life. I also write the next bestsellers and oh are they good, I personally get this rush of excitement while writing them, I even have favourites. The plots, themes, settings and sceneries where the characters stroll in Le Louvre in Paris and climb up to the very top of the Eiffel, I’ve never being to Paris but I see it clearly from their eyes .

I write my happy moments too though I prefer talking about that one. My achievements, I eulogize myself and give TED talks and inspirational messages to youth with impeccable English. I have hosted Talk Shows and acted in movie operas. I see them all in real life and the happiness is real.

If my life were to be a script, one written by me then I bet it would have been full of laughter and adventure, humour and sarcasm but what fun? When you know exactly what will happen when and why because you are the writer of your future , what fun? No surprises, no looking forward to, nothing. But all of these things get lost in time because they are not on paper, never on paper, in my mind.

The Earth and Sky Theory; A Must Read.

The earth is female, the sky is male. Saying a man and woman have equal duties, is therefore due to lack of understanding of natures distinct and deliberate division of labour.

The earth with all its softness, fertility and occassional bumpiness and the sky, so intimidating, so protective and sometimes so angry are actually man and woman personified.

Look at it this way, the earth springs forth a means of sustenance to us, much like a mother suckling it’s baby and that act in itself is that of reproduction, a means of procreation. But the earth does not produce it’s bounties by a singular act, it needs the sky to rain and fertilize it’s seeds, then it needs the sky’s warmth. And when the earth has used the water to it’s content, it, in a selfless act transfers the excess up to the sky in a sort of support system because the earth knows that it will in the long run benefit from it again and though when the sun is hot , the sky may be too harsh on its poor mate but we all know that sometimes temper, is just a form of keeping a loved one warm which has gone too far.

Everyone is closer to his mother, at birth at least, even if not for life because there is this intimacy unique between the giver and the receiver, the mother and the son, the earth and humanity and even though we keep harming and disrespecting, she keeps giving, she is just being a mother. So while our connection with mother earth is direct, our connection with father sky is a little bit farther, a gesture necessary for our safety. It is always looming ahead, so seemingly out of reach yet you feel like if you reach out far enough , you might touch it . The sky is the protector of the earth and all her entireties, the provider, the guardian, if the sky refuses to give, the earth and her children will suffer, wilt away, and die… but eventually, sky will die out too because it’s water is not being recycled and purified by natures own purification system and so it’s very essence fails to exist.

So therefore, just as these two opposite yet equally beautiful forces of nature have different uses and roles to play, so do we, males and females have different roles and deciding on who is more important is honestly a mere exercise in futility and the more you hammer on it, the less sense you make, the more nonsense you say because one cannot exist without the other. A man is meant for a woman just as a woman is meant for a man all by natures careful design.

The overused cliche ‘What a man can do, a woman can do even better ‘ is therefore ,going by the earth and sky theory seriously wrong, just substitute man and woman with earth and sky, see if it makes sense, no? Well maybe because a woman is not meant to do what a man does, maybe because a woman is unique in her own right, and a man is too. When we understand that the earth and sky are a unit working together to achieve maximum results, each knowing and sticking to it’s own role, then and only then will we appreciate why women can never be men, why they can’t do some things a man can do, why it is natural for it to be and why it is insulting suggesting otherwise.

Self – Publishing Guide; What is an Imprint?

Originally posted by Inventing Reality Publishing Services

For those authors self-publishing a book for the first time, there’s a lot to learn – new terminology, new skills, new business models. One of the terms a new author likely is to run into, especially when uploading their book to CreateSpace or another print on demand company is imprint.

Imprint is another word for “publisher.” Every book has a publisher, which is someone (or a company) who prepares the text for sale. Typically, the imprint or publisher own the book’s ISBN.

So who is the imprint – or publisher – of your book?

To answer that question, first ask who owns the ISBN that is going on the book’s title page. If you (or your company) personally purchased the ISBN, you are the publisher. Individuals as well as companies can purchase and own ISBNs, so you don’t have to create a business simply because you’re self-publishing, though there are some advantages to it.

Secondly, if you don’t have an ISBN, ask yourself who then will assign one to your book. Either you must go buy one or you can have the print on demand company take care of for it; the cost of the latter ranges from free at CreateSpace to nominal at Smashwords, though a few companies may make you pay full price and even charge a processing fee for the paperwork of obtaining one. Should you have your print on demand company assign your book an ISBN, then they are the imprint or publisher. So, a CreateSpace-assigned ISBN means “CreateSpace” will have to be entered as the imprint.

All book that are sold must have an imprint or publisher, as this allows distributors and retailers to determine the ownership and authenticity of your book’s ISBN. If you just give away your book, then no ISBN is necessary, though you may not be able to do so through a distributor or retailer.

For more self publishing tips go to web site Inventing Reality Publishing Services.

Instagram v. Snapchat: Which is better?

Snapchat Download Drops by 27%- NYC POST.

If you have been following the news lately, then you might already be aware of the fact that Instagram is slowly taking over all the craze from the rival Snapchat. This in a way is definitely affecting Snapchat and the parent company Snap Inc. However, according to the new reports which we have, it looks like Snapchat is indeed in a deep trouble after all. As of the first two months of the second quarter, the year-over-year downloads of the app are down a whopping 22-percent.

Yes, the data from Instinet suggests that overall downloads are down by about 22-percent which is quite an unusual for a company whose value grew over a couple of billion dollars. This obviously has affected the overall value of the parent company by 26.5-percent. As far as this decline is concerned, the downloads went downhill from being on a positive end of the scale to a massive downfall. And interestingly, Apple users have had the largest decline in the downloads. The iOS downloads have declined by 40-percent.

Snapchat deployed a vending machine to sell it’s Spectacles along Venice Beach

According to the analysts, one of the main reasons for this decline in the downloads of Snapchat are other social media platforms. As you might already know, Facebook, Instagram & a couple of other messaging services have already started copying Snapchat. This especially has a lot to do with the stories feature being copied. Well, if you don’t know what stories are, they are custom photos or videos which you can upload that stays on your profile for 24 hours. Not just this, few other feature such as Snapchat lens, etc. were also copied.

To sum it up, it is safe to say that we literally have a snapchat clone out there and since more users are already using Instagram, it was quite obviosu for them to switch over there and continue using the features than installing a new app and getting used to this. Having said that, we would like to know your thoughts on this. Are you a Snapchat user? If yes, then what is your favourite feature on the app. Be sure let us know by dropping a comment down below and also, stay tuned to PhoneRadar for more info like this.

Source – NYPost

https://phoneradar.com/snapchat-downloads-drops-declining-value-parent-company-almost-27/

So now, the question is :

Fiction or Non-fiction… That’s the Question.

Three years ago, if anyone had told me I would be writing anything non-fiction today, I would have probably spat on his feet and called him an enemy of progress. Not because I loath it no, I just never thought I’d enjoy writing it, never thought it was for me. Then I started writing non-fiction and now, now I can’t seem to stop.

Maybe it’s because of the story it tells, or the way it is told, the characters perhaps, probably the interesting conversations , maybe that is why fiction works hook us up so much that we start to place ourselves in those stories and slowly loose ourselves to it. Then the line between reality and fiction becomes a blur and non-fiction, that just seems too real and too serious.

As for non-fictional works, they are either inspirational or motivating, now I get why adults read it , it’s useful and for some entertaining too. (Does that mean I’m adulting? But I don’t wanna😞). The content, the very substance that makes it what it is and that is why non-fiction is so special like… mozarella. The impact non-fiction has on our lives can not be overemphasized.

So, fiction or non-fiction? I can’t believe I’m saying this but currently, right now, with the economic recession and what not, from my point of view, no hard feelings but non- fiction. *phew* tough choice!

What is Wattpad?

Some six years ago, before I gained admission into the University, I was an idea brewing machine with no cup to relief myself into. I wanted to write but wanted the readers to drive the wheels, afterall communication is key.

Way before I started blogging, I was on Wattpad. And just like I did with blogging, I was inconsistent. In fact with Wattpad I failed to see it’s potential completely thereby bypassing the opportunity of fine-tuning my writing skills by self-publishing. I still beat myself about it. I hope you don’t too.

About five years later, I re-discovered Wattpad. There, my life changed for the better. I mean that literally. I started writing a story just as a hobby, nothing serious, a sort of test drive to feed my book-hungry soul and feel the waters on how my book will be accepted by the world. Wattpad helped me discover that. I discovered my writing style, my target audience and a year later, my writing became noticeably better. But it did more. On Wattpad I made family, on Wattpad I joined a community, on Wattpad I became the writer I had always dreamt to be and now, I am sure I can face the whole world because guess what? The test drive was a success. Still asking WHAT IS WATTPAD?

It is an online writing site with a cool mobile app where thousands of writers purge their souls for millions of readers to feed. Gory no? I meant that in a good way.

WHY WATTPAD IS DIFFERENT.

As a writer:

◾ You get to write your first drafts for free and acquire some amazing skills.

◾You get instant feedbacks in form of comments and the coolest things is that the comments are paragraph by paragraph. So people can comment on each of your paragraphs so you know exactly what they are referring to.

◾You can get votes for each chapter.

◾You get to hang out with other writers and share writing ideas.

◾You can be free, wild, create your style, let your voice shine and you won’t be judged. In fact Wattpaders seem to appreciate things refreshing.

◾ As you develop better and get more readers, Wattpad can place ads on your pages so yeah, on the long run, if you are totally awesome ( Like Ninya Tippet❤) you can earn on Wattpad.

◾You get to publish your hardcover novel. A lot of people like Isabelle Ronin, the writer of Chasing Red have published their books as hardcover…as in available in book stores hardcover, how cool is that?.

◾ Last, you get to join the writing community.

As reader;

◾You get to read for free!

That has to be good enough.Ok here are some plus;

◾You can comment on every paragraph and vote for every chapter.

◾You can contact the writers and fan them anytime.

◾You get unlimited access to different genres- there are lots of romance, werewolves, paranormal, fan-fiction stories etc.

◾You can read books from different authors all over the world and visit countries while still your room!.

◾ And you get to join the Wattpad community.

So in essence, it is the one platform that makes reader /writer relationship very much easy thereby making the writing experience an epic one. With Wattpad, writing has never been more fun! .

Photos credit: Google