REAL TALK

Okay, time for some real talk.

So, when was the last time you had a real talk with your teenager. I mean a meaningful eye to eye, heart to heart conversation that bothered on your teenager’s welfare. I have been working with children and teenagers for many years, even before I became a Christian, as far back as my undergraduate days, somewhere between 1990 and 1992, during the practical of a course titled Children Theatre. About two weeks ago, I met a lovely woman who reminded me of how some of us from the Performing Arts Department of the University of Ilorin used to come to the then Queen’s School Ilorin to teach them drama. That was where my love for working with young people budded. From there, through my early years at NTA, up till now, I have enjoyed working with children and teenagers. Therefore, I can tell you that one of the greatest need of any child/teenager is communication. From the moment a child comes out of her mother’s womb, he wants to communicate and be communicated to.

Who doesn’t?

Your teenager needs you to listen to her and talk WITH her… not to her or down at her, but WITH her, and this, many parents find hard to do.

I talk with many teenagers (that’s my passion and ministry) and many of them confess to me grave things they are involved in, sometimes, right under their parents’ roofs.

Some of you parents don’t know that your children are committing incest right under your very noses.

Some are being sexually molested/abused by your drivers, stewards, relatives, stepfathers, step mothers etc.

Some are already deep into lesbianism, homosexuality, pornography, gang rape, prostitution etc.

Some have become experts at aborting pregnancies.

Some are infected with HIV and other serious sexually transmitted diseases.

Some are contemplating suicide.

Some are addicted drug users.

Some belong to cults and gangs.

Some are certified fraudsters, some into money rituals etc.

Many of them are struggling spiritually, emotionally, academically, socially etc.

I can go on and on, and I’m not trying to scare you.

THIS IS REAL.

And when I ask them, if their parents know? I get answers like:

Ø I can’t tell them.

Ø I’m scared.

Ø My mum will fry me.

Ø My dad will kill me.

Ø They are not always home.

Ø They will be disappointed.

Ø They will disown me.

Ø They don’t care. 

Ø They didn’t do anything about it when I told them.

The bottom line is this, many parents seem to be either clueless, careless or have their priorities out of order. Raising children in this digital, end of the world age demands more than feeding, clothing and educating them.

When was the last time you gave enough attention to that teenager of yours? His gestures, her moods, his restlessness, her sighs, his countenance, her shifty eyes, his conversations, both actual and virtual. These, apart from being a conversation opener, can also give you clues to what is going on in their minds. When was the last time you listened, I mean, really listened while your teenagers talked about issues they are struggling with?

This is becoming longer than I intended, so I will stop here and allow you think on this. I will conclude another time. I'll like to read your comments on how we can communicate better with our teenagers.

Keep Doing Your Best

Boost Your Business and Career with Writing

Over the years, I have seen quite a number of people who thought they could never write become published writers. When I hear some people talk passionately about a subject, I usually suggest they write a book about it.

The responses I get go like these. 

Image courtesy of paul/freedigitalphotos.net

“I can’t write!”

“Why do you think so?” I would ask.

“I don’t know.”

“I just can’t write.”

“I don’t know how.”

“I had never thought about it.”

With a little encouragement and consistent coaching, some of these people are already published writers, and they are excited about it because of the gains.

If you are reading this article online, then you may already know that writing has become a major tool to promote and sell products and services worldwide. Many are already taking advantage of this very effective marketing strategy, enjoying wide exposure and making great sales.

Writing remains one of the most effective means of communication and a cost-effective way to publicize and sell your business. Almost everything costs money these days and that includes writing. Organizations pay writers large sums to write business and project profiles, advertorials, announcements, etc. No one can promote your business better than you can. You will be saving a considerable sum of money, writing, to promote what you do, in your own words.

You don't have to be a licensed writer to promote your products or services. All you need is the interest, a readiness to write, laced with some resolve and a splash of creativity.

I am very passionate about sharing knowledge and I don’t like to see people say valuable things that are not being recorded for others to learn.  

Writing is simply putting words or thoughts down on paper or a computer. The same way you will talk about your business to a potential client is the same way you write. Just write as if you are talking to someone or save your words on an audio or video recorder, then write out.

Write about your business and all that is associated with it; the problems your business addresses and how you or your product can help with solutions. You can publish your writings as articles in newspapers and magazines and as a book or pamphlet. You can also submit your work to online sites. All these can offer unlimited free marketing opportunities, widen your reach and enhance your credibility.

What is the nature of your business?     

What problem is it packaged to solve?

Why do you think people need it?

What solution is it offering?

How is it used?

Write down everything you think your customers will find useful. Write about other topics and issues of interest that relates to your product or service.

For example, if you are into pharmaceuticals, you can write articles or books on healthy living and drug misuse.

If you deal in shoes, write about how people can take care of their feet and shoes.

If you are a teacher, share your experiences of teaching. Write down tips and skills you have acquired that has helped you become a good teacher.

If you are a pediatrician, you can focus on issues that relates to children. Write a book or article showing parents simple steps to prevent childhood diseases.

If you are a nurse, write a book about the challenges of care giving or share tips on how to juggle night duties and family life. You can also address the temperament of some nurses and the effect it has on patients.

I can go on and on suggesting writing ideas for every profession on earth. 

When you write about your business and career, apart from making a name and money, you are sharing something valuable and recording it for posterity. You can never tell the places your work will get to or the lives it will touch.

Therefore, write about the results your business has achieved. How effective your product is or how satisfactory your services are. Share testimonies of happy clients. Interview your clients and write out their stories. Testimonials have proved very effective in marketing.

You can also write about your personal experiences. How you started the business or career, the challenges you faced and how you overcame them. This information will be useful to others who are interested in the same profession. Through this, you can become a coach in your field, teaching others how to avoid some of the mistakes you made. Before you know it, you will start getting mails from people asking you for business advice and inviting you to come and speak in some conferences.

If you don’t market yourself or your products and services, who will?

If you can’t write and you need to, share your thoughts and ideas with a ghost writer, who will help you to write.

That's one of the things we do at Penparables. We turn your writing ideas into an article or a book. If you need help with getting started, get in touch. We will guide you through, from the idea stage to the bookstores.

E-mail - penparables@gmail.com

Grace Olumayowa Aideloje

Grace is a Writer, Editor and Proofreader. She teaches Writing Classes and motivates young writers to write and publish their works. Her passion is to empower people through knowledge sharing. She is the initiator of the Christian WAR Forum.

Publishing Rights: You may republish this article on your website, newsletter, or eBook, on the condition that you agree to leave the article, author's name and signature and a functional link to penparables.blogspot.com. No part of this article may be used without following this agreement.

REINJUFO - IT'S ALL ABOUT CHANGE AND CREATIVITY

A discussion came up at a recent Writing Forum I attended, on the fact that there is nothing new for writers to write on. They only recycle old subjects and ideas.

Some agreed, some did not.

My take on this was, there is nothing new under the sun and I quoted Ecclesiastes 1:9. The fact that you have not heard about it does not mean it has not happened.

So what new things can writers write about?

My answer is, “probably nothing.”

All you need do to be convinced is google any idea or issue you think is new. You will be amazed at how long it’s been in existence.

So from where or how do we get the original?

How do we generate new things to write about?

I left that enriching meeting thinking and came up with REINJUFO. Don’t bother to check the dictionary; it is not there. Reinjufo is my own acronym for Reinvent, Rejuvenate and Reform.

It’s all about change and creativity. 

Amala with Okro and Stew, a traditional Nigerian dish. Pix from nairaland.com

That’s what it takes to turn an old or existing topic into an interesting one. You want to tell your readers, “Hey, I’ve got another angle to this or there is more to this than you know about.” 

In my culture, one of the ways to know a prudent wife is her ability to rehash left over meals. I learnt from my mother how to turn left over foods to new. It doesn’t matter how old the food is, as long as it is still good, you can turn it into something tasty and sometimes, more delicious than when it was freshly cooked. Just put it back on the stove, add a few condiments and it’s as good as new. Nutrients don’t matter. The focus is on taste and satisfaction.

You can apply the same principles to writing by applying the REINJUFO process.

REINVENT

The Microsoft Encarta dictionary 2009 defines reinvent as, “to change radically the appearance, form or presentation of something or somebody; to bring something back into existence, use or popularity, after a period of neglect or obscurity.”

There are many old but ideal methods of doing things that modern technology have pushed aside. You can decide to write about these and bring people’s attention to the benefits of the obsolete. That it’s obsolete does not mean it’s bad; it’s just no longer fashionable. I think some of the things we regard as unfashionable hold more healthy benefits for us than the up-to-date. This fact is good writing topic and I'm already thinking about it.

REFORM

You can improve on an existing concept or topic. Some of my articles were actually a reform of other articles I had read. The internet is full of junk writing. Sometimes, I read articles or even books that are not worth publishing; full of faults and inconsistencies. Facts are watered down, contents, not well thought out and the message messed up. Don’t stop at just critiquing and condemning such works, do what you think the author didn’t do. Write on that topic and do a good job.

Don’t plagiarize; simply write a new article, from your own point of view, devoid of the faults  and inconsistencies you noticed in the other one.

You can also reform your own works. An article you wrote several years ago will definitely need to be revisited with the rate of change that occurs.

I first wrote my book, READ in 2009 when electronic reading, though on, was not as popular as it is now. When I wanted it published on the web, I had to work on it to make it relevant for today’s readers.

You can write about an old subject, in the light of modern technology and values.

REJUVENATE

I read an article by Megan DiMaria titled ‘Refreshing Your Creativity.’ She said, “writers can get overwhelmed trying to find a new way to communicate the ordinary and everyday moments that make up life…True, there is nothing new under the sun, but you can make a concept feel new with your particular way of communicating an idea.”

You can rejuvenate an old topic by adding new and noteworthy information. If I choose to write about the Dangers of Eating White Sugar now, I will rather talk to people who are suffering from diseases caused by White Sugar or relatives of victims, and write my book or article from that angle. Firsthand accounts make your writing authentic, engaging and effective.

You can also refresh an old idea by doing a survey on the topic. Sometimes I throw a question on an idea I’m musing on to my writing group. By the time we discuss, argue and brainstorm on it, I have a fresh outlook to the issue.

So many books and articles have been written on the benefits of drinking water. One would think all that has to be written about water has been written, but you never can tell. I saw a 2012 book, titled, “How To Drink More Water Daily” by Derek Brower. I almost didn’t read it, but the reader in me insisted. Guess what? I discovered  new things about drinking water and how you can really achieve drinking enough daily, for your well being.

The world changes every day and with it everything in it. So there will always be a new angle to any issue. You only have to stir up your creativity to see it. 

Yes,there is nothing new under the sun, but with our creativity, we can make anything new.

Grace is a Writer, Editor and Proofreader. She teaches Writing Classes and motivates young writers to write and publish their works. Her passion is to empower people through knowledge sharing. She is the initiator of the Christian WAR Forum.

E-mail - penparables@gmail.com

©2012 PenParables

Publishing Rights: You may republish this article on your website, newsletter, or eBook, on the condition that you agree to leave the article, author's signature, and all links intact.

THEY ARE JUST EVERYWHERE

Here is another definition of writing - turning words into images in the mind of readers.

That is the power of a writer. It is more art than science; the ability to add word to word to form sentences, which form paragraphs, which form an article or a book. A writer is a creator. It starts from an idea which can come from anywhere, and I mean anywhere.

Just this morning on our way to work, my husband was driving and this young girl was leading an old man across the street without looking. My husband almost hit them. Thank God he wasn’t driving fast and was able to stop in time. Well, the good news is I got two writing ideas from that. The idea for this article you are reading and another article I think I will title, “Who is leading you?”

The other day, I noticed my neighbour’s two dogs will always come and welcome us anytime we return home. Lovely friendly dogs, smiling, wagging their tails and rubbing their bodies on my legs.  But my husband doesn’t like dogs. In fact, he is wary of them. He just doesn't fancy pets of any kind. He says I'm his only pet.

There is this other dog I love down our street, very short and cute. It makes me want to have a dog. 

“Why can’t I just have one dog?”

I ask my loving husband again and again every time we drive past this adorable dog.

“You can’t have half.”

I wonder if anybody keeps half a dog.

“I won’t let it bother you. I will build a pen and lock it in.”

“Forget it.” He doesn’t even bother to think about it.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net

Well, I’ve been thinking. What if I go buy myself a dog, bring it home. How would he react? How will I respond and then what? This gave me a story. I will publish it soon.

Ideas are everywhere. All you need do is watch out for them.

A beggar on the street can trigger it.

A group of Christian teenagers chatting can trigger it.

The human senses are a great resource for writing ideas. Smell can trigger it: an electric cable burning or the sweet aroma of your favorite food.

What you feel can trigger it. Many great writings are rooted in the emotions of the writers. What or how you feel can inspire you to write.

Sounds can trigger it; a baby crying, a gunshot, or birds chirping.

A friend told me a story of how a diplomat from my country abandoned his wife of twenty three years for a young Ethiopian girl. The girl took from him his wealth and health. He left Ethiopia with a stroke, penniless.

That story gave me a number of writing ideas.

You can use anything you read or hear including people’s comments or opinions to develop your own article , book or story.

So when you are in need of creative ideas, look inward and outward. Ideas are everywhere and they are like butterflies. Catch them before they fly off.

Carry your journal with you everywhere.

Write all of your ideas in the journal, even those you think you won’t need. A day will come when you will find them useful.

Look through your journal everyday and you will always find more than enough to write about.

As I write this article, I looked through the window and I saw a white couple walking down the street with an African child.

That sparks off ideas!

What ideas does this scene inspire in you?

Please share them with me. 

Grace Olumayowa Aideloje

Grace is a Writer, Editor and Proofreader. She teaches Writing Classes and motivates young writers to write and publish their works. Her passion is to empower people through knowledge sharing. She is the initiator of the Christian WAR Forum.

E-mail - penparables@gmail.com

©2012 PenParables

Publishing Rights: You may republish this article on your website, newsletter, or eBook, on the condition that you agree to leave the article, author's signature, and all links intact.