I want to write, where do I start?
I recently landed on The Art of Creative writing by Vera Omwocha and Mugeni Ojiambo and learned 5 key lessons.
Writing is often imagined as something magical, waiting for inspiration, for the perfect mood, or for the right words to arrive fully formed. But in reality, writing is something much simpler and more demanding: it is a practice, a discipline, and a decision to keep showing up.
In their reflections, Mugeni Ojiambo and Vera Omwocha offer honest, practical, and deeply human lessons about what it truly means to become a writer. Their insights strip away the myth and replace it with something more powerful: action.
Below are five key lessons I drew from their work and shared wisdom from other writers.
1. You Become a Writer by Writing
I only became a writer when I started writing, Mugeni Ojiambo
Writing is not something you wait to become worthy of; it is something you step into by doing it. Many people identify as “aspiring writers” for years, waiting for confidence or validation. But identity follows action. The moment you begin writing consistently, even imperfectly, you begin becoming a writer.
Vera Omwocha echoes this transformation when she reflects that she never expected writing to become a career or a source of income. It began as an act and grew into a path.
2. Talent is Not Enough Without Discipline
“It doesn’t matter how talented you are, if you don’t put in the work, you might as well lose the talent,” Vera Omwocha.
Talent may open the door, but discipline keeps you inside the room. Writing is not sustained by inspiration alone. It is sustained by routine, effort, and commitment, even on days when you don’t feel creative. Stephen King reinforces this idea clearly: amateurs wait for inspiration; professionals get to work.
The difference between a writer and a dreamer is not talent; it is consistency.
3. Writing Improves Through Persistence, Not Perfection
“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better.” Octavia Butler.
Every writer begins somewhere messy. Early drafts are rarely impressive, and that is not failure, it is part of the process. Perfection is not the goal; progress is. Even when revisiting your work, you will always find ways to improve it. That is not a sign that your writing is bad, it is a sign that you are growing.
4. Writing is Built, Not Magically Created
“Writers build characters bit by bit until they can walk alone, not alone, but with the readers.”
Great writing does not appear fully formed. It is constructed gradually: sentence by sentence, character by character, idea by idea. This requires patience. It requires observation. And it requires trust in the process. Even when a draft feels incomplete, nothing is wasted. As Vera Omwocha reminds us, if you get stuck or decide not to publish something, it is still part of your growth. Letting go is also part of writing.
5. Writing Requires Discipline and Humility
Good writing is not only about ideas, it is also about craft. Read a lot and write a lot. Use action instead of overloading dialogue tags like “he said, she remarked.”Understand that your cover and title are your first marketing tools. Accept that writer’s block is often a mindset, not a condition.
The Reality of Writing
I only became a writer when I started writing, Mugeni Ojiambo
Writing is not something you wait to become worthy of; it is something you step into by doing it. Many people identify as “aspiring writers” for years, waiting for confidence or validation. But identity follows action. The moment you begin writing consistently, even imperfectly, you begin becoming a writer.
Vera Omwocha echoes this transformation when she reflects that she never expected writing to become a career or a source of income. It began as an act and grew into a path.
As Tony Mochama puts it, writer’s block is for those who romanticise writing. Writing is not always glamorous. It is work. It is editing. It is returning to the same sentence ten times until it feels right, or simply letting it go and moving on.
