From the chirping of the birds to the lion’s roar, from the swaying of trees to the walking of people, from the rising of the sun to its setting and from the colour of the blue sky to the colour of the green grass; there is always something to write about.
I have come to realize that I have been captivated by the pen. When I sit, I write, I stand, I still write. It has become and is my biggest motivation in life. I watch the television and I really have to inscribe what I have heard and seen in a book. I let my emotions flow through those white, blank pages. You can tell my mood from my writings. Even in school, I have made it a routine to write on almost everything I see; from the buildings, to nature, to lecturers and their attitudes, to fellow students, life in the dormitory. I have this special book for my write-ups that I call, “Mene’s Cornucopia of Ideas”. Sometimes, my parents and siblings are annoyed and agitated.They ask, “Must you write everything” Well, it falls on deaf ears because I strongly feel I was born with a pen in my hand. It is my passion. It is my life.
On my part, I have always admired Prof. Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Adichie and many others who accomplished great feats by writing. I so much love Chimamanda Adichie in particular because she is a female (like me). To become like these great writers, I have made it a point of duty to improve on my writing skills by reading a ton of books. (I can consume a library!), listening to audios on different subject matters and by writing and writing and writing. I also follow different writers-both home and abroad via social media and I follow pages that inspire and motivate writers. I particularly have a liking for pages that groom young, upcoming writers. Talking to my friend on this fateful day on Facebook, she asked if I write essays. Wow, I was thrilled and I could feel a chill of excitement run down my spine. I told her I could, but in essence, I did not just ‘can’ write esays, I love it. She then introduced me to cmonionline.com which I believe is a stepping stone to greatness.
Interestingly, I began to follow all their updates and wrote on some essays which disappointedly, I never got to submit. The essays are nice, detailed and structured in a way as to bring out the best in a writer. The fact that you choose a topic in line with the one outlined is mind blowing. It breeds and enhances creativity in writers and for me, it helps me play with words. To be honest, I commend the cmonionline.com team for their unwavering efforts to bring out the creative and writing genius of every writer. Cmonionline.com is a praiseworthy platform and the benefit they give their winners is horrific.
As an upcoming writer, I like to pour out my ideas and watch them connect together. Cmonionline.com has given me the liberty to do this and I am grateful for that. I also enjoy trivial games and questions posted on the page which open my mind and improve my reasoning capabilities and capacity. The platform has been doing quite well and in my opinion, I would suggest the following to further better the platform
I suggest that the Cmonionline.com team should create more awareness on their contest via their platform and also through the media. This will go a long way to reach the unreached and open the eyes of the blind concerning their writing contests. I know that there are a lot of ignorant people out there who will like to participate to develop their skills in writing. Also, it can keep individuals busy; rather then chatting on social media, they could be pre-occupied with the task of writing. This will go a long way in improving the literacy of our nation especially the youth. The fact that there is a monetary bonus attached to it will surely, in some way persuade them and boost their morale.
I also suggest that the site on the platform (especially for submission) be improved and updated owing to the fact that many people do write but never get to submit probably due to subscription issues.
As a writer and also a contestant, I believe everyone desires to be acknowledged for the efforts they have put in and to this end, I suggest that consolation prizes be given to writers of essays that were deemed good enough but did not attain the rank of “the best”
Who does not love a little competition for a much bigger prize? I believe everyone does and to this end I suggest that previous winners on the Cmonionline.com contest be engaged on a wider platform to compete against themselves and the media (television, radio) can be involved in this. This will encourage the writers and also push and motivate others to write too.
It is my earnest desire that these suggestions will go a long way in making Cmonionline.com a new haven for young, great, inspiring writers.
To every writer out there, I would like us to know that we are all winners; chosen or not. They say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step”. We have just taken a step, well may be a few and Cmonionline.com has been a laudable platform so far. As we have begun, let us keep marching to greatness as we imprint our footmarks in the sands of time.
Furthermore, I wish to appreciate the Cmonionline.com team for all their relentless efforts towards writing. These efforts are indeed to be appraised and commended. By not just encouraging writers, you also ignite the spark in them to write more and be the best they can be. I sincerely hope and pray that your goals as a team will be accomplished and your dreams realized. Thank you once again for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Finally, writing is not a ‘one man’ thing. Join me as together we impact the world through our pen.
Mene Precious Boyi, a 100 Level Student of Biochemistry University of Jos wrote in via meneprecious87@gmail.com
