A Writer and Vision by Eze Andrew Oforma

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YOUNG AFRICAN WRITERS LEAGUE                        9/05/2015
[THE YOUNG LEAGUE]

A WRITER AND VISION

A visionary writer is a successful writer, says Stephen King.
A writer must have vision, says Bill Newman.
The two words are inseparable and intertwined. A writer without vision is like a pilot without a compass. Your imagination is one of the most powerful things you possess.  We should remember our today’s quote from Helen Keller that “the greatest tragedy to befall a person is to have sight but lack vision.”  
There is nothing that excites and motivates people like a vision to accomplish something special. Vision is a comprehensive sense of where you are, where you are going, how you are going to get there and what you will do after you get there. It is dreaming dreams about the future. It is seeing the big picture and personally painting a part of it [Bill Newman, 1997].  A visionary writer feel challenged by the world around him/her and being compelled to make a mark on it through the force of your own ideas,  personality, resources and desire.
This is because you are unique; you have been given power to subdue the earth by you creator. Why should we feel inferior again? Vision must be specific and focused. If it is too broad people will flounder and become discourage. Set realistic reachable goals otherwise you will become discouraged and will discourage others.
One thing about this world is that the majority see the obstacles: the few see the opportunities in the obstacles. A visionary writer has to forget the cynics, the pessimists and the knockers [Bill Newman, 1977]. They will always be around in abundance to knock, find fault and cajole you.  They will always be the discouragers who cannot see beyond the first obstacle. A writer with vision is not afraid to fail but at end success will surely be his/her own.
We should remember what Albert Schweitzer told us that “the tragedy of life is not that we die, but what dies inside a man while he lives.” We shall not live visionless and we shall not die with an unfulfilled vision. 

[Eze, Andrew Oforma, the National Coordinator of Young African Writers League], email: theyoungleague@gmail.com

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