Going Back to Basics

We all need to get back to the basics every once in a while.Whether we are aspiring writers, prolific and accomplished writers, avid readers or simply occasional readers who appreciate good writing.. in fact, even those who do not necessarily read but feel that English should be spoken the right way.

Now there is a very short book about writing that remains my top go-to resource whenever I need to get things right. It is The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jnr. and E.B. White.

It is indeed a short book, but it is very profound. It highlights what would arguably be considered the very essence of good English, both in written and spoken form.

In his On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King describes The Elements of Style as a short book about writing that is devoid of nonsense. In his own words:

"...most books about writing are filled with bullshit. One notable exception to the bullshit rule is The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. There is little or no detectable bullshit in that book.
...I’ll tell you right now that every aspiring writer should read The Elements of Style."

As far as writing is concerned, I do not consider myself an aspiring writer. That said, I am not prolific. Yet.
My aspiration in writing is to share valuable writing largely through my writing effort. Even better, to add value to information by writing.

Download The Elements of Style here (PDF).

Be edified.

Adding Value to Information

NOTE: This post has been cross-posted on The Walkabout.

Today's post is largely an update, in readiness for some of the far-reaching changes in my writing that will take place in the fourth quarter of this year, with effect from October 01, 2013.
In essence, the changes are for the long term, which makes what you'll read next an expression of intent.

Learning and Sharing

Since 2009, The Walkabout has been a place where we learn, share and grow together. We have focused on insight, inspiration and self discovery. The posts on the blog have been tremendously useful to me, and to many others as well.

In short, we have been sharing valuable information.

Stated Objectives

With growth comes change.
Beginning next week, my writing, and indeed the business model that is now predicated on it, is all about adding value to information.

This I'll do through book authoring, blogging and publishing. Ultimately, I'll embrace more media viz: radio and television.

This renewed focus will be instrumental in the release of 'The Walkabout' book that has been inspired by the posts and the topical discussions that have ensued in the comments. All going well, the book will be out just before the end of 2013.

Ideas: Policy, Not Politics

Additionally, this next phase will involve the setting up of the Policy and Ideas blog.
Here, candid, topical discourse on issues that really matter and add value will be carried out. The solutions and ideas generated will eventually lead into action, since only action begets results.

So much for this update, let us meet again next week on The Walkabout, Pete on Books and the Policy and Ideas blogs.

A World of Ideas. Thanks to Reading & Listening

Enlightenment thrives on ideas. Ideas well formulated, articulated and put into action. That is essentially what moves the world.
You can then imagine how pleased I get when I gain unfettered access to some of these ideas. In fact, I invariably remain indebted to those who come up with, and those who acknowledge, ideas worth sharing.

That said, I have lately been taking time to feed my inquisitive and ever curious mind with great ideas. Today, I'll share three of my best idea lounges.

Project Syndicate

This is my newest discovery, where you find original op-ed commentaries by leading opinion makers in politics, business, economics, science, art  and culture. It is in essence a world of ideas.

Think about the op-ed articles you've come to love from The New York Times, The Independent, The Guardian and other newspapers of note. Well, you find this kind of beautiful thinking and well articulated writing on this site. Check out Project Syndicate now, I bet you'll find it every bit worth your while.

Comment is free 

Published by the Guardian, Comment is free is a great hangout for me where I get to read great articles touching on current global issues. Over and beyond this, the well moderated, and often witty comments that follow each article make Comment is free a great online community.

Take time and visit Comment is free. There, you'll find articles and commentary on politics, global agenda, human rights, religion, philosophy, health and all manner of debate that affects human beings across the world. You'll love the reader feedback that informs the topical discourse we've come to love on Comment is free.

International Radio: BBC World Service, VOA News, et al

Thanks to predominantly wanting broadcasts [both music and content] in most local radio stations, I decided to explore the International radio stations available in my area via FM, and globally on the Internet. The BBC World Service comes out tops with up to the minute news updates, detailed news analysis, documentaries, science programs and much more.

The Voice of America radio also has in-depth news and current affairs programs, and a variety of music shows across various genres and from different parts of the world. In addition, more of the VOA programming is available online for live streaming or as free-to-download podcasts.

Speaking of podcasting and online streaming, there are other stations such as Deustch Welle radio, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, China Radio International that offer great content on their respective web sites.

Listening to informative and edifying programming on radio is a great way of gathering ideas and embracing enlightenment.

As Listen to the Radio by Don Williams plays in the background, I now get back to reading The Perils of 2012, a great piece by Joseph E. Stiglitz on Project Syndicate.

Have a great day full of ideas, good people.

Reading and Writing both for Pleasure and Profit

This post on reading and writing is a guest post, kindly hosted on Wamathai's cool blog. 

"Let your imagination fly through books... "

- Anon. 

The Written Word

Reading is almost an addiction for me, one that I won't be addressing by 12-stepping or joining support groups anytime soon. You see, it is through books that I get to visit places that I'll never have the means nor the time to physically visit. It is through books that I get to learn things that attending class all my life won't let me learn. It is through books that I get to savor the beauty of the written word ... I get to think about whatever the writer wants me to imagine, learn or think.



I'll now proceed to share some insights from the wonderful world of books..........

Go right ahead and read the entire post on Wamathai's blog.

Short Story 3 - The Dilemma

In my upcoming book Counting Down the Days, I have so far given you a sneak peek into both The Right to Remain Silent and Networking or Not working?

Today, we take a brief look at The Dilemma.

The Dilemma
Trish went to Mombasa on official duty a few months ago. During the nights however, she lived large, slept around, even giving  the popular tag Mombasa Raha a whole new meaning of reckless abandon. She freely flirts, gets drunk, and parties till late.

At one of the clubs, she meets a former boyfriend and ends up spending the night in his house, where she proceeds to have unsafe sex with him.

Now back in Nairobi, she has very recently fallen head over feet in love with a young man who has every potential to become not just the love of her life, but the life of her love. They have gone ahead and decided to date, but he insists that they need to urgently to get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections before they get more intimately involved.

Now seated in the waiting room in a VCT center, Trish ponders her options once the test results are out...

My Current Reads
I have no idea why I'm reading a book that has been in the house for almost a decade, without ever catching my attention. I bet it has something to do with the recent Prince William and Kate Middleton royal wedding.

Okay, the book is Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton. I haven't read a substantial number of pages yet, but I find it worth reading.
I'd however like to read Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words by the same author. Two perspectives are better than one, aren't they?

Beyond books, I have lately got more interested in articles in the New York Times and Comment is Free in The Guardian. They invariably carry engaging, well researched and topical stories on a wide number of topics of interest.

So much for reading and writing, enjoy your evening lovely people
:)

Welcome. Let's Read & Write Together

African Writing
Today is truly a great day for me, yet another important step in my writing.
Setting up this site marks the beginning of an exciting journey towards the publication of my books, books that I hope will be many and more important, profound.

It all started when at an early age, I began reading books from the Heinemann African Writers Series. This included such heavyweights as Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Cyprian Ekwensi, Wole Soyinka, Alex la Guma and others.

Reading
Through this site, I purpose to learn and share stuff about reading and writing. I happen to love reading more than most things in life, and I bet it'll be interesting to exchange ideas with you about good reads, be it fiction or non-fiction, and touching on nearly any topic under the sun [yeah, I have no qualms about what I read, almost anything goes].
Towards that end, I shall routinely write about the books I am currently reading. Not fully fledged book reviews but simply highlights and links to where you can get your own copy. That includes download links for free eBooks. Should there be no link, then I'll simply Email you a copy of such a book.

Writing
For years, my writing has been published both online and on several local [Nairobi, Kenya] print magazines. Much of it has been freelance writing, or driven by online advertising.
Along the way, I decided to write some books, staring with fictional short stories. This has grown into a cool collection that I feel needs to become a book. This will happen later this year :)

Still on writing, it'll be my pleasure to engage with others in the craft, both newbies and veterans. To this end, we shall be having guest posts and extensively share creative writing insights from across the web.
In addition, this site will be closely tied to Connect eMagazine, another of my projects [currently in incubation].

Starting Point
As always, it is a good thing to get into any worthwhile venture fully armed. When it comes to writing, nothing beats a small book about writing, that carries so much weight. Every writer worth his salt should have a copy of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. The book simply presents the principal requirements of plain English style, focusing on the rules of usage in literature, composition and grammar.

That said, let's link again tomorrow when I present my first collection of short stories. Thanks for dropping by.
Cheers!