Creative Writing Workshops To Unleash Your Inner Author

By Saheed Sunday

In the literary field, there are quite some things that help an author unleash his/her inner voice through which concepts or ideas can be explored. Of all of these things, the most essential thing to a writer, I believe, is the environment. This is because a writer is human, and humans need to relate with other humans to develop and grow. Thus, the way through which literati grow in the literary world is through creative writing workshops wherein they get access to the wealth of other people’s experiences. Therefore, this essay is going to address the crucial roles that creative writing workshops play in unleashing an author’s inner voice.

First and foremost, creative writing workshops serve as a medium through which writers can get instructions and guidelines on various writing techniques that exist, and how to choose the one that is most suitable for their writing style. So to say, these instructions help them gain insights into such motifs such as the need to have a unique style — which stands writers out from others; to learn about the structural criteria there are to each genre, and to understand how inspiration can be honed. Similarly, by attending creative writing workshops, writers get to receive critiques and critical feedback on their work. These feedback spring from the height of experience and shared artistry. For instance, I doubt that there is anybody who knows how to teach how to be a best-selling author better than a best-selling author. And how else do you get to sit them down and learn from them if not through creative writing workshops?

Furthermore, creative writing workshops serve as a footstool through which writers can reach their inspiration and get motivated to keep going. Based on the inspiration, it is no news to say that the best writer has to be an avid reader. So to speak, you reflect what you have read through what you write. This, in a way, means that when writers network, connect, and get to read one another through workshops, the result is that they fuel their inspiration through these interactions. And to the issue of motivation, it is safe to say that every writer, at a point in time, has had difficulty with writing either due to writer’s block or due to a multitude of rejections. However, through relations with other writers, and getting to see their strategies for becoming successful at their crafts, they too inwardly feel accountable for their stagnancy and feel the need to keep on going.

In furtherance, one of the major benefits of creative writing workshops is its networking opportunities. Through the establishment of these workshops, writers get to meet other writers who are already established in the craft, professional editors, and even publishers who are bigwigs. Attending these workshops opens a vast range of opportunities that an individual can tap into to further help his/her art.

Having discussed all of these, I believe it will be best to draw out a list of creative writing workshops in Nigeria that possess the potential to help individuals find their own inner authors, and help them in sustaining it. This list includes literary setups in Nigeria but is not limited to:

1. Ake Arts & Books Festival

2. Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFEST)

3. Abuja Literary Festival (ALITFEST)

4. Kaduna Book & Arts Festival (KABAFEST)

5. Sokoto Book & Arts Festival (SOBAFEST)

6. Kwara Books & Arts Festival (KWABAFEST)

7. Hausa International Book and Arts Festival (HIBAF)

8. Ụmụọfià Arts and Books Festival