Something different — this could get 🤣
the moments that allow some African Creatives to unleash their minds and condense their ideas into words, paragraphs and arguments.
Today, we have something different for you. We're throwing our usual structure out the window. 😒😌
Thank you for the overwhelming amount of feedback and suggestions last week. The comments were encouraging, validating, and motivating. We're going to implement many, if not all of them as this thing grows. And shrinks.
Our every Friday letter is now going to be once a month, occasionally more. This may be permanent, or we may come up with an entirely new structure. You can also read all the previous interviews on the website.
We’ll also be starting a new interview series. We call it: Earning The Title. The first episode will land in your inbox, soon. 10 episodes, 10 Mondays.
Something to feel.
Right now, it’s time for feeling-all-the-feelgood-feels. Ever starred at google docs for hours (waiting for words to magically appear) why nothing is happening? It can tummy ache inducing! 😮
Let's look at "the moments that allow some African Creatives to unleash their minds and condense their ideas into words, paragraphs and arguments.
Let's dive in. But this could get really 🤣.
Ore Afolayan: “Waking up before dawn doesn’t come naturally. But there’s something magical about a dining room table at 1 a.m”.
Ore is the founder of TOA, a growing marketing agency in Nigeria. He doesn’t think of himself as a morning person, but can’t escape the fact that the hours between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. foster his best writing.
“The period of early morning and predawn tend to be when I am most focused,” he said. “I will set the alarm for 1-something or 5-something in the morning . And hammer away at my dining room table.”
Ore writes intensely, finishing most pieces in one or two solo sessions after weeks intellectual gestation. “I only look up to look out the window to my garden when the birds wake up with the sun,” he said.
Seun Odegbami: “Washing plates🍽🍴 does it for me.”
Seun is a storyteller and Comms Head at Microvest. Seun usually finds his best work is done while he’s doing less thought things like washing plates.
“The period of early morning and predawn tend to be when I am most focused,” he said. “I will set the alarm for 1-something or 5-something in the morning . And hammer away at my dining room table.”
“When I already have a topic to write about but I don’t know how to go about it, I just leave it. And focus on a pretty low thought task like sweeping, watching movies, or washing plates. It helps boost my creativity. Everyday & ordinary things are the raw materials of a great deal of ideas for me. And I’m always astonished at the length of my list of ideas & at the sheer amount of what I do know. I don’t force myself to write.”
Seun also finds inspiration in another part of his home: the bathroom. And he’s more alert in the P.M.
Notiki Bello: “Doing ‘low thought stuff’ for inspiration isn’t a luxury this industry affords to its creative teams.”
Notiki is the head of product at Prackage. Most times he doesn’t have the luxury of hidden spots, so he gets his job done there and then. He would often sit and think about the topic or subject he wants to write and then he writes it.
“First on paper. Then on my phone. And lastly on my computer. In between these transitions, a lot of trimming and refinements usually happen.”
And he absorbs new points of view by inviting other perspectives into his life. New points of view feed his creativity.
“On many occasions, I look at what others have written/said about a subject. And when I spot a gap, I write to fill that gap and that has been helpful in keeping original thoughts and fresh perspectives that not many people have read yet.”
Harri Obi: “When I’m stuck, I question-storm with my super strategy friends. And I also use creative referencing to birth new ideas.”
Harri, PR and Marketing Manager (Africa) — FTX, uses writing as a way to distill, organize and work through things that don’t initially make sense when working… And one of the places to do that is his house because he has been working remotely for almost a year.
“Living alone has allowed me to think more and get more work done. I self ideate a whole lot. Because as someone who works in an agency, it’s highly important to be able to come up with ideas on my own, so my bosses could be able to trust me with clients’ jobs with a little or no supervision,” he said. “Some days I’m a better creative than on other days, so when I’m stuck, I question-storm and brainstorm with my super strategy friends — my peers in the creative services space.
Harri also uses creative referencing to birth new ideas. Whenever he sees something provocative or something that sparks his curiosity, he writes it down and uses it whenever he needs to come up with ideas.
Amy: “I get ideas anywhere, as long as I have a notepad and pen.”
Amy is a social media specialist. She gets inspiration from other people’s pieces.
“I get inspired from other people’s pieces. It’s why I read broadly, listen to music and watch all forms of clips [skits, movies etc]. I can write anywhere, as long as I have a notepad and pen [notebook on my phone helps too]. I draw inspiration from everything.”
Toyosi Godwin: “I don’t wait for inspiration anymore.”
Toyosi is a team lead at the Writing Colony. And at this stage of his career, he doesn’t wait for inspiration anymore. He writes first, inspiration follows.
“When I get bored or stuck, I sleep. The surge of ideas that hit me when I wake up is comparable to nothing. I love how serene my inner self feels. It’s beautiful. At that point, I write. And I allow my mind to bleed.”
Kalu Othy: “My thoughts come when I’m watching anime or listening to music. But I have made it a habit to make sure I document those thoughts.”
Kalu writing evolved during 2017–2020 when he wrote everyday for 365 days.
“I began conditioning myself to write from perspectives that weren’t mine, with emotions I hadn’t felt and languages I wasn’t familiar with,” he said. “It made me able to write at any point and in any situation but most thoughts come when I’m watching anime or listening to music.”
For Kalu, the urge to write comes when he’s having deep conversations on any subject matter.
“Usually I write better around 2–3 a.m because my mind is clear but lately it gets clouded. So I have made it a habit to make sure I document those thoughts.”
Something to pick
You don’t need to be staring at your laptop to be productive. You don’t need to be in the office to be productive. You don’t need to be on Slack to be productive. You don’t need to be in a meeting to be productive.
It’s your job to recognize this and craft your lives in the way that best facilitates your creative process.
Staring at an empty google doc as long as it takes to write is actually very effective in wasting your time, frustrating you, and leaving you with lines that make you doubt your usefulness as a creative.
Something to answer
Where do you usually get your best ideas? Let us know in the comments. 💬💬💬
Something to ask of you
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That's a wrap! Go enjoy your weekend! 😃🍻
See your next time.