Courage Igene

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Steps to Becoming a Published Author

March 29, 2018 By admin Leave a Comment

An author, by definition is a person who composes literary works like novels, poems, essays, short stories, novellas, etc. All these years, you have been reading so many books, be it a novel or a collection of short stories or a collection of poems or numerous other things that are written, and you enjoy every bit of it. Often times, you find yourself predicting the next step of the character and find yourself wondering what the author must have been thinking at the time of writing that particular piece. Eventually, one day, you realize you would like to use your creative mind to compose a literary piece of your own! So how do you go about it?

Author Courage Igene remembers the challenges and steps he took when working to become a writer. Below, he shares some insights for aspiring authors and writers who are looking to further their hobbies or potential careers.Author Courage Igene

Before you start writing, the most important question that needs answering is what you will write. Do you want to write a novel, a novella, short stories, anything else? Pick the one that you are most interested in and are comfortable writing. If you decide to write a novel, you can first start by writing short stories, then moving on to novellas, and then finally arriving to a novel instead of jumping the gun and directly starting to write a novel.

Once this is decided, move on to the next question. What would be your genre? To get some inspiration for this answer, have a look at your bookshelf. What do you see there – Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, or something else? The ideal choice would be the genre that you see most on your bookshelf (or Kindle). It would be hard for you to finish a genre you know nothing about or are less interested in. Courage Igene encourages authors to write what they are most passionate about, that way the writing comes more naturally and is an enjoyable task.

Now that you have decided the genre, it’s time to start planning the plot. The plot of the story is its essence. A well laid out plot is the basic requirement for keeping your readers interested. You might not have an entire plot ready but you should have a rough idea of what your story is going to be about and in what general direction it will move. Along with this, start to develop your characters. Put life in them by trying to visualize them as living people while carving out their looks, thought process, nature, etc.

Now you’re ready to write. But before you start writing (or typing away on your laptop), brush up on your grammar. You do not want to be put in a position where you write “your” instead of “you’re” and disfigure the sentence entirely, along with discrediting yourself. So have a look at the basic grammatical structures, parts of speech, subject-verb agreement, spellings etc. Once this is done, start planning your book. Outline the number of chapters that you’re going to write, and a draft of the content of each chapter.

Create a first draft of your book from the basic outlines. Get inspiration and dig through the creative crevices of your mind. Be as creative as you can. Your first draft is now ready. Now it’s time to rewrite the draft. Go through the entire story once. Does the story make sense? Are the characters behaving according to their natures? Are the chapters well-connected? Keep rewriting and improving until you are satisfied with the flow.

It’s time to start editing! Start looking at the technical aspects like grammar and punctuation. Avoid repeated use of a single word. Try using synonyms instead. Try to be more descriptive instead of using adverbs. Always, get a second opinion and try to get it edited and reviewed by someone else.

Just like that, you have written your first book! Mission accomplished! Now start finding a publisher or even self-publish! Advertise and share your work with the world!

While the entire process may seem overwhelming and long winded, Courage Igene holds a strong belief that anyone passionate about writing and authorship can become published. Even though it may not be your first, second, or even third work, eventually with enough focus and determination, you will achieve your goals.

Check out Courage Igene on blogspot for other interesting blog topics and to get a taste for different publishing styles. Sometimes a great blog idea can develop into a short story or novel right under your nose!

Filed Under: Author, Books Tagged With: Courage Igene, Courage Igene Author, Published Authors, Writing, Writing Tips

Things to Reflect Upon During the Holiday Season

December 13, 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

As a public speaker and community leader, Courage Igene enjoys discussing ways to improve our lives and reflect on the past in a positive light.

Holiday reflections that help you stay grounded and thankful.Courage Igene Gratefulness

The holiday season is the time that most of us are running around making sure everything is in order.  This time of year is hardly relaxing or stress-free, even if you decide to take the family away on vacation.  However, it is important that we take care of ourselves during this time as well.  We all get so busy running around taking care of others we sometimes forget about ourselves and our own wellbeing. 

Taking time to reflect on the past year and recognize all that you should be grateful for is important for self-care.  During the holiday season is the perfect time to do this.  Courage Igene provides his profession opinion to take us through a few things we can reflect on and be grateful for this year. 

Make time for what is important

It may be a busy time of the year but be sure to make time for the things you enjoy.  Set some time aside for taking a walk, writing in a journal, exercise or meditation; anything that makes you feel happy, energetic or inspired.  You will need these moments of empowerment to tackle what lies ahead during the busy holiday time.

It is very easy to get caught up in taking care of others and shopping and cooking and doing all sorts of holiday-themed things that we lose sight of what is important to us.  Be sure to stay grounded in what is important to you.  Consider your family, personal growth, happiness, meaningful connections and integrity.  These can are gifts to yourself that matter.

Annual reflection time

Everyone is always so caught up in counting down to the new year, they forget to take cognizance of the past year and reflect on gains and losses.  During the holiday season is the perfect time for this reflection and to acknowledge what the universe has brought into your life.

The losses reflected on do not need to be completely negative.  They can be good losses such as losing your selfishness, losing your impatience, losing a grudge and losing anything that has held you back from realizing your true potential.  Now is also the time to look at where or what you need to gain in the coming year.  Perhaps you need to gain more perspective, gain more fulfillment and gain more self-love.

These small reflections can place you on a path for an amazing year ahead.

We have all been conditioned to think that taking time for self-love and care is somehow selfish, but the truth is that you cannot take care of others if you yourself are lacking.  As the saying goes: “You cannot pour from an empty jug.”

For more inspirational talks and speeches from Courage Igene, check out his videos on YouTube.

Filed Under: Faith, Religion Tagged With: Courage Igene, gratefulness, Holiday Season, Meditation, Self Love, self reflection

The Importance of Community for Courage Igene

May 12, 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

Courage Igene has developed a great passion for community work and helping others throughout his life and professional career.

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” – Anthony Burgess

What is community? Community means many things. It is a group of people, large or small, who share their sense of place. People can establish social ties easily because of different reasons for the association. Community comes from comunete in French, or communitas in Latin. In a comunete, people join for the importance of many things as community expert Courage Igene explains below.   

Courage Igene Importance of Community

As a certain identity, community is a support group with people who are of the same ideology, theology, ethnicity, or communities of need. For those who may be conservative or liberal, Christian or Muslim, Asian or Hispanic, or gay or suffering from a disability, these are the groups they want to be a part of knowing they belong. There’s a scientific community, a voluntary association, cooperative groups, and communities of action and practice. As human beings, we need that sense of belonging because it is what connects us to the bonds we develop over time. These are the groups that say, “You are not alone.”

As a town, village, or city block, communities like these are close in range where neighbors and other businesses know each other. This kind of community offers many things that we really like such as safety, awareness, support, and loyalty. It also brings appreciation, which comes from the contributions we being to the community, rather than the efforts or status of a sole individual.

So, why is community important? Courage Igene has found throughout his experiences that community comes in multiple forms. What would people do without being in a community of sorts? Community is a place of safety in times of difficulty where we can encounter others. It isn’t (or should not be) a luxury, but something that is decent to have for our well-being.

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” – Abraham Lincoln

Filed Under: Courage Igene, Faith, Religion Tagged With: Community, Courage Igene, Courage Igene Community, Volunteering

Spring Cleaning for Mental & Spiritual Health

April 7, 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

As a leader of his church, Courage Igene is always looking for new ways to improve mental and spiritual health and really cleanse the mind.

As spring approaches, he has started to think about fresh starts and setting up a spring cleaning for the mind and spirit.

Spring cleaning does not have to be all about cleaning out the garage or the closet and drunk drawer you’ve been neglecting. It’s more about removing anything toxic or unwanted in your life and moving on. Though the physical effort of cleaning can have a lot of mental and spiritual benefits, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Courage Igene, Faith Tagged With: Courage Igene, Meditation, Mental Health, Spiritual, Spring, Spring Cleaning

Sacrificing During Lent

March 15, 2017 By admin Leave a Comment

As a leader in his church and community Courage Igene enjoys discussing various religious topics and learning about the experiences of others.

Lent is the period of 40 days, starting on Ash Wednesday, which precedes Easter. There are a variety of people who observe Lent, from Catholics and Lutherans, to those who are looking to strengthen their connection with God.

Courage Igene Lent

Courage Igene reminds his church and community that the 40 days is symbolic of the time Jesus spent wandering the wilderness. In those 40 days, he did not eat, but he did face repeated temptation from Satan. He overcame each temptation that the Devil put in front of him. There are other references in the Bible to religious figures facing a period of 40 days, such as Moses on Mount Sinai, the 40 days and nights of rain that caused the flood, and the 40 days and nights it took Elijah to travel to Mount Horeb. Those are just a few of the occurrences of 40 Courage Igene has noted throughout the Bible. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Charity, Faith Tagged With: Courage Igene, Lent, Religion, Sacrifice

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