I’m a freelance writer based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
I started writing when I was 9. I wrote a story about a tiger and proudly handed it in to be graded. When it came back, the first thing I noticed was a big red line drawn across the page. According to my teacher, there was no way I could have written it. She reckoned it was too good to be true and gave me zero.
That moment sparked something in me. Instead of shrinking in shame, my tummy fizzed. Perhaps I do have magic in me, I thought. So I wrote some more and sure enough, the more I leaned in to what I was good at, the better I became and the more the magic flowed. And the more my tummy fizzed.
I now run a business writing for a living!
Photo by Leah Kelley
I also teach people about that magic and nothing gives me bigger pleasure than watching people and brands come alive when they find the right WORDS to use strategically in order to achieve their unique objectives.
Because let’s face it, we are ALL creative beings at heart. We ALL have a story that only we can tell and deep within we ALL have a desire to leave our unique creative imprint on this world.
I lucked out with that zero. Without it, who knows where I would have been.
If you’d like to buy my book, read my blogs or connect with me regarding one of your creative writing projects, my website is the best place to start. www.leemayimele.com
I encourage you to make your creative mark on the world. I’m looking out for it.
One of the first things people say to me when they hear that I’m a writer is “Oohhhh, I want to write a book too!”
My response “You should!”
Followed promptly by, “…and you totally can!”
The sad thing is that 99% of those people never write anything and I know why. It goes back to the lie that’s been told to us for generations: YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
And everyone has a right to tell their unique story.
I’ve been working on helping other people find the courage to tell the story that only they can tell. To date, I’ve helped hundreds of authors get their stories out of the heads, into their hearts, onto their computer screens and then out into the world.
The courage lies in the ability to go beyond the lies. That lies that say: Your story? Ha ha! Who are YOU to be interesting? What makes YOU think that YOU have anything to offer to the world?Give it up while you still have some dignity.
As a writing coach, I make it my business to take my clients beyond that self-talk. Take my dad, for example who has been creative all his life. He sang his stories as an Elvis impersonator in his early years, sketched his way through many a childhood trauma, created poetry through his woodwork and told of his heartache with his guitar. He would laugh if I were to tell him that his stories are still in draft because he is yet to WRITE them. I guess I would laugh too. But only because I know I am write..I mean right.
I intend to win this one. And get him to write his memoir, Insha’Allah, as my muslim friends so beautifully say, “If God so wills it”.
Lee
If you would like to work with me, submissions are open now until the end of January 2023. Please get in touch for submission guidelines.
You know what guys? I’m sad about what’s happening in Israel and Palestine. I’m sad about the millions of people dying in India as the Corona virus continues to wreak havoc. I’m sad about the many divorces, suicides, mental health issues, drug addictions around me. I’m sad about the way people are struggling to eat, feed their families and survive. Their pain is everyone’s pain.
And yet, in the last couple of weeks,
My dad got his vaccine, my niece got married, the kids set a mouse-trap and my daughter wore hot pink shorts for a new dance class
I picked chillies from the garden and turned it into a home made peri-peri sauce which I bottled for some friends
My neighbour put a bottle of silver shampoo at the gate for me to try (without saying a word)
My favourite client launched her new website
I cut my hair, made rum and raisin ice-cream and ate it in bed with my hubs when the lights went out
I ran a little further, finished editing a 70,000 word manuscript for a client and I received the sweetest hand-written thank you note and some Turkish delight from a little boy.
Looking out for these moments and documenting them is part of my self-care.
It’s not so much about creating a false sense of happiness but rather choosing to note the little things.
These are the moments that help to lift my mood, change my focus and improve my overall feelings of health and wellbeing. The more I do it, the more I see little things to take note of.
So, I wanna know. What’s on YOUR list of things to be grateful for this week? If all you did was brush your teeth, that’s okay too. We are in the middle of a global pandemic. I say snap those pearlies and be grateful you still have them.
“What, Mama?” *insert shock-horror on the cutest faces you can imagine here* “So YOU write the stories…and they take the credit?” (“Do you at least get money?”)
I don’t know how it came about that I even brought GHOSTWRITING up with them. Or why…
Perhaps it was on that morning I was nearly bust being the Tooth Fairy and I grabbed a book in a lame ass attempt to show them something more “interesting”.
I’ve been a GHOST WRITER for many years – taking ideas and rough drafts, weaving and channeling my ideas around them and then handing them back to authors to publish.
I’ve never thought about the credit bit. I guess that’s not why I write. I write because it gives ME pleasure!
Have YOU figured out how to turn something you love doing into a business? I’d start with what brings you JOY.
That’s always the way.
xoxo
Lee
For more stories like these and a list of my services, please visit www.leemayimele.com
Lee Mayimele - Writer 