Let’s talk about writing and reading a book – the old school way. In a world where tweets dictate market trends and blogs go viral overnight, the act of writing a book might seem out of place. But here’s the thing – historically, books are how we learn. Any number of search engines, blogs, and websites cannot replace the value a book brings. Books help challenge our views, provide different perspectives, deepen our understanding, and connect us across continents and centuries.
Writing a book is no small feat (I speak from experience). It is a journey of persistence, passion, and many a long, frustrating night. Each word can be a battle and each completed chapter feels like a victory. It is like crafting a masterpiece (hopefully) out of sheer will, imagination, and experience. And for a reader, each book offers a new world to explore through pages that carry the weight of every emotion behind the words.
So why keep this tradition alive? Because books are our bridge to the past and our gateway to the future. They hold the collective wisdom, thoughts, opinions, and history of all of humanity before us – giving us a window not just into the soul of the authors, but to the times they lived in – pushing us as a society forward, one experience at a time.
For those interested in writing a book, as daunting as the task may seem, a few hygiene practices can go a really long way.
- Consistency is key: Create a routine. Whether it’s a set number of words or pages – set a goal and block time each day to meet the target. Whether it means sitting down to write after your nighttime routine, or waking up before sunrise to get your pages in. Find a time and stick to it. You will ultimately train your brain for “writing time.”
- Don’t underestimate the power of editing: Writing is just the beginning, but the real magic happens when you edit. Go back to what you’ve written at the end of every week, and you’ll find yourself giving harsher notes than your least favorite professor in college. Also consider feedback from trusted peers or professional editors to refine your work.
- Read, read, read, and read some more: Great writers are avid readers. And don’t be afraid to step out of your genre – explore different writing styles and narrative structures. This can inspire your own writing and offer various perspectives on how to tackle the challenges you may be facing.
As we continue to be surrounded by technology and are watching the way we consume information evolve, let us not forget the power of a book to stop time, to allow us to step back and reflect, and to change our views fundamentally.
So, here’s to books, to the writers who pour themselves into their pages, and to the readers who make it worth our while. Let’s keep turning the pages and writing books, stories, and guides the next generation will treasure.
AboutMarwa Kaabour
Marwa Kaabour is a CMO-level executive and an international best-selling author with 25+ years’ experience in establishing and leading strategic marketing communications for global and regional brands in the Middle East. Among her achievements is establishing marketing and communication functions from scratch for companies and government entities. In addition to her strategic ‘from scratch’ capabilities, developing core functions for large and portfolio businesses, leading cross-functional teams, and creating harmony and efficiencies in both marketing and comms — as well as contributing to organizational transformation.
Marwa is a diverse expert with specializations such as business transformation and digitization, strategic marketing, sustainability, branding, public relations, brand management, corporate communications and executive profiling. Her core expertise lies in elevating strategic management, creation and launch of B2C, B2G and B2B brands, media relations, corporate communication, change management, and growth marketing.
Marwa started her career with award-winning international agencies like Leo Burnett and Impact BBDO. She then moved to the client side, bringing agency-level expertise into solo-firm marketing and communication. Her experience spans multiple industries, including energy, manufacturing, automotive, airlines, banking, FMCGs, F&B, construction and retail businesses. This versatile background has led her to contribute to a broad spectrum of global and regional brands such as Nissan, Infiniti, Renault, Volvo Penta, MTU, Nestle, Emirates Airline, Pizza Hut and entities that fall under the Government of Abu Dhabi such Al Hilal Bank.
Marwa was named Global Communication Leader of the Year 2023, Communicate Magazine’s Women To Watch 2022, Campaign’s Middle East Marketing Game Changer 2021 and was selected as one of LinkedIn’s Most Engaged Marketers 2021 and is presently LinkedIn Top Marketing, Branding and Internal Communication voice on LinkedIn . She was also selected to be the UAE’s ‘Highly Commended Female Marketing Leader’ by Women in Marketing Institution in London in 2018. Marwa was named “Best CMO in UAE” by the Digital Stallions Community and winner of Al Masaood’s ‘Best Leader Award’ and ‘ Best Support Department Award’. Marwa frequently lectures on the topic of Marketing, CSR and Communication at Abu Dhabi Universities. She is part of the Advisory Committee for the Abu Dhabi School of Management. She is consistently recognized for exemplary management performance in leading marketing campaigns, driving innovative strategy, and establishing procedures to increase enterprise-wide efficiency.
