Enhance your writing skills with practical tips and techniques. Explore strategies to improve your writing and elevate your craft.
Whether you’re looking to get into a career in content writing, you need to improve the quality of your essay writing, or you’re creative and you want to be able to write creative works to the best of your ability, there are plenty of good reasons to want to improve your writing. But it’s not always easy to figure out exactly how to do that. It can be hard to tell what a ‘good’ writer is, and that’s not what we’re aiming to define here. Instead, we’re going to look at how you set yourself up on the journey of development that can ensure that you are always growing as a writer.
Read regularly
If there is one truth that any novice writer hears, whether it’s in community with other writers, from writing courses, books on writing, or otherwise, it is the truth that “writers read.” Simply put, you should make sure that you’re always learning from those who came before you. When you read with a writer’s eye, you can begin to see linguistic choices, sentence structures, and other principles of writing that you find work for you or that you don’t like. This can help you begin to develop your taste and style in writing. Just be mindful of the very natural process by which your writing often tends to best resemble the thing that you enjoyed reading most recently. Over time, the strength of the comparison fades and combines with other inspirations to become your own style.
Don’t neglect the basics of spelling and grammar
Before you worry about the nitty-gritty of what makes your writing good, you should make sure that it is correct, first and foremost. Take the time to go back over the basics of grammar and spelling to make sure that you’re fully aware of the difference between a colon and a semi-colon, for instance. Try to pick up where you left off with your schooling. Tools that improve your grammar can help, but don’t rely on them mindlessly. When they make suggestions on the correctness of your grammar or spelling, be sure to absorb them.
Write every day
Think of your writing ability like a muscle. If you want to keep it, then you have to do it every day. As such, you should make sure that you write every day. If you have a project that you’re trying to complete, such as content you want to publish, a video script you are working on, a book, or otherwise, this is your perfect opportunity to ensure that you are always contributing to it. Otherwise, you can find writing prompts that can at least keep you putting out something every day. Find a word limit or a time limit that you can comfortably write up to, and make sure that you set time aside for it every single day.
Keep working on your vocabulary
Among other things, the tip to keep reading, as mentioned above, will begin to expand your vocabulary. You will come into contact with more and more words that you might not recognize and should endeavor to look them up as you do to learn their definitions. However, you should make active efforts to expand your vocabulary as well, such as by following word-a-day feeds. You can also play word games like a crossword that can make you test your ability to recall words on demand. Being able to pick out a word and give a definition of its meaning can help you improve that vocabulary, but in writing, you need to be able to actually use it, yourself.
Read books by writers, for writers
Once you know that you have cemented the build blocks of your writing, or at least moving in the right direction with them, then it’s time to really focus on how you construct your writing. Writing correctly is the first step, and writing with intent is the second. The best way to do that is to engage with writers and writing, yours and others, more actively. Finding other writers or fans of writing to discuss with can be excellent, but for many, the first step is reading books on writing, from experienced writers. These books can change how you think about writing, helping you understand the depth of expression available, and how to write in a way that is unique to you.
Do you need a writing course?
The answer to this is, of course, ‘no.’ There is no shortage of writers, be they authors, scriptwriters, content creators, or otherwise, who are great writers and became great writers without ever stepping foot into a writing classroom. However, that is not to say that writing courses cannot be helpful. In fact, they often can, especially if they teach you some of the realities of making writing your career. Whether in person or online, find writing courses, preferably those taught by published and accomplished writers in their field, to see if they can help you.
Learn how to dissect writing
If you want to improve as a writer, then you have to eventually develop a clinical sense of what is good and bad in the writing you engage with. As mentioned, when reading, you will notice things you do like, as well as those you don’t. This can shape your writing habits but, to become more precise with your own writing, you should start learning how to dissect writing. Take the time to highlight the things that stand out, for good or bad reasons, and try to put to paper why these passages, sentences, word choices and the like do not work for you. To be a good writer, you should also learn how to become a good editor.
In conclusion
The point at which you become satisfied with your skill as a writer is entirely up to you. In reality, most writers never reach that, but instead strive for constant improvement. If that sounds like the goal to you, then the tips above can be the steps you need to take on your way.
