Are you constantly looking for ways to improve your writing skills? Read on to discover my top 11 tips!
While the trend has long shifted to the visual depiction of content, the importance of effective communication in writing is often not stressed enough. The quality of writing matters is highly critical when you have to meet the expectations of your readers.
But the good aspect of writing is that writing, similar to any other skill can be improved with practice and time. So let’s get started on the journey to improve your writing skills:
Table of Contents
1. Start with reading
The first step in developing flawless writing skills is to read the examples set by others. You must have come across various kinds of written content in social media, school newsletters, online course content, and professional publications.
Reading and subsequently learning from others’ writing is a significant aspect of writing since it will help carve your own style of writing. If you find any post, article, or written document interesting, make sure that you save and read them. And when you sit to write, you can always go back to those examples for inspiration.
2. Write as if it’s your job
There are hardly any shortcuts that can turn you into a fabulous writer overnight. Even the most celebrated writers of today had devoted many years of practise to learning and bettering their craft. Regardless of whether you are writing your college assignment or considering SEO, writing regularly is the key. This will not just reduce the fear of blank pages but also help develop your unique style.
3. Be a part of a writing workshop
While this is an unpopular means of boosting your writing skills, joining a writing workshop can be downright helpful. Most people despise the idea of being in a room filled with unknown people where they have to bare their souls before the world. In recent times, content marketing meets and professional development groups are becoming popular and you may join any of them.
4. Find writings that you admire
Most people go through the same blogs over and over without realizing what’s in there to admire. Find a list of readings that you enjoy and take a print of them. Next, sit with a pen and highlighter to mark the areas that you enjoyed: including sentences, phrases, and even words. Once you figure them out, you will be able to apply them to your writing.
5. Cut out unnecessary words
One of the most common mistakes among both beginner and experienced writers is that they adopt a highly complicated style in order to appear more authoritative. But do you know that shorter and straightforward sentences also have a great impact on the reader’s mind? You don’t have to be overwrought with your sentences to convey your point.
6. Make sure you have the outlines in place
Well, the blinking cursor of a blank document can be your greatest foe, no matter how experienced you are. So, to do away with that while you achieve better writing skills, make sure that you have the outline in place. This is going to be the fool proof plan to battle the foe of writing good stuff. You don’t need to have a very complex outline in place – but having an idea of how you are going to arrange the content is winning half the battle.
7. Write like you are communicating with your friend
Do you know that you are at your most lucid and eloquent state when you are communicating with someone close to you? That’s simply because you are highly relaxed and not forcing your words or ideas to become something that you are not. You will try to answer their queries and remain attentive and engaged throughout the conversation. And if you can adopt this into your writing, it’s going to pay off surely.
8. Be a ruthless editor
When you write regularly, it’s obvious that you are going to be confident of your good writing skills. The next step is to become your harshest critic ever. This position is indispensable for a writer as it helps remove extraneous words and lyrical waxing in places where they are least required. If you are not sure of whether a paragraph works, it probably isn’t working. Want to find out more about being an editor? Read my blog post
9. Accept that the first drafts are usually nonsense
When you read something fabulous, it’s easy to imagine that your favorite writer had sat to write in their leisure and produced some of the greatest works of their career. Well, the truth is quite the opposite. First drafts are generally something that the writer himself balks at. It is, after all, an iterative process and you have to spend considerable time reworking various materials.
10. Find yourself a great editor
While you should be your greatest critic when you want to improve your creative skills, you will also need someone more experienced and patient. An adept editor can show you why something isn’t working in place of nullifying your efforts. This might be difficult for new writers, but you got to develop a thick skin if you are really serious.
11. Read your previous creations
Well, the idea here is not to romanticize your journey but to realize how far you have traversed to achieve good writing skills. Seeing how far you have come is a thrilling part of the job and you cannot give it a miss. After all, you must sometimes pat yourself on the back!
So, if you write for a living or are thinking of starting, use these 11 tips to help improve your writing skills. As they say, practice makes perfect, so whatever you do, just keep writing!