How To Become a Better Writer

Writing is a very important skill, which will have significant bearing on your job, personal life and capacity to earn a second income. Whatever your motivation for writing, there is nobody who cannot become a better writer. These are some practical tips that will help you become a better writer

1. Aim High

To improve our writing we need to make it a goal. If we do not care about improving our writing, nobody is going to do it for us. Whatever your current standard, make a sincere effort to improve different aspects of your writing. If you give a priority to this target, there is no reason why you cannot improve.

2. Learn The Art of Simplicity

There is an oft used phrase ‘less is more’ With regard to writing this is particularly relevant. If you can make the same point with less words then this will make you a better writer. Good writing should be effortless to read; it shouldn’t be complicated and take time to decipher.

3. Practise.

If you want to be a better writer, the best thing to do is regularly practise the art. Through regular writing you will become more fluid in your command of language. If you are daunted by the idea of writing 1,000 words, start off with writing 200 words. By writing little and often you will gain increased confidence and assurance.

4. Don’t Aim for Complete Perfection

It may sound paradoxical, but to be a better writer we may have to accept less than perfection. The reason I think this is important is because when we expect perfection from ourselves we become a very slow and ponderous writer. Whatever we write doesn’t sound right, because we know it could be better. This insistence on perfection is the wrong way to begin writing. Start off by allowing yourself just to write, later you can go back and you will be able to improve on your first draft. Also, if we aim for complete perfection we will be very sensitive to any criticism; and this will be a deterrent to our writing.

5. Read and Assimilate.

To become a better writer, we need to read engaging and expert authors. We may not want the style of a Dickens or Shakepeare; but, there is something we can learn from all authors. When a style of writing particularly appeals to you, consider why this is the case, and try to incorporate these features into your own writing.

6. Writing Challenges

Try writing on new topics and issues. Some writing tasks can seem quite easy because we know the subject well. However, by tackling a different subject or writing in an alternative style we have the opportunity to transcend our capacities. Another good recommendation is to try writing for a different medium. For example, if you are a blogger, try guest posting on a popular blog. This forces you to bring out the best in yourself. When you know an article will be read by 20,000 people you have more motivation to produce your best writing.