Hi there, welcome! If you’re not familiar with the purpose of this website, essentially is to provide ways that can help others improve their writing skills. I hope to accomplish that by sharing my own experiences as well as the best tips and advice from other professional writers I come across in my life. The idea is to give you as many different points of views, techniques, and methods as possible to help with your creative writing.
Today you’ll be reading tips on how to improve your writing from a ghostwriter out in Michigan. I’d love to know what you think of this post (please, be nice!).
Writing is a beautiful skill whether you use it for personal or in a public approach, and the process itself can be very fulfilling. I hope to inspire and motivate you to write (even) more.
How to improve your writing
There are several forms of writing, actually. There are people that want to write novels, SEO content, Poems, Comic Strips and so much. So, before you look into improving your writing, you should first decide what type of writing you’re looking to do. For example, some people write with Search Engine Optimization in mind. There are rules that they follow that will help with the search engines to find you. Of course, sometimes following these rules doesn’t mean they have the best grammar.
However, when writing a book or short story, making the characters believable and fun is a very important part of the writing. Having proper grammar is important. And, there are entirely different rules to this type of writing.
Poems would lead you down another path as well. But, there are some general tips that can improve your writing skills as an overall writer. And, don’t be afraid to ask a friend to read over what you have written and give an honest opinion.
Make your Concept Clear
Make a roadmap of what you are going to write about, even if it’s in your head. Have a plan and try to stay on the plan. This will allow you to have a steady flow of words that describe the concept but not at a length that you sound like an ADHD person. Stay focused and get your concept across in as few words as possible. Going on about every single detail will lose the person that is trying to read your writing.
Don’t Over Explain
We all know that one kid that leads you down 14 rabbit trails before coming up with what they are trying to say. From what colors things were, to the smells and so forth, eventually losing the entire story in the process. Choose your words carefully. Ask yourself if every little detail is really necessary or is it filling the pages with fluff and losing the reader. Often times bullet points can be used as well.
Avoid Overuse of Adverbs
These are words that usually end in ly, so things like really bad, extremely humorous and really fast are adverbs. But, they make the sentences and words long and there are other words that could be used in their place. Things like gross for really bad or hilarious for extremely humorous and sprinted instead of really fast can get the point across and be less wordy.
Stick with Simple Words
There are 3 kinds of words in the English Language. There are words we know, words we kind of know and words that the majority have never heard of. Unless you’re writing a textbook, you should avoid the third kind of words. Having a large vocabulary is a sign of intelligence, however, intimidating your readers is not a great idea. If your writing is too complex for the average reader to understand, well, they just won’t read it. And, that’s not the point of being a writer.
Use Contractions in your Writing
To avoid making your writing sound like a robot or someone with a stiff upper lip, use contractions. After all, everyone in the English language uses them and they just help with the flow of things. Things like You’re instead of you are at each sentence will allow it to flow more naturally and freely. And, of course, if you are in an area that has its own natural contractions, it’s best to use them. For example, people in the south say “ya’ll” instead of You All.
Anticipate your Readers’ Questions and Answer them as you go
Ask yourself what the readers will be questioning and put it in the text. This can be simple things but can really have a big overall impact on your writing. Don’t leave the reader to question what the next step is or who someone your writing about it. Explain to them in short but simple explanations.
Button up your Writing
Read over what you write and try to take out words and phrases that are not needed. Getting the point across in as simple of a manner as possible is important to your readers. Long and drawn out sentences can lead to wandering minds. So, if you are like many of the writers out there, you will write as you speak. And, that is great, but then go back and button it up. Take out the unneeded words and phrases to make a more and presentable written piece.
Write Naturally
Yes, we have all had that teacher in school that says, “Don’t start a sentence with a conjunction, such as and.” Well, if you are writing for others to read and it’s not a formal paper, then write naturally. This means it’s okay to start a sentence with And. And, we can show you that it makes sense and flows well at times.
Put some Personality into your Writing
Writing can be fun and reading what you wrote should be as well. Sure, we all have those areas that need a little work. Or if you are a content writing there are just some products that are going to be boring to read. Sometimes there just is no way around it. Describing a wooden table isn’t some glamorous job. However, if you are writing a blog post, make it fun, relatable, exciting. Get people to want to read it. If you are providing tips, make the tips useful and easy to follow.
Practice and practice some more
Really, writing only gets better with practice. If you write all the time, you’ll get pretty good at it. It will tend to flow better and have a good steady pace to your writing. Ensure you are in the proper mood as well. If you get stuck, go for a walk or do the dishes, just get up and move around. Writing for hours on end can take a toll on your abilities. So, take a break and allow yourself to regroup before writing another bit. Practice and ask others for their opinions.
Write like it’s your job. There are no shortcuts on learning how to write better. Brush up on your skills and dive in. Try some blog posts and ask others to check them out. The only way to improve your writing is knowing what needs improvement. We can all self-exam, but if you have another opinion it’s always helpful.
Mimic Writers, you Like
Have a mental roadblock on what to write? Get out your favorite search engine and search for it. Read what others are writing about. Get tips that you can share but never copy someone else’s work. This is not saying to plagiarize but you can read and re-word from others. Sometimes this is the best way to get better at writing about the topic at hand. Over time, you’ll develop sort of your own style of writing that will shine through. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t research and find authors that you would like to Mimic.
Do your Research
This is good for any writer. You can look online, in books and by asking others their thoughts and opinions. As a content writer, you will blog about all kinds of different topics and research is important. Doing the research will help you to understand the topic, should you not know it from your own experiences. And, don’t be afraid to add your own twist to the topic. Should you have an opinion, speak up, most web content is bland to read. If you make something enjoyable, more people will want to read it.
This is important in writing books and short stories as well. Should you have characters that lead a different background or lifestyle that you have, you will need to understand them better. Doing your diligent research will pay off in the end, making your characters believable and lifelike.
Remember it doesn’t have to be Perfect but it has to get done!
Don’t dwell over the writing so long that it never gets the completed stamp. Take a minute, maybe a day or so and go through it. When you’ve done this a time or two, you need to complete the project. If writers only submitted perfect, there would be no books in the world. Get it as close as you can and submit. This goes for books, short stories, blogs, e-mails and anywhere you need to write. Having it sit in the unfinished states is not helping anyone.
Find a Writer’s Group
There are groups for everything. Finding your people and working with a group can improve your writing greatly. This can be done online or in person, there are all kinds of groups on Social media for writers. And, they all started somewhere, so don’t be shy, if you are new to writing, search the groups for your questions before asking. And, have fun with it. Offer to swap written pieces to critique.
Being apart of a group that has your same interests can be delightful. Get to know the other group members and the areas of expertise as well. This will also help you stay more focused and on track should you have people that hold you accountable.
We hope you find out tips helpful and useful. Getting the most out of your writing does not have to be hard. This should be a fun and exciting process for you. So, just get out there and start writing!
