There’s no shortcut to becoming a better writer. Sorry.
Everyone wants to, everyone strives to, but no one everyone achieves the desired goal without putting an effort, without walking that extra mile that tells a profound author from a journeyman.
Best Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills
To become a hands down great, renowned writer, you have to have talent. Sorry once again.
But even without any unique writing talent you can be an author who raises up high above the rest of the crowd. The one professors praise in front of the class, the one drawing reader’s attention without a hitch, the one with a fat paycheck, and the one who enjoys high grades for written assignments hassle free.
How to be this exact kind of profound author?
Practice comes first. Even with Hemingway’s talent you won’t go anywhere without practice. Write every day, and with the following hints you’ll definitely succeed. Or at least be better than anyone else in the classroom. Or any other room full of writer wannabes.
1) Lay extra focus on college essays
Composition, essay, term paper, report, case study – doing these assignments in college is the essential training for people aiming to become professional authors, or at least compose consistent texts in general. College is basically a proving ground where students gain fundamental knowledge of how to do cohesive, consistent and correct texts.
If you neglect this training, you won’t be able to write anything serious, anything worth getting paid for or at least showing someone. Do your written homework every single time, college is where the road to greatness commences.
2) Start blogging
Internet is a wonderful place to train your writing skills. Millions of people are your free audience, ready to evaluate any text you offer them, provide more or less sane feedback, give you the very first lessons of accepting and managing criticism, as well as give a chance to bask in the first sunrays of glory.
Facebook is the essential place to start from, as it lets you post pretty lengthy texts with almost no limitations regarding volume. In case you’re at hand with html markup and have basic WordPress skills, set up your own blog and let your words speak for you in front of the internet community. Great free training for everyone.
3) Analyze text by influencers and inspiring authors
There’re always people more experienced than you, who’ve already been in these shows and who already learned their tricks of the trade. There’re also people with a writing style you particularly enjoy, people whose writing inspires you and is pleasant to read.
Learn from such people, study their style, learn of techniques and tropes they use, then try to imitate their writing on the road to elaborating on your personal style and literary touch. Don’t hesitate to copycat great things used by others, it will eventually lead you to attaining your own unique signature style. Just don’t quit and never stop learning.
4) Read more
Now that’s basic, but why everyone forgets about it, then? Similar to the previous point, reading is the founding block of inspiration. The more you read, the better you understand how this world works. There’re books, articles, blog posts, poems, fiction novels – works by other authors give you both practical writing hints and source of inspiration all at the same time.
Reading also helps break through writer’s block, if you ever happen to get into one.It’s for a reason that ever great writer in the history of mankind was (and there plenty of those who are now!) a rather bookish, well-read person.
5) Participate in writing competitions
Some people have a writing talent, it’s right there in them hibernating, waiting to be given a nudge. For such a sleeping giant, the impetus to start working and achieving goals might be either the feeling of competition or the prize which follows taking the first place.
In case you’re one of such sleeping giants resting there idly, waiting for a certain kick in the butt cheeks, sign up for a writing competition, either a local college one or any other you can find. In addition, a credential like that is good for your resume.
For a tidbit, the words of precaution.
These tips won’t work until you get off the couch and start working. Every great writer out there is a workaholic. Wanting to become a solid writer is one thing, but actual daily grind is a completely different matter.
As for what you have to do now…
Get up, make some coffee and practice, Practice, PRACTICE! 🙂
1 Comment
Nice guide Harshil.
From the above points, blogging is the most effective way to improve our writing skills.
My favorite is blogging.