The Path to Become a Better Writer
“How to get better at writing? Are you serious?! I LOATHE writing. I’ve always been terrible at it…”
Regardless of your stance on writing, you need it, right? You couldn’t go a day without texting a friend or emailing a coworker. Whether you like it or not, writing is a HUGE part of our daily lives.
Outside of texting, slacking, and DM-ing, writing is hard or terrifying for most of us. Which makes the topic of getting better at it upsetting, but 100% necessary.
What many don’t realize is that writing is one of the most powerful personal and work skills on the planet. We all have access to it, and you don’t even need a high school diploma to get better at writing.
Yet, it’s also the most overlooked and untapped professional, personal, and creative resource. Getting better at writing…
- Makes you a better listener.
- Improves your communication skills (and relationships)
- Improves your critical thinking
- Increases your work speed and productivity
- Makes you a better therapist to yourself
- A better friend, spouse, partner, boss, employee, project leader… you name it!
We don’t talk about it, but working on your writing skills has the power to level-up almost every aspect of your life. Producing “good writing” and “great writing” opens doors and creates opportunities. Becoming a writer takes a little time and practice, but can make every aspect of your life easier and more fulfilling.
If that’s true, why are so few of us working on how to get better at writing?
Most do because they hate it and don’t practice it. For you and me, practicing and getting better at writing gives you a HUGE tactical advantage in your personal and professional life. AND you don’t even have to try that hard to get better at it.
Here are a few practical tips on how to become a better writer…
A Quick Note Before You Get Started
This is universal advice on how to be a better writer. They’ll help you produce “good” and “better” writing whether you are a total novice or a long-time pro.
These tips work for every capacity of writing as well ––– creative writing, content writing, blogging, SEO writing, journaling, self-exploration, casual blogging. etc. When practiced over time, they’ll give you the writing skills you need to take you from a beginner to a pro. A good writer, to a great writer, and even an outstanding writer.
If you never write (other than texts and work emails) it will give you practical, actionable tips on how to be a better writer.
Write Every Day
This may sound daunting, especially if you consider yourself a writing newb.
Don’t worry, and definitely don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
Everyone sucks in the beginning. Getting better is simply a matter of practicing writing, every day.
Just by sitting down to make yourself do it, you’ll get better. That’s all it takes.
Set a simple, doable goal for yourself to make writing less overwhelming. I love setting a goal for myself of either
- 2 crappy pages per day.
- Write for 10-15 minutes. Little-to-no stopping. Zero edits until you’re done.
Don’t overwhelm yourself with grammar and rules. You can work on that later. Just focus on sitting down and writing. The results will come.
Writing as a Routine
It’s easiest to write every day when you’re on a routine. When you write at the same time every day.
This varies for everyone. I write best in the mornings and in the evenings. Test writing at different times of the day to find when writing comes easiest to you.
When you write infrequently, writing is intimidating. When you practice writing every day, that blank page and flashing cursor on your screen becomes far less terrifying.
Don’t give writer’s block power. Sit down and write every day, whether you’re inspired or not. There’s always something to write about.
Need to give yourself a kick in the butt? Need inspiration? Read The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield.
Read Every Day to Improve Your Writing Skills
Reading daily is an easy way to become a better writer. Take the time to study other great writers.
- How they use languages, sentences, structure, and phrasing
- How they paint a picture and convey information, a message, or a feeling
- How they make you feel as a reader
Reading alone helps you become a better writer. You’ll notice how other writers use language, structure, and phrasing to make writing more captivating and entertaining. You’ll notice when you lose interest and what writing/writers bore you.
How to Get Better at Writing: Write Shorter Sentences
Some writers (myself included at one point) believe there’s something special, artistic, and exceptionally creative about beautiful, long sentences.
The truth is ––– in most forms of writing ––– long sentences are losing their value. They are losing their place in writing.
I find this is more true in content marketing and other forms of marketing or sales writing, but I think this can apply to creative writing as well.
Good writing is about keeping only what’s necessary and forgetting the rest. It’s word fasting. It’s addition by subtraction.
The fewer words you have, the more meaning each word carries.
There’s a lot I want to read and learn about. The problem is, I don’t have time to read multiple 2,000+ word blog posts or long-winded articles every day
Now, I find that my favorite sentences are the short ones. Sentences that use the least amount of words to convey a message, and only use the best of what’s necessary. They’re memorable, punchier, more real, and more effective than long sentences.
Plus, people don’t take time to read anymore. In a world of dwindling attention spans, social media, and instant gratification, if a piece or post is too long ––– readers will leave your content and go elsewhere.
With that, here are a few notes from the sentence master himself, Verlyn Klinkenborg:
- “The only link between you and the reader is the sentence you’re making. There’s no sign of your intention apart from the sentences themselves.”
- “Most of what you write will need to be eliminated. The rest will need to be fixed.”
- “Long sentences often tend to collapse or break down or become opaque or trip over their awkwardness.”
- Strong, lengthy sentences are really just strong, short sentences joined in various ways.
I highly recommended his book Several Short Sentences About Writing.
Get to the point faster. Cut out transitions. Trim long sentences. Eliminate unnecessary words.
Use what’s necessary. Forget the rest.
What Do You Write About?
This is a great question. When you have a pool of topics to draw from, it makes it much easier and less intimidating to write.
Here is a shortlist of some of the easiest topics to get you started with writing:
- Write about what you’re reading.
- Journal: What you did today, what you will do, what you did yesterday.
- What you’re noticing in your environment. Use all 5 senses and become a better noticer.
- What you’re feeling or your emotions.
- For Freelancers: Write about industy, market, or niche and/or what you’ve been learning or reading about in those areas.
When in doubt, write about something that pisses you off or makes you angry. If you ever feel like you have writer’s block, it’s easier for most people to write about what makes them angry than what makes them happy. Sad, but true.
Do NOT Edit as You Write
Never. Ever. Ever. EVER! Edit as you write.
I’ve been writing as a career for almost 10 years, and still have a horrible habit of editing as I go.
Don’t do it.
Your goal is to write consistently and build the habit. Editing as you go is one of the biggest enemies of great writing.
Many good thoughts were either lost, forgotten, or not gotten to because editing-while-writing stopped you.
Don’t slow down your progress.
Word-vomit all your thoughts on the page, as is. All of them. Don’t stop typing or writing until the timer runs out or you hit the goal you set for yourself.
How to Become a Better Writer is about Volume
Writing is a volume game. The more you do it, the better you get at it.
Writers worry about “using up” all of their good material. Like it’s fuel in a tank that they’ll never fill up again.
Spoiler: You don’t “use up” your ability to write. It’s not like you have a finite reserve of “perfect” phrases, sentences, analogies, imagery, illustrations, and comparisons.
In fact, you’ll produce more, better quality writing material the more you practice writing.
Every writer has an infinite capacity to produce great writing. The more you create, the more you’ll create.
It’s like being a gardener. As you care for and grow your first plant, it produces dozens of seeds. Those seeds produce more plants, which produce more seeds.
It’s like slaying the hydra, daily. You use one great idea to chop a dragon’s head off ––– three more great ideas come in its place.
Just Write and Hit the Publish Button
I, like many writers, have agonized over the words “great” and “perfect.” What I’ve painstakingly learned is that the words “great” and “perfect” in writing are not your friends.
They’re the enemy.
Perfectionism and “great writing” are what will keep you from hitting the publish button or even writing at all. It will hinder your routine, daily practice, and hitting your writing volume ––– the very things that will make you a great writer, faster.
Voltaire said: “Perfect is the enemy of good.”
Seth Godin echoed those sentiments and followed up by saying good is good enough.
Set the bar low. Writing those 2 crappy pages a day is good enough. It meets the specs you set out to accomplish, and by practicing that alone, your “good” will become a “great.”
In Closing
Don’t put pressure on yourself. No one is a great writer out of the gates. Take these tools and tips on how to become a better writer and keep practicing. This is a test. This is practice. It isn’t a performance, and just by showing up to practice, you’ll get better.
Interested in going pro and getting paid for your writing? It’s not as difficult as it sounds, you don’t need any previous writing experience, and it’s one of the highest-demand, most lucrative side hustles on the market.
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