- Write a lot. Try to write every day,or multiple times a day if possible. The more you write,the better you’ll get. Writing is a skill,and like any other skill,you have to practice it to get better. Write for yourself,write for a blog,write for other publications. Write just to write,and have a blast doing it. It gets easier after a while if you practice a lot.
- Write down ideas,all the time.Keep a little notebook handy and write down ideas for stories or articles or novels or characters. Having these ideas written down helps,because they can inspire you or actually go directly into your writing.
- Just write.If you’ve got a piece of blank paper or a blank screen staring at you,it can be intimidating. You might be tempted to go check your email or get a snack. Don’t. Just start writing. Start typing away-it doesn’t matter what you write-and get the fingers moving. Once you get going,you get into the flow of things,and it gets easier.
- Experiment. Just because you want to emulate the great writers doesn’t mean you have to be exactly like them. Try out new things. Steal bits from other people. Experiment with your style,your voice,your mechanics,your themes. Try out new words. Invent new words. Experiment and see what works,and cut out what doesn’t.
- Revise. If you really crank out the text,and experiment,and just let things flow,you’ll need to go back over it. Look over everything,not only for grammar and spelling mistakes but for unnecessary words and awkward structures and confusing sentences. Aim for clarity,for strength and for freshness.
- Be concise. This is best done during the revision process,but you need to edit every sentence and paragraph and remove everything but the essential. A short sentence is preferred over a longer one,and a clear word is preferred over two.
- Use powerful sentences. Aim for shorter sentences with strong verbs. Of course,not every sentence should be the same-you need variation-but try to create sentences with oomph. You might find this easier to do in the revision stage,as it might not be something you’re thinking about when you’re writing out that first draft.
- Start and end strong. The most important parts of your writing are the beginning and end. Especially the beginning. If you don’t hook your reader,in the beginning,they won’t read the rest of your writing. So when you’ve written your first draft,spend some extra time crafting a good beginning. Get them interested and wanting to know more. And when you’re done with that,write a even better ending…that will leave them wanting more of your writing.
Author, Phoebe N is living in United Kingdom. Phoebe N is part of our authors community since and has published 1 post.
