5 Tricks to Becoming a Better Writer

1) Read, read, read

2) Write, write, write, revise and write (repeat again and again)

It is inevitable that the more often you do something you will become good at it and the longer you continue to do that something you will become great at it. Whether a dancer, a pianist, an artist, or a writer, if you keep practicing and practicing, you will advance in your craft–you will excel. To become a great writer, you must be an avid reader; read as much as you can from newspapers, to poetry, to short stories, to novels, etc. Make sure you disperse your readings in a variety of genres and literature. I suggest that you read for at least 30 minutes to an hour every day. I usually read 30 minutes in the morning and another 30 minutes right before bed. I typically read poetry in the morning and a novel in the evening. Throughout the day, I will also stumble upon newspapers, magazines and internet articles. ADVICE: Read everything, whether or not it is in your field of writing; therefore, if you are a novelist, don’t disregard poetry, if you are a poet, don’t disregard novels. As you read, highlight or circle words that you are not familiar with and look them up. If you regularly do this, you will enhance your vocabulary: terminology and word choice will come easier when you write.

Do not expect to be a good writer simply by reading, you must also write, write and then write some more. Set a time each day to write; you can write blogs, diary entries, poetry, stories, etc. You can even start writing a book. Once again, the best writing come with revisions, so don’t forget to revise; it allows you to improve on what you already wrote.

3) Share your work

By sharing your work, you can receive feedback, opinions and reactions from other people; everyone will have a different viewpoint. With their responses, you begin to understand what your readers like and dislike. You may realize mistakes in your writings which were not obvious before. The most important concept about sharing your work is that you become more involve and engage with your writing. You also get to identify and understand your readers. Therefore, when you do decide to write a book, it will be easy to know who your audience is and what they expect. Share your work with family, friends, professionals, etc.

4) Study grammar, poetry, story plotting and character building

Today, resources are everywhere; you can take classes on writing, buy books on grammar, visit your public library and use the internet to learn anything about writing. Constantly study and train yourself on the different aspects of writing and implement what you learned into your own writing. Using grammar correctly is one of the most significant components to being a good writer.  You cannot be a good writer with poor grammar. No matter how clever, witty or unique your story may be, it will not be acknowledged if your grammar and sentence structures are incorrect. 

5) Emulate other great writers

Who is your favorite writer? Learn what inspires, motivates and stimulates your favorite writer and copy it. Learn the techniques your favorite writer uses and copy it. While I was studying Edgar Allen Poe, I began to imitate his practice of writing and entertaining readers by arousing fear into them. In fact, I developed a taste for writing about darkness and terror from Poe. I think some of my best works are the ones which are about dread and horror. From Poe, I also came into an understanding that writers who are able to excite and invoke emotions from readers are the writers who are most loved; it is because their writings create memorable moments for readers.