HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL WRITER IN 10 PRACTICAL STEPS
Hey there!
Thanks for your feedback on my last blog. I’m sure it was insightful and you are already taking actionable steps on all you learned.
If you are yet to read my last blog post — “How to Make at least $1000 Monthly on Linkedin as a Freelancer”.
You can still read HERE.
Now, in today’s blog, I am going to share with you one of the most-talked-about subjects of all time, it’s HOW TO BECOME A WRITER.
Not just any writer, but a SUCCESSFUL one.
This is going to be both insightful and practical, so sit back and enjoy the read.
Let us begin.
Every now and then, I frequently get asked the question “how do I become a writer?”
This question is usually interesting to me because I receive tons of the same messages in my social media DMs. And when I do, you know the answer that comes to mind? It’s this:
“Well, you are already a writer.”
Being a good writer comes with being a better thinker.
As you would already know, writing is something that’s common to most people. It’s one media that no matter who you are or what you do in life, you will nearly always find yourself writing.
Whether you’re trying to send a mail, update your WhatsApp status, or publish a Facebook post, the ability to articulate your thoughts in words is an amazingly valuable skill.
It’s inevitable not to write in a day.
So, what do I hope to achieve with this blog? By the time you’re done reading this:
- You’ll learn how to get started as a writer.
- You’ll learn how to become a better writer.
- You will also understand why it’s so important to continue developing your writing skills in the process.
Now, let’s proceed to the steps.
How to Become a Writer in 10 Simple but Practical Steps
Here’s an overview of what we’ll be discussing today:
🔹Step 1: Recognize Why You Want to Become a Writer
🔸Step 2: Become a Better Reader
🔹Step 3: Start a Blog
🔸Step 4: Enroll in an Online Writing Course
🔹Step 5: Read the book “Everybody Writes” by Ann Handley
🔸Step 6: Start Journaling
🔹Step 7: Get Honest Critiques
🔸Step 8: Practice Becoming More Conversational
🔹Step 9: “Write Drunk, Edit Sober”
🔸Step 10: Write Everyday
It’s that simple!
At this point, you are free to stop reading. Those are the steps you need.
If I were you, I’ll keep reading because I am sure you are really serious about becoming a writer.
It’s why you opened this blog in the first place, right?
So, read on as we explore all 10 steps.
🔹Step 1 — Recognize Why You Want to Become a Writer
Your ‘Why’ is the first and most important step if you are going to be consistent as a writer.
There are so many reasons why you could want to become a writer. Maybe you want to build your portfolio to pitch to clients, or you want to get more inbound leads on LinkedIn. Another reason could be that you want to become an authority online in your field.
Just like any other skill, the best way to hone your craft is to find the right motivation for why you do what you do. Proper motivation will generate the right consistency.
So what’s your ‘why?’ Is it to build your authority on social media? Or is it to get more traffic to your website?
Whatever the reason, make sure you know it and then focus on it in your quest to improve yourself.
🔸Step 2 — Become a Better Reader
Good writers are good readers. And the best writers I know, read a lot.
As a writer, when you make it a practice to read a lot, you are consciously exposing your mind to high-quality writing. What that does to you is that you unconsciously begin to soak in the elements of the text, outline, style, elegance, and so on, of these writers.
As you do that, you slowly (but certainly) begin to find yourself implementing their styles into your own writing.
Another thing reading does is give you ideas, and lots of them. The more ideas you have, the easier it is to pen them down and build on them.
🔹Step 3 — Start a blog
Starting a blog is the easiest way to start practicing as a writer. There are lots of free blogs you can share your content on. Of course. Medium is one of them. There’s also Wix, LinkedIn, Contently, Blogger, and so on.
Having a blog is a good way to start building a portfolio and the habit of writing.
🔸Step 4— Enroll in an Online Writing Course
The fourth step to becoming a better writer is by taking courses.
Taking courses helps you hone your writing skills in a more practical way. I am a product of this and you should be too. I have taken and still take courses myself.
Understand that not every course has real value. Some are just a waste of time, which is why I advise freelancers to do their due diligence in researching online courses before taking them.
Another thing to note is this: While, I advise beginners to leverage on free courses, I don’t believe you should remain there. Improve your skills to a level where you start earning and can pay for courses. Paid courses are more valuable, believe it or not.
I once shared a thread on Twitter on some of the content writing and copywriting courses that have helped my journey.
If you are looking for a good starting point, you can find it HERE.
🔹Step 5 — Read “Everybody Writes” by Ann Handley
When I get asked how one can become a better writer, there are many books I could recommend on writing. But, one seems to stand out for me, and that’s the book, ‘Everybody Writes’ by Ann Handley.
I encourage you to read this if you haven’t.
It captures the concept of how we are always writing, marketing, and promoting — even when we don’t realize it.
When you are done reading this, I can assure you that you will understand how to specifically focus on writing engaging and interesting content online.
🔸Step 6 — Start Journaling
I have studied many successful writers and they all have this in common — they journal.
And here’s what’s interesting: some do it 5 minutes a day, others do theirs for 30 minutes, and others even an hour.
With journaling, it’s not first about what you write; it’s more about how frequently you write.
Journaling helps you organize your thoughts and prioritize your tasks in a unique way. You don’t have to even publicize what you journal. Just enjoy the process of it.
The way to become a better writer is to write and keep writing. The good news is with journaling, you have the opportunity to build and maintain that habit.
🔹Step 7— Get Honest Critiques
I may not have met you in real-time but here’s what I know about you.
You, just like most creatives, oftentimes find it difficult to get real and honest feedback from other people like you.
So, you’ll rather have your friends and families who just want you to feel good. Yes, they love you and the fact that they do is why they will only tell you what you want to hear.
And if you are honest with yourself, it’s not always accurate.
Look here, if you are going to improve your writing skills, I suggest you swallow your ego and find a place where you can get constructive feedback.
Find a mentor or communities online you can join for feedback, who can really groom your craft.
You can join my freelance community, for example. There are many creatives from around the world who would be willing to look at your work and give constructive feedback.
🔸Step 8: Practice Becoming More Conversational
Be more conversational in your writing.
And no, I don’t mean you include ‘um's’ and ‘ah’s’, in your writing. What I mean is don’t sound like a stuffy research paper or Wikipedia page.
Write in a relaxed tone, as you would talk to someone who sat beside you.
Say what you mean. Explain your thoughts clearly. Avoid redundancies. Make your point, then move along.
Remember, you are writing so another person can read. Your writing is of no good if your audience can’t understand you.
🔹Step 9 — “Write Drunk, Edit Sober”
This is argued to be coined by the famous Hemmingway. While I’m not in support of or against this fact, I can say that the quote hits the nail on the head.
The way I have come to interpret this is that writing is
Don’t overthink it. Just start.
You limit how much you can write when you bother yourself with the details of the outline, draft, links, research, or formatting.
Forget about all that and just write.
When you’re done writing, come back to your draft with fresh eyes. If you were concerned about certain parts in your draft that wasn’t awesome, now’s the time to go back to them and confirm they are in good shape.
🔹Step 10 — Write Everyday
Myles Munroe said it best, “Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes for improvement”
As with anything in life, if you don’t keep practicing, you won’t see improvement. And writing is one of those things.
When you begin to write every day, you will get to see how the process becomes easier with every new story, blog, book, article, or script.
As you write regularly, it will ultimately become part of you. You will begin to see how your thoughts are much clearer and you will have fun writing. You’ll agree with me that it’s always more fun to do things you are good at.
The same goes for writing. Don’t stop.
Write, write some more and keep writing.
Final Words
Whether you are a content writer, ghostwriter, copywriter, scriptwriter, technical writer, or any kind of writer, apply these steps and see how successful you will become. The rules of your niche may differ but these steps apply to all writers.
I hope this helped.
Cheers, and see you next time.
In our next blog, I’ll be sharing more helpful content on freelancing, digital skills, and remote work.
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