15 Easy Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”
— Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums

Photo by Cody Scott Milewski on Unsplash

With content marketing emerging as among the most essential marketing skills on your curriculum vitae, mastering the art of writing could be highly beneficial to your career, or even the enormous advantage of increasing traffic to your company’s website.

Many people are intimidated by writing, especially those who do not write for a living or routine basis.

“The good thing is that writing doesn’t have to be painful, and almost anyone with a bit of discipline and a desire to learn can improve their writing skills.”

Do you really want to improve your writing skills?

Here are 15 things you can do right now to improve your writing skills.

1. Review the Fundamentals:

Before you can start creating fantastic content, you’ll need to have at least a basic understanding of writing principles.

This does not imply that you must enrol in a prestigious creative writing program at university. Still, you must be familiar with the fundamentals of grammar and spelling. Every writer should have a copy of Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style” on their bookshelf, as this small but handy book is one of the most holistic resources on proper grammar usage and other useful topics. Bookmark Grammar Girl and, of course, Merriam Webster for quick and easy online resources.

2. Write as if it were your Job:

You have to practice if you need to get better at doing something, and writing is no exception!

Regretfully, few shortcuts can instantly transform you into a fantastic writer, and even the most creative writers had to learn their craft over a long time. It’s admittedly more difficult to write while thinking about SEO and how to drive more traffic to your post.

Writing regularly will not only help you overcome your fear of a blank page or blinking cursor, but it will also help you develop your own style. So, keep writing even if no one reads it. Ideal practice makes perfect.

3. Read Regularly:

The best writers are also avid readers, and trying to read regularly is a simple way to begin honing your writing abilities.

I don’t just mean blog posts — broaden your reading horizons. Expand your horizons by reading more challenging material, and pay more attention to grammar and syntax, word choice, and how the material flows.

The more you read, the more likely it is that you will develop an eye for what makes a piece so effective, as well as which errors to avoid.

4. Discover a Writing Partner:

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

If you work in a reasonably sized company, chances are that at least one other person is also interested in learning how to become a better writer. Although writing is typically thought of as a solitary activity, the best writers recognize it when seeking critical feedback on their work.

Talk to your colleagues (or friends) and see if they’d be willing to look over your work — they might catch mistakes you missed.Discovering a writing partner is also a great way of keeping yourself accountable and motivated.

5. Examine a Piece of Writing that you Like to Read:

Most people read the same blogs or sites on a regular basis because the content is interesting to them — but few people understand why their favourite blogs are so interesting.

Find a few recent blog posts that you really like, and then print them out. Next, take a red pen and highlight things you liked, just like your high school English teacher did: specific sentences, turns of phrase, even entire paragraphs. Consider why you like these elements and whether there are any common threads in your favorite reading material. Examine how writers move from one topic to another. Put these techniques to use in your own work.

6. Imitate a Writer whose Work you Admire:

Before we continue, it is important to note that imitation is not the same as plagiarism. Don’t steal anyone else’s ideas. Ever.

You’ve probably got a list of blogs you read frequently, and you’ll probably read the same writers on a regular basis. Determine what you like about their work and see if you can apply it to your writing.

Is it common for a writer you admire to inject humour into dry subjects? Make an attempt. Do they incorporate pop culture references into their work to make it more entertaining and useful?

I used to try to imitate some of my favorite nonfiction writers and essayists, such as Joan Didion, Truman Capote, and Bill Bryson when I first started writing. I later developed my own style, but reading these writers’ works and seeing how they crafted their essays and books was extremely beneficial to me as a writer.

7. Keep in Mind That Outlines Are Your Friend:

Even for the most seasoned writers, the blinking cursor of a blank page is a formidable foe.

Before you put pen to paper, make a rough outline of what you intend to write. This will be your battle strategy, and it will assist you in winning the war. Very few — and I mean very few — writers sit down to write anything without a well-thought-out plan.

An outline does not need to be complicated. A simple framework indicating which sections should appear in what order, along with a few sentences describing what each section contains, may suffice.

If the topic you’re writing about is a little more complicated, your outline may have to be as well — but having an outline before you write is like having a road trip map in the glove box of your car. If you get lost, go back to your layout and get back to looking amazing and calling out names.

8. Edit Your Work Thoroughly:

So you’re writing every day (or at least on a regular basis), and you’re feeling confident regarding your work. Awesome! You are now going to be your own harshest critic.

For new writers, editing is a difficult skill to learn because they place a high value on the time and energy they put into the writing in the first place. However, a lot of writing is rewriting, and that’s where an editor’s cold, hard eye will come in handy.

Develop the discipline required to eliminate unnecessary words. Resist the urge to wax lyrical and instead get to the point. Not sure if a paragraph is correct? It most likely isn’t. Be hard on yourself and understand when to remove or rework something. As a result, your work is much stronger.

9. Realize that first Drafts are always Crap:

The best writers make it appear so simple. It’s tempting to imagine your favourite content creators smoothly starting to turn in amazing posts with minimum effort before spending the rest of their day starting to read popular books.

First drafts are always abysmal, which is perfectly fine. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t create a masterpiece on your very first try — chances are, you won’t, and that’s perfectly fine. Simply jot down your ideas on paper first, then go back and clean up.

Writing is an ongoing process, and even the best writers must spend a significant amount of time reworking material that they would be embarrassed to show to anyone.

10. Find a Reliable Editor:

Finding and working with a good editor is one of the best things you can do to improve your writing skills, whether you’re trying to make a case for a content strategy to your manager or want to start guest blogging on your favorite sites. I’ve worked with dozens of editors over the years, and the best, in my opinion, are those who demonstrate why something doesn’t work rather than simply telling you that it doesn’t.

Letting someone read your work can be brutally hard for some writers, particularly when they’re just starting out, but somehow it is essential that you build strong routines from the outset and learn to accept constructive feedback about your work.

Remember that writers are feverishly underprivileged creatures who need to be continuously convinced that they are the true artists they genuinely think themselves to be, but if you’re serious about your work, you’ll need to develop a thick skin, and a good editor is invaluable when it comes to toughening up.

11. Remove Unnecessary Words:

Another common error made by new writers (and some skilled writers who should know far better) is trying to write overly complicated sentences in an attempt to “sound” more authoritative.

Shorter sentences could have a greater impact in many cases. You may have heard of Ernest Hemingway’s six-word story, “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn,” which begins, “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”

Whether Hemingway wrote it or not, the power of these six words demonstrates that, when used correctly, brevity can be a powerful tool, and not every sentence needs to be overly dramatic to get your point across.

12. Go for a Stroll Down Memory Lane:

For the past five years, I’ve been writing professionally in some capacity. I literally cringe when I actually look at my previous stuff, which I do on occasion. I don’t do this to torture myself but to reassure myself of how far I’ve come.

“Writing should be enjoyable, and one of the most satisfying aspects of being a writer is seeing how far you’ve progressed, in addition to the excitement of seeing your byline for the very first time.”

Re-read your earlier work from time to time and amazed at just how much greater you are now than you were then. Give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve put in a lot of effort, so don’t be shy about congratulating yourself.

13. Don’t Be Afraid to Express Yourself:

The majority of web content is dull and boring and dreadfully boring. This is due to the fact that many bloggers focus on merely repeating the same news as everyone else without adding their own opinions.

Obviously, you don’t want to violate defamation laws, but that doesn’t mean you can’t (or shouldn’t) express your opinions.

Once you’ve found your own “voice,” don’t be afraid to express your thoughts. This makes the text more interesting to read. Don’t be a contrarian for the sake of being a contrarian, and don’t set out to intentionally irritate anyone, but make sure there’s enough of you in your writing to make it a valuable read for your audience.

14. Do Your Research:

Apart from plagiarising someone else’s work, nothing will erode your integrity quicker than failing to complete your homework.

Many writers try to cut corners with the facts in their haste to finish a blog post. This can range from inadvertently inflating a statistic in haste to being careless with sourcing or attribution. This not only puts you in hot water with your editor, but it also makes you appear inept.

Everyone makes mistakes, and you don’t have to spend weeks cross-referencing every last statistic, but common sense should prevail here — don’t rely solely on sites like Wikipedia, and use current, credible data whenever feasible.

15. Always remember that Done is Better than Perfect.

Try to write along with what you can, proofread and edit your work thoroughly, and make sure your piece flows logically from one point to the next.

“This does not, however, imply that you should take several weeks to write something.”

No writing will ever be perfect; you must know when to let it go. This is especially true in content marketing because you will rarely have the luxury of crafting agonizingly beautiful posts full of heartfelt sentences and evocative imagery.

The “writing” part of writing will become easier and faster as you feel confident, but just never overlook the fact that deadlines, or editorial calendars, are just as much your masters as any manager.

As for me, I’m going to follow my own advice and end this post. I hope you find these suggestions helpful, regardless of how long you’ve been writing.

Take Away:

Summary: 15 Easy Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills

1- Refresh your knowledge of basic writing, grammar, and spelling principles.

2- Write as if it were your job, and practice on a regular basis.

3- Read more to get a sense of what effective writing looks like.

4- Look for a partner. Request that they read your work and provide feedback.

5- Take the time to examine writing that you like to read.

6- Imitate writers whose work you admire.

7- Create a writing outline.

8- Edit your work with open eyes.

9- Accept that first draughts are frequently flawed and must be revised.

10- Look for an editor who is patient.

11- Remove any unnecessary words from your writing.

12- Examine your previous work to see how you’ve progressed.

13- Don’t be afraid to say exactly what you mean in your writing.

14- Make certain that you conduct adequate research on your topic.

15- Don’t put off writing. Get it done right away.

Sajid Ali - Medium