Eight Characteristics of Good Writing

How important is it for a writer to be able to discern the difference between good writing and bad writing?

Pretty important, if you ask me.

I know some writers aren’t concerned with quality. In today’s do-it-yourself and get-it-done-fast world, quality plays second fiddle to quantity. Who cares if your books are full of typos, bad grammar, and poor logic as long as you have published lots and made a bunch of money? Read more

Improve Your Writing By Reading Like a Fiend

“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading in order to write;  a man will turn over half a library to make one book.”

- Samuel Johnson

To write well, there are only two things you absolutely must do: read and write. Everything else will flow from these two activities, which are essentially yin and yang. Without each other, reading and writing cannot exist. They rely on one another, inform and direct one another. They are two parts of a greater whole.

Read more

Making Time to Practice Writing Every Day

By now, most of you have heard of the 10,000-hour rule, which was made famous in the book Outliers. The rule states that in order to become an expert in something, you need to put in 10,000 hours of practice.

In other words, a master writer has already spent 10,000 hours writing.

Working at it for 40 hours per week, it would take 250 weeks (or almost five years) to become an expert. If you can only spend half that time, or 20 hours per week, on your craft, it would take ten years to master. For people with busy lives and responsibilities (like full-time jobs and families to care for), it could take a couple of decades to master the craft of writing. Read more

How to Build Better Writing Skills

Every ambitious writer strives to consistently produce better writing. We work to master grammar, develop a strong voice, and build sentences and paragraphs that captivate readers.

There’s a lot to learn, and in order to establish the skill set that every successful writer needs, we must foster beneficial writing habits.

Better Writing

Better writing doesn’t happen overnight. Sure, there are quick tricks and fast fixes that you can use, but developing smart, long-term writing habits is a much more effective way to generate better writing.

So, what habits can you foster to continuously build your writing skills over time?

There are lists, articles, and entire books that will tell you countless ways to cultivate better writing, and most of the suggestions out there are legitimate. But I’ve scaled all that advice down into just five simple ways that you can refine and build your writing skills.

Tips for Better Writing

1. Write every single day.
2. Proofread. Edit. Repeat.
3. Read as much as you can.
4. Collect useful writing resources, including grammar and style guides.
5. Get feedback from other writers and from readers.

Foster Better Writing Habits to Build Better Writing Skills

Most of these tips are beneficial to all writers – whether you’re a poet, a novelist, or a copywriter. In creative writing, we often lose sight of the technical aspect of writing because we’re so heavily focused on making our work compelling and coming up with interesting or unusual writing ideas.

But by mastering the mechanical stuff, like spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and by taking in a whole lot of writing (reading a lot), our creativity will be more at ease and will flow more naturally.

It would be an impossible challenge to try and work all of these habits into your daily life immediately. You are likely to become overwhelmed. Instead, work each practice into your schedule slowly.

Start by setting aside ten or twenty minutes to write every day. After a week or two, make revising and proofreading a regular step in your writing process. Set aside time each week to read – either in the evenings before bed or on the weekends when you have time to relax with a good book. When you visit bookstores, make it a point to stop by the writing resources section, and when you have questions about writing, find the answers in the resources that you have acquired. Finally, when you’ve polished a piece to perfection, show it around and get feedback.

Before you know it, your writing habits will be ingrained and you will be on a steady path to better writing.

Feel free to share your ideas for better writing in the comments.

Do You Need a Better Writing Process?

When I was in sixth grade, I wrote my first term paper. It was a research paper (I wrote mine on ghosts, in case you were wondering), and my class spent several months on it.

This wasn’t like the book reports and other, shorter papers we had written. The requirements included a number of short assignments that led to the big climax: a lengthy, fully researched and annotated essay.

We had to read The Elements of Style. Then, we conducted research on our topic and turned in a bibliography (list of works to be cited). We wrote notes from our research materials on index cards. Next, we had to write outlines. After that came the rough drafts. Finally, we turned in the final, polished copy.

This was before every household had a computer and before any household had the Internet. So it was all done by hand. I’m sure some of my classmates found it tedious or boring but I enjoyed this particular assignment, although it wasn’t until years later that I fully appreciated the gift (and it was just one of many) that my sixth grade teachers had given me: a writing process.

Better Writing

Better writing doesn’t happen spontaneously. We have to work at it. Years after I wrote that paper in sixth grade, in another class, I had to do a similar assignment. There weren’t as many steps, but I did have to write an annotated bibliography, an outline, a rough draft, and a final draft. I realized that each of these steps made the entire process of writing smoother and easier.

Since that first term paper, I had attacked most of my writing assignments haphazardly, in a disorganized manner, and usually a day or two before they were due. When I was required, once again, to go through all the steps and when I realized how much better my writing experience and finished paper were, I decided to pay a little more attention to my writing process.

By then, I was old enough to know that I was becoming a writer. I didn’t know where my writing path would lead (I certainly couldn’t have imagined I would become a blogger), but I knew that I wanted to write, to always write. That meant I needed to start applying what I was learning about writing and using it to make my writing better. That meant I needed to think about my writing process and figure out how I could improve it.

Finding Your Best Writing Process

Based on everything I’ve heard from all the writers I’ve encountered, we each have our own writing process. Some of us use note cards and outlines. Others use mind maps and storyboards. Some need a detailed plan while others prefer discovery writing. Some edit as they go; others polish after they’ve unscrambled all their ideas.

One thing does seem to be consistent — successful writers are acutely aware of their writing processes.

I only made this discovery in the last couple of years. One of my favorite podcasts, which is aptly called Writers on Writing, features interviews with published authors (there are also tons of great interviews with agents, editors, and other professionals in the literary world). One of the most common questions that the authors are asked is what is your writing process? Interestingly, they all have solid answers. Different, but solid.

What’s Your Writing Process?

From everything I’ve learned by watching and listening to other writers and from my own experiences, I’ve learned that understanding and honing your own process is instrumental to developing better writing. Before I ask you tell me about your writing process, I thought I’d tell you a bit about my own.

As it turns out, I don’t have one writing process. I have different processes for different types of projects:

• When I’m writing blog posts, I type out a simple outline with the main points I want to cover. I edit each paragraph as I write, unless I’m on a fast roll. I proofread several times.
• For fiction, I like to sketch the characters and develop the setting. Then, I use discovery writing to let the story unfold organically.
• For copywriting projects, I create a file of research notes, compile an outline and fill it with details, flesh out a rough draft, rewrite, edit several times, then proofread several times.
• I’m working on my first nonfiction book, which will be available on Writing Forward later this year. For this project, I did a simple outline, then I used notecards to outline each chapter. Now, I’m working through the first draft. I draft a chapter, then edit it. When I’m all done, I’ll do more detailed edits and several proofs, plus a proof and copy edit of the galley.
• With poems (oh how I love writing poems), I just write. When I’m ready (or rather, when the poem is ready), I revise and polish.

Now tell us about your writing process. Do you have one? Have you ever thought about it? Do you think that a clear, coherent process would help you produce better writing? Leave a comment and let’s talk about it.

How to Foster Creativity for Better Writing

Here’s an age-old question: Is creative writing an art or a craft?

Artistically minded writers will say that writing is most definitely an art while those who who think more analytically will claim writing as a skill, a trade, and a business.

My answer is that writing can be either an art or a craft and usually, it’s both. You can approach writing armed with learned skills and an ability to string words together in a sensible manner, or you can approach writing as a purely creative endeavor and call it your art or your passion.

Both approaches work, and either one can lead to good, strong writing. However, even better writing is a hybrid. It’s both an art and a craft, a marriage between skill and creativity.

Creative Writing is Better Writing

You read almost every day. Words appear on your computer screen, your television, on roadside signs, and product packaging. They’re everywhere, and they all make sense.

But every once in a while, you come across writing that simply dazzles you. Have you responded emotionally to the way a writer uses language? Have you ever put down a novel and remarked how impressed you were with the author’s ability to create realistic characters or a riveting plot? Have you ever read a poem and felt transported to another time or place?

That’s the magic of creativity in writing. It captures and captivates the imagination. It’s transcendent.

Creativity Tips and Resources for Writers

There’s an old, outdated belief that creativity is inherent. Some of us are born right-brained (creative) and others left-brained (mechanical, analytical). That’s only partially true. Writing can be learned as a skill, but so can creativity. Sure, some people have a more natural inclination toward creative thinking. But anyone can foster and nurture creativity.

So, how do you foster creativity? Below are some tips and resources to get you started. These are great whether you’re creative by nature and want to enhance your creativity or whether you think you lack creative skills and want to build them so you can produce better writing.

1. Marelisa Fabrega’s How to Be More Creative — A Handbook for Alchemists is packed with tools for fostering creative and innovative thinking. It’s one of my favorite creativity resources!
2. Don’t want to spring for the e-book? You will after you peruse Marelisa’s idea-packed blog on creativity, productivity, and simplicity: The Abundance Blog.
3. Find out how asking questions and encouraging curiosity can lead to creative writing ideas.
4. In their ebook How to Create a Believable Character, James Chartrand and Harrison McLeod share tons of tips and insight for creating characters that readers will connect with.
5. Head over to the Creativity Portal, where you’ll find tons (and by tons, I mean TONS) of creativity articles, resources, and project ideas.
6. Nothing gets a writer’s creativity flowing like poetry. If you think poetry is relegated to tweens, academics, and literary elites, think again. Poetry can be raw and brazen and it will open your mind to new creative insight and strengthen your language skills. Read it, watch it, listen to it, and then try some poetry writing exercises.

Where do you go to turn up the volume on your creativity? Do you have a favorite book, a website, a quiet place in the woods or a quaint coffee shop in the city that you like to visit? Share your creative writing tips by leaving a comment, and let’s all get more creative so we can turn good writing into better writing.

This post was originally published in December 2009. It has been updated and republished today for your reading and writing pleasure.

Does Knowing Your Audience Result in Better Writing?

It’s an old adage for writers: know your audience. But what does that mean? How well must we know the audience? And does knowing the audience really lead to better writing?

Some writers insist that the best way to write is to just write for yourself. Sit down and let the words flow. It’s true that sometimes a freewheeling approach will result in some of your best work. And writing that way is immensely enjoyable. But there are times when a writer must take readers into consideration.

In business, academic, and other types of formal writing, the audience is a consideration from the very beginning. You wouldn’t write a business letter peppered with internet shorthand (LOLs and OMGs), and you shouldn’t use casual language in an academic paper. In instances like these, it’s easy to see why you must keep your reader in mind throughout the entire project, but what about poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction writing? Should the work be influenced by its intended readers? At what point does the audience begin to matter? And who is the audience, anyway?

Goals Matter

Some writers know they want to write children’s books, so they keep a young audience in mind. After all, it wouldn’t do to write a children’s book laden with adult language or love scenes. Other writers want to publish a memoir, hoping their own personal story will inspire others. And if you’re hoping to inspire people, you should have a good idea about which people you want to inspire — whether they’re spiritual, impoverished, or creative.

These types of writers have specific goals, and their writing must be aligned with those goals.

That’s why in some cases, it’s essential to know who your audience is before you begin writing. But there are other cases when the goals aren’t so clear, and therefore, neither is the audience. In cases like these, does a writer ever need to think about readers?

Goals Aren’t Always Necessary (and Neither is an Audience)

When you write for the sheer joy of writing or love of craft and you do so without any particular goal in mind, the creative magic can sweep you away. When I wrote my novel for NaNoWriMo in 2008, I started with nothing more than a few characters. My only goal was to write at least 50,000 words. I didn’t give a thought to the audience. And I’m certain that approaching the project this way, with an open mind and without any particular goal in terms of content, is what enabled me to actually complete the first draft of my first novel. It felt like quite an achievement.

When I finished my novel, I knew instantly who the audience was. I had written a young adult novel! If I ever decide to revise and polish that (very rough) first draft in hopes of getting it published, knowing that the book is geared toward young adults will be helpful and will inform the way I approach editing and proofreading. I’ll pay attention to the language to make sure it’s age-appropriate and I’ll also make sure the characters, themes, and everything else are suitable for the target age group.

Knowing the audience will also drive which agents and publishers I reach out to because agents and publishers often specialize in specific types of writing. They cater to clearly defined audiences. Therefore, as a writer, it helps to know who the audience will be when polishing and when looking for publication opportunities.

Benefits of Knowing Your Audience (and When It’s Absolutely Necessary)

If you write in a journal and nobody ever sees your work, then you don’t need to think about an audience. Readers come into play when you decide to share your work, to get it published. There’s a point when you decide that you want to cross over from writer to published writer, and it’s at that point that the audience starts to matter in a big way.

Agents and publishers can’t do much with your work if the audience is unclear. This is particularly relevant with fiction and nonfiction. There are dozens of poetry markets, so chances are, you can find your audience after the writing is done and polished. But other genres will need to be marketed to the right readers. This is also a factor in blogging and self-publishing.

Publication is the point where your art shifts into business mode. It’s the stage when you say, “I want to do this for a living and make money doing it.” That means you’re going to have to sell and anytime you’re selling anything, you need to know to whom you’re selling.

Better Writing and Readers

So, the answer isn’t all that clear. There are some writers who need to know their audience from a project’s conception. Others don’t need to consider an audience until they decide to try getting published. Poets can probably get away with not thinking about the audience until they start looking for publications where they can submit their work. But one thing’s certain: once you set your sights on publication, that means you’re looking for readers. And since readers are your audience, you’ll have to give them some consideration.

Do you think about your readers while you’re writing? Are you concerned about getting published? Do you believe that knowing your audience results in better writing?

Better Writing with Critiques and Feedback

Creative writing is not an easy pursuit. Like most skills that are worth mastering, it takes hard work, dedication, and attention to all the details of the craft.

Talent doesn’t hurt either.

The most committed writers constantly strive to produce better writing. Today’s poem has to be better than yesterday’s. Tomorrow’s short story must surpass today’s.

Writing daily is one way to improve your work. Proofreading is another surefire path to betterment. You should also collect writing resources and read regularly.

Another great way to grow as a writer is to get feedback from readers and from other writers. It’s one of the most difficult but valuable ways to achieve better writing.

The Lone Writer

Writing is often regarded as a solo activity. But most of us write for an audience. Once a piece of writing reaches its readers, it’s no longer a solo endeavor. It becomes interactive. It also becomes a prime target for scrutiny. That’s right, all the critics (and a whole bunch of people with big, huge opinions) will pull out their condemnation rifles and play target practice with your work.

Sure, you can wear a bulletproof vest, develop a thick skin, and let it all roll off your shoulder. However, that’s not going to do anything for book sales, blog subscriptions, or article submissions.

Do you think the Mars company just woke up one day and decided to add a bunch of new colors to the M&Ms bag? Nope. They did tests. They checked with a small pool of consumers to see how the new colors would be received and to make sure they tasted alright.

If all you do is write in your journal, this might not apply to you. You can eat your own candy and refuse to share it with the world. But if you want readers, real flesh and blood readers, to embrace your work, then you should get on with the taste tests. Immediately.

Don’t Hoard the Candy

First, you have to start showing your writing to other human beings. These human beings should not be your mother (yes, I know there are exceptions to the mother rule). Ideally, these people will be other writers and experienced readers. Don’t know any? Sign up for a creative writing class or join a writing group. Find a professional editor who offers critiques.

If you’re serious about your work, you’ll want to get opinions from people who understand the fine nuances of good writing before you wrap it up and send it off to publishers or agents.

A screenwriter once contacted me because he wanted his screenplay proofread. After going through the entire quoting process, he finally said something like, “Thanks, your prices are reasonable, but I’m just not comfortable letting anyone read this screenplay. I think it could be a blockbuster and I don’t want anyone to steal it.” I issued a polite and professional response, but what I was really thinking was, “Well if nobody sees the screenplay, then your screenplay will never see the big screen.”

Like I said, don’t hoard the candy, and if you’re paranoid about infringement and theft, register your work with the copyright office and get on with your writing life.

These Look Just Like Those Candies from the Movie E.T.

M&Ms look a lot like Reese’s Pieces but the similarities stop there. Likewise, a critique is different from proofreading. The purpose of proofreading is to fix mechanical errors with spelling, grammar, and punctuation. A critique should address strengths and weaknesses in a piece of writing.

Are the characters believable? Is the style consistent? Does the language compel? Is it clear and easy to understand? Does it flow smoothly? Are there holes in the plot? These are the questions that a comprehensive critique asks and answers. Sure, you can ask someone who’s giving a critique to keep an eye out for grammar mistakes, but don’t serve up a piece of writing that’s only half-baked.

Cookie Dough is Good but it’s Not Good for You

Raw cookie dough is pretty tasty. I know it puts a smile on my face. But it’s not wise to go around shoving raw material under everyone’s nose when you’re asking for a solid critique that will help you achieve better writing. Work hard on your piece and get it as polished as possible before you start asking people to take a bite.

When you’re asking someone to provide you with feedback, they’ll only be distracted if the piece is full of errors and grammatical mistakes. Remember that you’re asking them to take time out of their busy lives to do you a favor, so don’t waste that time by giving them work that is in the early draft stages. This conveys that either you want them to do the work for you or that you’re too lazy to clean up your piece before asking for feedback. Or, they’ll just assume you’re a crappy writer.

Also, the more errors there are in your piece, the more challenging it becomes to address bigger issues. If a reviewer is caught up on mistakes that you could have fixed yourself, he or she will be more likely to miss other, less noticeable mistakes and problems with your work.

So check and recheck your work, and put the cherry on top before you serve it to anyone (yes, even the taste testers).

Watch out for Do-gooders

Keep in mind that some people will only tell you what you want to hear. “Mmm, this is delicious,” is flattering but it’s not the feedback you’re looking for. Especially when they’re spitting out mouthfuls of the stuff behind your back. Look for people who can offer honest and straightforward critiques, people who are willing to tell you what works and what doesn’t.

This is why it’s generally not a good idea to ask your mother (and other loved ones) to be your critic. Mom probably thinks you’re the greatest (I know, I know, not all moms, but work with me here) so it’s unlikely she’ll tell you that your writing is broken. In fact, people like your mom may not even be able to see the flaws in your writing  – they are blinded by love. So, find someone who can be objective (and yes, for a few writers out there, that will be Mom).

Give a Lick

Always be gracious. I’ve been asked to proofread, edit, and offer critiques to countless individuals in my life: family, friends, co-workers, and mere acquaintances. If I give someone honest feedback and they try to argue with me or throw it back in my face because they can’t handle it, I will never, ever give them the courtesy of a critique again.

Do not critique the critic, people. Take their advice and move on. If you asked for a critique, then it’s your job to suck it up and deal with it.

Instead of lashing out at your critic…

Relax, Digest, then Make Better Writing

A lot of people have a knee-jerk reaction when they receive a critique. You’ve worked hard on a piece, editing and rewriting until you felt it was shiny, sparkling, and ready for the market. Then, someone comes along and says “This needs some work.” You’ve already done the work. You were hoping for a rave review, but now this person is telling you that you’ve missed the mark. And this makes you feel like the mark (which you are of course).

After receiving a critique, give yourself time to absorb the feedback. Sometimes you just need to let it soak in overnight. Other times, it might take a few days before you’re cooled off and ready to revisit the project with a fresh perspective. Then, sit down and sift through the critique. Decide what advice you want to take and what you want to toss (that is your right as a writer). Edit, revise, repeat. Keep at it. If writing is truly your passion, let it become a lifelong pursuit and enjoy the journey of evolving as a writer. Just take your time and don’t give up.

Don’t Ever, Ever Give Up

If writing is your passion, then never give up on it. Write, polish, and ask for feedback. Read a lot. Proofread everything. Build a library of writing resources and collect writing tips. Write some more. Read again. Come up with a few new creative writing ideas. Write again. Keep going round and round.

And always strive to be the best writer you can possibly be.

Do you have any tips to share for better writing? Do you work with a writing group or have a reliable person who can give you offer constructive criticism? Has feedback helped you improve your writing? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in June, 2008 but has been updated with new insight and updated information for your reading pleasure and writing benefit.

Better Writing Through Revision

Some writers love the revision process; others think it’s a drag. Regardless of how you feel about revising your work, one thing is certain: if you want to produce better writing (and become a better writer), then revision is absolutely essential.

Revise What?

We use the terms “first draft” or “rough draft” when we are composing a piece of writing because almost every single project is going to have to go through a revision (or two, or three, four, or more). But what does that mean? How is it done? And what are the benefits?

We’ve already discussed the difference between proofreading and editing. Where does revision fit into all of that?

To revise means to change or alter. In the world of writing, to revise means “to alter something already written or printed, in order to make corrections, improve, or update: to revise a manuscript.” (dictionary.com).

Generally speaking, revision involves making substantial changes to make the writing better. In fiction, this could involve changing characters’ names, realigning the plot, or re-sequencing the scenes. In other types of writing, revision might involve major structural changes (moving chapters around) or a content overhaul (adding, removing, or changing information). Sometimes, revision means rewriting a project entirely.

Editing and proofreading are part of the revision process. They are the polishing steps that you take to give your writing that extra shine.

Revision Matters

When I first started writing poetry, I believed that each poem was sacred in its original state. It seemed blasphemous to change a poem once I’d captured it and scrawled it into my notebook. Then, one day I was flipping through my poems and it became clear to me that they could be a lot better if I made a few minor changes.

I’m not sure why, but it felt all wrong at the time. I remember keeping the originals as well as every revision that I made. It seems ridiculous now to shy away from improving something that I created. Luckily, my desire to produce better writing was stronger than my silly, emotional attachment to my rough drafts.

I found that as I rewrote my poems, I noticed lots of little things that I could change to improve them. I tightened the rhyme scheme, sharpened the images, and chose more colorful language. I wasn’t always happy with the end result, but I did consistently improve each and every poem. And I learned something else — my first drafts were getting better too.

Better Writing

As you revise, you catch all the things in your writing that don’t work. We all have bad habits, and as you go through multiple revisions, you’ll start to notice negative patterns in your own writing. Maybe you have a tendency to leave words out. Perhaps you use too many words (or too few). Maybe you repeat words too often or use obscure language that readers won’t comprehend. You could have grammar weaknesses, holes in your syntax, gaps in continuity, and a host of other problems that occur in writing.

Over time, revision teaches you what your weaknesses are. Early on, I realized that I had a problem with word repetition. I would notice a word used several times in a single poem. It didn’t sound right, so I fixed it. Then I saw the same problem in another poem, then another, and another. Eventually, I started catching myself not during the revision process, but during the initial writing.

And I realized that revising what I’d already written improved what I had yet to write.

Change is Good

We all want to achieve better writing, and there are many ways to do that. You can read books (and blogs) on writing (or just read — anything). You can study grammar, collect writing tips, and write every single day. All of these things (and many more) will make your writing better and will make you a better writer. But revision is where you truly polish your writing into something dazzling.

So keep on writing, and don’t forget to revise, revise, revise!

12 Better Writing Habits

Great writing requires an extensive skill set. You have to understand language, syntax, and context. A firm grasp on grammar is essential. The content you write must be organized so it reads smoothly. A vast vocabulary, a talent for puns, and a knack for storytelling are all skills that will benefit any writer.

Sure, some people are born with a talent for word craft. But nobody’s born knowing how to write. We all have to work at building and growing our writing skills, and this is especially true for anyone who wants to have a career in writing.

Better writing is not something that happens overnight. It’s a long-term commitment but the payoff is great. If you make a choice every day to improve your writing, then your work will get stronger, become more compelling, and you’ll drastically increase your chances of getting published.

How to Build Better Writing Skills

This list could keep you busy for years. There’s an endless supply of tools and resources to help writers build skills. Below, you’ll find the core activities that lead to consistently better writing over the long term.

1. Read. Listening to audio books and surfing around the Internet do not count as reading. Curl up with a well written novel, brush up on your nonfiction reading, flip through some poetry collections. Reading is the single best way to naturally acquire writing skills.
2. Write every day. My music teacher says that it’s better to practice for fifteen minutes every day than to practice for two hours three times a week. I think the same is true for writing. Even if you can only dedicate a few minutes to writing every day, it will become an ingrained habit. Writing will become an integral part of your life.
3. Proofread, edit, and revise. It’s blatantly obvious when a piece of writing has not been properly proofread. Typos, grammatical errors, and other crimes against language will assault anyone who attempts to read your work. So fix it.
4. Know your strengths and accept your weaknesses. You will come to learn that some aspects of writing come easily to you (maybe you’re great at dialogue) but other aspects are a challenge (your plots are full of holes). Once you accept your weaknesses, you can work on eliminating them through practice and study.
5. Brush up on grammar. It’s rare for a piece of writing to be so amazing that readers are willing to ignore bad grammar. Many writers are lazy in this area because learning grammar is a lot of work and it’s academic work rather than creative work. The good news is that once you learn the rules, they will be with you forever.
6. Get to know the style guides. Style is all about consistency with writing issues that aren’t addressed by grammar rules. Make sure you know which style guides are pertinent to your chosen field of writing and make sure you include them in your own collection of writing resources.
7. Experiment with different forms. Every fiction writer can learn a thing or two from reading and writing a little poetry and vice versa. Nobody’s asking you to start rooting for a different team; just dip your toes in different waters so you know you’re swimming in the right body of water.
8. Share your work and invite feedback. One of the quickest ways to improve your writing is through feedback. Get a real, live, well-read person to review your work. Embrace the feedback, even if it hurts, and then put it to work for you by ironing out all the wrinkles that your friendly reader found.
9. Offer to give feedback on others’ work. When you edit or critique another writer’s work, you’ll see a piece of writing from the editor’s angle as well as the reader’s. This will give you a better perspective on your own work.
10. Conduct thoughtful research. If you work in the nonfiction arena, then make sure you’ve got your facts straight. Even in fiction, there has to be some alignment with reality for a story to be believable. Resources are abundant. Use them (and be sure to check their credentials).
11. Cultivate creativity. Have fun with your writing. Fill it will color or scale it back to a minimalist style. Try new words and off-the-wall images. Creative writing keeps readers interested!
12. Make a conscious commitment to strive for better writing every day.

Better Writing Isn’t For Everyone

Improving your writing is hard work. If you love to write, then the work will be fun at times. Other times, you’re just going to have to grin and bear it, knowing full well that the ends make the means completely worthwhile. Some people love to write every day. For others, it’s a drag and they’d really prefer to just write when the mood strikes.

What separates a hobby from a lifestyle or a career is that we take it seriously and we have made a serious commitment to follow our passion, even if there’s a lot of hard work involved.

Some people are perfectly content with being mediocre, and that’s fine too. But if you want to shine, to be the best writer you can possibly be, then make that commitment and keep on writing.

Do you have any tips to add to this list? What have you done to improve your own writing? Do you strive to produce better writing? Share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences by leaving a comment.