Developing Great Writing Skills
Writing is not just about picking up a pen and paper, there are writings that can come across as great while some others may not. What differentiates them and how can you move your improve your writing ability? While some people may consider writing as being only meant for those who seem to have a natural writing talent, such an idea does not hold for academics and people who find themselves in jobs and positions where they need to write. It is important that everyone learns the skill of writing and becomes proficient at it. It is a skill that can be learned and mastered and you should not have the idea that you cannot write. How can you develop great writing skills? Knowing some basic tips will help you to improve and hone your writing skills. What makes a good writer and how do people come about great writing? The points discussed in this article- ‘developing great writing skills: best tips’ are things you should consider to improve your writing ability.
Create outlines
Every writer should know the importance of outlining your work before you begin to write. You don’t just want to stare at a blank page with no idea of anything to put down or not even knowing how to start. You probably have the topic you are to write on already or the one you have chosen, the next thing is to outline. List out all the important points that are relevant to the topic, arrange them. Have a good idea about each point on your list, if you need to research to get points, do so. When you have this kind of outline already on ground, when you want to start writing you won’t be blank and you probably will have an idea as to how to start. An outline let you create a skeletal system for your write-up from the start to finish after which you can begin to flesh them up by means of developing and writing more about the points on the outline in the appropriate order.
Read and research
The more you read, the more words you are likely to learn. You build your word power and your command of the language, you also get ideas. Reading vast and wide will expose you to different aspects of life and you will have more knowledge about things, people, places and ideas around the world. If you develop yourself to be a good reader, then writing too is likely to get better for you especially if you are reading things that are relevant to what you are writing about. The place of doing a deliberate research on a subject matter you want to write on cannot be overemphasised. You should find out existing knowledge, ideas, opinions, stories, concepts and other important things about what you want to write on. This will open you up to better ways and could even help you to be more interesting about what you are writing.
Study and analyse great writings
When you find a piece of writing that you find interesting, like and appreciate so much, then you should not just let it go like that. Pick up that particular write-up, study it, analyse it, what element did the writer use that got you interested and intrigued? How was the flow created in the write-up? What made it interesting and captivating to you? Check out the details of the style of the work and see how you can import such styles or methods into your own write-ups. Did the writer use a story? How did he keep your attention? Do this for writings that you find captivating and good, and make good effort to apply such approach in your writings too.
Write for your reader
Don’t just keep expressing yourself for yourself without putting your reader into consideration. In fact, write with your reader in mind, what do you think will catch the attention of your reader? What will keep that attention? What will he/she gain from your write-up? Will they love the flow? Write psychologically in a way that will interest your reader while still expressing your thoughts.
Know the fundamentals
If you want to be a good writer, then you must polish up your knowledge of the basic things in English language or whichever language you are using. Know good grammar and spellings and how words agree in sentences. You can’t be deficient in grammar or basic rules of language and expect yourself to be considered good in writing. Learn the basics. If you think you need some knowledge in your area of writing, you can decide to put in for a class or program on that or something related.
Avoid usage of filler words
There are words that you probably use which could otherwise not have been used. If removing the word from the sentence will make the sentence better, why put it? Filler words like –really, just, very and the likes can be done away with. Take out any word or phrase that is redundant in your writing.
Join or start a writing group
If you are able to get a good writing group around you which you think can help polish your writing skills, then join. This can push you to write even if you don’t normally do it often. If you can’t find a writing group and you are passionate about writing, why not start a writing group and invite people who you know could be interested?
Make use of easy-to-understand words
Using complex words in your writing could probably show you off as an intelligent writer in some cases, but not on the general note. In fact you have to make sure the words you use are as simple as possible. Don’t make your writing too complex for your readers, the purpose of writing is to be understood, so ensure that your writing is doing just that.
Involve your personality
One of the best ways to write is to allow your personality to flow into what you are writing. If you are an interesting person, let your writing be as interesting as you. Also, try to write the way you speak, that is in a conversational tone. Make it interesting and let your personality be shown in your words.
Edit properly
Ensure that your write-ups are well proofread and edited before letting them out. You must have the mind-set to give nothing but the best.
Practise a lot!
There is no replacement for the need to practise as much as you can. Just as it goes for other things, the more you practice, the better you get. Try to write daily. Take interest in writing and deliberately seek to write better than before.
Ask for feedbacks
Allow other people to read your write-ups and make their observations. Ask for their feedbacks and make effort towards improving as appropriate.
Write short paragraphs
Make the outlook of your write-up attractive to the reader. Don’t let the reader feel that your write-up is too cumbered or lengthy. Write short paragraphs. Allow white space in your work.
Write in active voice
Try to put your writings more in active voice, except in situations where you are expected to use passive voice like situations when you may prefer to use the passive voice form or in scientific writings where passive voice is used to focus more on results than the persons that carried out the research, apart from such situations, you should try to use active voice for your sentences.
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