16 Ways to become a better writer

Nothing strikes fear into the guts of a marketer, quite like being asked to write down a blog post. Some marketers would rather wrestle with pivot tables (or grizzly bears) for days on end than write a blog post – but why?

Writing doesn't need to be this painful. With content marketing shaping up together of the foremost essential marketing skills to possess on your resume, getting a handle on writing could benefit your career because of the apparent advantage of increasing traffic to your company's site.

Writing is intimidating to tons of individuals, particularly those who don't write for a living or daily. The great news is that writing doesn't need to be agonizing, and you can improve your writing skills with a touch of discipline and a willingness to find out. Want to become a far better writer? Here are 16 ways you'll start improving your writing skills immediately.

1. Brush abreast of the fundamentals

Before you start writing amazing content, you'll need a minimum of an intermediate understanding of the essential principles for getting better at writing.

This doesn't mean you would like to enroll during a prestigious creative writing program at an Ivy League university, but you'll get to know the fundamentals of grammar and spelling. Every writer should have a copy of "The Penguin Writer's Manual" by Martin Manser and Stephen Curtis on their bookshelf. This small but invaluable book is one of the leading comprehensive resources on the right use of grammar and other helpful topics.

2. Write like it's your job

If you would like to be better at something, you've got to practice – and writing is not an exception!

Unfortunately, few shortcuts will transform you into a tremendous writer overnight, and even the foremost talented writers had to find out their craft over many years. It's admittedly even harder to write down while considering SEO and the way to drive traffic to your post.

If you want to enhance your writing skills, writing won't only diminish your fear of the blank page (or blinking cursor). It'll also help you develop your style. So, albeit nobody reads it, keep writing. Practice makes perfect.

3. Read Like It's Your Job

The best writers are also keen readers, and reading is a simple thanks to developing your writing skills. I don't just mean blog posts – enhance your reading. Expand your horizons to more rigid material than you sometimes read, concentrate on syntax, word choice, and the way the fabric flows.

The more you read, the more likely you are to develop an eye for what makes a piece effective and which mistakes to avoid.

4. Find an article Partner

Suppose that you get employed at a reasonably sized company. In that case, the probabilities are pretty good that there's a minimum of one other wondering how to become a far better writer. Although writing is thought of as a solitary activity, the most superficial writers know when to urge much-needed feedback on their work.

Talk to your coworkers (or friends) and ask someone if they'd be willing to cast an eye fixed over your work – they'll spot mistakes that you overlooked.

Finding an article partner is additionally an excellent thanks to holding yourself accountable and keeping going.

5. Attend a Workshop or Take a Night Class

Most people balk at the thought of standing ahead of an area filled with strangers and baring their soul to the planet, but joining an article workshop is often immensely beneficial – and tons of fun (if you manage to seek out an honest one).

You don't get to have an unfinished novel hidden away in your desk drawer to hitch a workshop. Lately, content marketing meetups and professional development groups are getting wildly popular. Join one among the various content marketing groups on LinkedIn to satisfy like-minded writers, or look for writing workshops near you on Meetup sites to improve your writing. Pick a subject, write something, hear the feedback of the group, then revise it. Rinse, repeat.

6. Dissect writing that you Admire

Most people read equivalent blogs or sites daily because the fabric appeals to them – but fewer people understand why their favorite blogs are appealing.

Find a couple of recent blog posts you like, then print them out. Next, a bit like your high school English teacher did, take a red pen and highlight the belongings you wanted: individual sentences, turns of phrase, even entire paragraphs. Examine why you wish these elements, and see any common threads in your favored reading. See how writers take one subject and transition into another. Apply these techniques to your work.

Let's glance at a compelling (and memorable piece) from Copyblogger that is an excellent example of this.

Immediately, you're hooked by Morris' opening. You can't read to ascertain what happens next. The pacing is impressive, it grabs your attention, and better of all, it keeps you engaged in reading.

7. Imitate Writers You Admire

Before we go any longer, a disclaimer – imitation isn't equivalent to plagiarism. Don't rip off anyone's work. Ever.

Just as you almost certainly have an inventory of blogs you read often, you'll likely also read equivalent writers daily. Identify what you enjoy about their work, and see if you'll use it to enhance your writing skills. Does a writer you wish use humor to boost dry topics? Try it. Do they use popular culture references to form their work entertaining and useful? Try that, too.

When I first started writing, I imitated many of my favorite nonfiction writers and essayists, like Stephen Hawking, George Orwell, and Siddhartha Mukherjee. I also attempted (and failed) to imitate writers like Agatha Christie and JK Rowling but soon realized that I wasn't funny enough and gave it up. I eventually developed my style, but witnessing the works of these writers and seeing how they constructed their essays and books was immensely helpful to me as a writer (see tip #3).

8. Remember That Outlines Are Your Friend

The blinking cursor of a blank page may be a considerable foe, even for the foremost experienced writers. Before putting pen to proverbial paper, sketch out an overview of what you propose to write down. This will be your plan of action, and it'll assist you in winning the war. Very few – and that I do mean only a few – writers sit right down to write anything without a solid plan in mind.

An outline doesn't have to be complicated. A simple framework of which sections should appear during a particular order, alongside a couple of sentences about what each section contains, could also be enough. If the subject you're tackling maybe a little more complicated, your outline may need to be, too – but having an overview before you write is like having a map in your car before a road trip. If you begin to feel lost, refer back to your outline and obtain back to kicking ass and taking names.

Let's take a glance at a real example – one among my very own outlines:

Introduction

A summary of the post

Section 1 – What Is Brand Voice?

Paragraph(s) explaining the fundamental principles behind brand voice (style, tone, and messaging)

Section 2 – Developing Brand Voice with Content

Explanations of the way to develop brand voice using content (written, visual, video).

Consider content writers/ marketers to keep in mind when producing content (strategy, goals, overall brand messaging).

Section 3 – Examples of Content That Builds Brand Voice

Several examples (three or four) of content marketing that regulates well with marketing and branding of famous brands.

Conclusion

Wrap-up

This outline eventually became my recent post about brand voice. I deviated from my initial method slightly, but the overarching structure was always there to keep me on target.

9. Edit Your Work Ruthlessly

So, you're writing a day (or regularly, at least), and you're feeling more confident about your work. Awesome! Now you're getting to become your own harshest critic.

Editing may be a challenging skill to find out for beginner writers because they place immense value on the time and energy they put into writing in the first place. However, tons of writing is rewriting, and this is often where the cold, hard eye of an editor will serve you well.

Evolve the discipline it takes to eliminate extrinsic words (more on this shortly). Resist the temptation to wax lyrically and obtain the purpose. Not sure if a paragraph works? It probably isn't. Be hard on yourself, and know when to delete or rewrite something. Your work is going to be much stronger as a result.

10. Accept That First Drafts Are nearly always Crap

The best writers make it look so easy. After reading an excellent post, it's tempting to imagine your favorite bloggers effortlessly delivering great posts with minimal effort before spending the remainder of their day reading obscure books in a quaint corner café somewhere. Take comfort within the knowledge that this isn't how writing works.

First drafts are nearly always crap, and that's okay. Don't beat yourself up if you don't create a masterpiece on your first attempt – the likelihood is that you almost certainly won't, and that's okay, too. Just get your ideas down on paper first, then go back and start cleaning up. Writing is an iterative process, and even the best writers have to spend a lot of time reworking material they were probably too embarrassed to show anybody.

11. Find a Good (Patient) Editor

Whether you're trying to form the case for a content writer strategy for your manager or want to start guest blogging on your favorite sites, finding and dealing with an honest editor is one of the simplest belongings you can do to enhance your writing skills. In my experience, the best editors are those who show you why something doesn't work, rather than just telling you that it doesn't.

Allowing somebody else to read your work is often brutally tricky for a few writers, especially when they're just starting. Still, you must develop good habits from the outset and learn to accept your work's constructive criticism. Remember – writers are desperately needy creatures; you need to reassure them that they're the creative geniuses they believe themselves to be. Still, you'll get to develop a thick skin if you're serious about your work, and an honest editor is invaluable when it involves toughening up.

12. Eliminate Unnecessary Words

Another common mistake among beginners (and some experienced writers who should know better) is writing overly decorated sentences to "sound" more official.

In many cases, shorter sentences can have a more significant impact. you'll have heard of a six-word story that was apparently written by Hemingway, which reads, "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn." Whether Hemingway wrote this or not is unrelated – the facility of those six words shows that brevity is often a vital tool when used correctly, and not every sentence must be overwrought to urge your point across. 13. Take a Stroll Down Memory Lane

I've been writing professionally, in a method or another, for some time. Once I reminisce on my early work, which I do every so often, it makes me cringe. I don't do that because I'm a masochist, I do it to remind myself how much I’ve improved.

Writing should be fun, and alongside the joys of seeing your byline for the primary time, seeing how far you've progressed is one of the only satisfying parts of being a writer. Every now then (but not too often), re-read your earlier work and marvel at what proportion better you're now than you were then—Pat yourself on the back. You've worked hard, so don't be shy – congratulate yourself.

14. Don't Be Afraid to specify What you think

Most content writers’ work online is bland and dreadfully dull. This is often because far too many bloggers specialize in regurgitating equivalent news as everybody else without bothering to feature their own opinions. You don't want to fall afoul of libel laws, but that doesn't mean you can't (or shouldn't) say what you think.

Once you've begun to discover your own "voice," don't be shy about sharing your opinions. This makes for more exciting reading. Don't be contrarian for its own sake, and don't begin to piss anyone off purposefully, but confirm there's enough of you in your writing to form it a worthwhile read for your audience.

15. Do Your Research

Aside from plagiarizing someone else's work, nothing will undermine your credibility faster than failing to try to do your homework.

Many writers attempt to take shortcuts with the facts in their eagerness to be through with a blog post (or a major newspaper article). This will range from accidentally fudging a statistic out of haste to being lazy when it involves sourcing or attribution. Not only can this land you in big trouble together with your editor/content marketing manager/another boss-type person, but it also causes you to appear as if an amateur.

Everybody makes mistakes, and you don't get to spend weeks cross-referencing all statistics (see next tip). Still, sense should prevail here – don't rely exclusively on sites like Wikipedia, and use current, primary sources whenever possible.

16. Remember Done is better than Perfect

It would help if you took the time to write down and proofread and edit your work thoroughly and make sure that your piece flows logically from one point to subsequent.

However, this doesn't mean you ought to take weeks to write down something.

No piece of writing will ever be perfect – you've got to understand when it's time to let it go. This is often especially important in content marketing because you'll rarely (if ever) have the posh of crafting agonizingly beautiful blog posts filled with poignant sentences and evocative imagery. As you become more confident, the "writing" part of writing will become more comfortable and faster, but never lose sight of the very fact that deadlines, or editorial calendars, are even as much your masters as any boss or manager.

As for me, I'm getting to take my very own advice and call this post done. I hope you discover the following pointers useful, regardless of how long you've been writing.

Conclusion

Brush abreast of the essential principles of writing, grammar, and spelling.

Write like it's your job and practice regularly.

Read more, so you develop an eye fixed for what persuasive writing seems like.

Find a partner. Ask them to read your work and supply feedback.

Join a workshop, meetup, or take an article night class.

Take the time to research the writing you admire.

Imitate writers you admire.

Outline your Writing.

Edit your Writing.

Accept that first drafts are often imperfect and revise.

Find an editor who demonstrates patience.

Eliminate unnecessary words from your writing.

Review your previous work and see how much you've grown.

Don't be afraid to mention what you mean in what you write.

Make sure you are doing adequate research on your topic.

Don't delay writing.