Writing well can be frustrating, but as the world becomes increasingly virtual, it has become more important than ever. Gone are the days when the loudest voice dominated the room. Whether you’re a professional or a student, improving your written communication can have a significant impact on your success.
Having spent a bulk of my adult life writing, whether they be books or professional emails, I have picked up useful tips to improve writing. These techniques can help organize your thoughts, refine your grammar and make writing fun.
Organize Your Thoughts
Before you write, it’s crucial to be clear on what you want to convey. The best way to do that is to visualize the structure of your piece.
1. Create an Outline: Take a pen and a piece of paper and put down bullet points to act as the outline for your work. A well-structured outline acts as a roadmap, helping you organize your ideas and ensure a logical flow throughout your piece.
2. Use a Mind Map: This works best when you are trying to generate ideas for complex, longer pieces or collaborating with others. Engage in brainstorming sessions and creating mind maps to generate ideas and connections. This technique can help you explore different angles and perspectives before settling on your main points.
Enhance Your Writing Style
3. Use Active Voice: Writing in the active voice adds clarity and energy to your sentences. Exchange the subject and object and your sentence will sound confident. So, replace “The email was written by me” with “I wrote the email.” That sounds way cooler.
4. Eliminate Wordiness: Shorter sentences are better. Who’d have thought? Avoid using unnecessary words and phrases. Be concise and to the point. Remove any fluff that might dilute your message. Unless you are a politician. In which case, stuff that sentence with as many pointless words as possible.
5. Break it up: Shorter paragraphs are also better. Who’d have thought? Break those lengthy passages into snappy paras. Break them into bullet points if possible. It makes it easy for the reader to reference later.
6. Vary Sentence Structure: To create rhythm and maintain reader interest, vary your sentence length and structure. Mix short and long sentences, and use different phrases and tenses. But chuck that passive voice.
Seek Feedback and Edit
The talented writer’s magic tools are feedback and editing.
7. Seek Feedback: For important pieces, show them to peers or mentors to get constructive feedback. Consider their suggestions and rewrite accordingly.
8. Proofread and Edit: Use online tools like Grammarly or ProWritingAid to catch mistakes and improve your writing. These add-ons will do almost all the editing work for you. And read that email from start to finish before you hit send. Those extra minutes will save you a ton of embarrassment later.
Read More
9. Read Widely: Read a diverse range of books, articles, and blogs to expose yourself to different writing styles and perspectives. This helps expand your vocabulary, improves sentence structure, and fosters creativity. For a start, check out the free stories I’m giving away on this website.
10. Analyse Great Writing: If you want to be a professional writer, learn from others. Dissect writing from your favourite authors to understand their techniques. Note their word choice and sentence structures.
Conclusion
Improving your writing skills is a continuous process that requires practice, patience, and a willingness to learn. By implementing these tips, you’ll be well on your way to become a more proficient writer.
Remember, it’s important to find a balance between self-expression and adhering to the rules of effective writing. Writers are like pirates: we don’t have rules, only guidelines. So, if breaking rules once in a while makes your writing feel personal, then do it. But do it with intention.
If you aim to become a professional, then check out the books below to learn the craft. And if you plan to write that winsome beast known as a full-length novel, check out my blog post here.
References
“On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King.
“Self Editing for Fiction Writers” by Renni Browne and Dave King
