22 Ways and Tips to Become a Better Writer

Are you a writer? Today’s online marketplace has a high demand for writers, but the competition is heavy, so you’ll want to be the best writer you can be. Here are 12 ways you can become a better writer. Why not give them a try.

1. Look at articles, books, etc. that you have written in the past, and acknowledge just how far your writing has come since then.

2. Every morning write something – in fact, make it one of the first things you do for the day. It’s a great way to make writing a priority and improve your skills.

3. Write for a newspaper, blog, newsletter, etc. Write locally, or find an online opportunity. It will provide you with excellent exposure as a writer, and help you improve your skills.

4. When you feel inspired, stop and write. Let your creative juices out when they feel like flowing. Using a journal is a great way to do this, because you can put all your ideas, along with your writings on the fly.

5. When someone asks what you do, tell them “I’m a writer.” In fact, tell people you are a writer every opportunity you get.

6. Recognize your fears and then work to overcome them. Do not let them stop you from taking on any writing opportunity, project, or employment opportunities. You must overcome these fears if you want to succeed in this highly volatile industry. 

7. Let what you have written rest for a few hours, and then return with fresh eyes to do your final check. If you don’t do this you are much more likely to miss mistakes when you are doing proofing, because your eyes will see what it should read, rather than what it does read.

8. Take time to comment on blogs that you follow. This gives you great exposure as your name gets out there. In addition, many allow you to include your website, which gives you exposure to your website.

9. Keep it nice and simple. You may already be familiar with the famous KISS formula. You want your writing to be easy to read and understand. The recommendation is to not write about a Grade 8 level on the Kincaid Scale.

10. Determine what your most productive hours are. Many writers do much better late at night when the world is quiet and peaceful. Other writers are most creative first thing in the morning.

11. Set up a time when you’ll do your research so that you aren’t having to jump between research and writing. Keep the two tasks separately.

12. Get another person to proof your work whenever possible. This is especially useful if you are writing a book or e-book. If you have to pay someone a moderate fee, it’s certainly worth it.

13. Vary the length of your sentences so that you have short, medium, and long sentences. This will create rhythm within your writing.

14. Make your average sentence 15-18 words in length.

15. Take your scalpel and cut out those overweight sentences and the words that aren’t needed. Keep your writing clean and crisp so it is easy to read and understand. Don’t use fluff!

16. Split sentences that are too long into two sentences, sometimes even three. Use connecting words like and, because, or, etc.

17. A sure sign you are a novelist is paragraphs that are too long. Keep your paragraphs short and containing only one thought. Two to three sentences is good. Always start a new sentence when the thought changes.

18. Sales writing requires patience, especially if you plan to be good at it. Readers are also impatient. They want to read and know what’s going on. They don’t want fluff or long windedness. They want clear, concise writing.

19. Break up your page’s content by using headings, and bulleted or numbered lists. All of these make reading much easier for the visitor.

20. Use language that’s positive in nature. This means tell your reader what they can or will achieve using the product or service. Avoid using negativism because this actually puts the reader into poorer spirits and they are far less likely to buy.

21. Don’t confuse showy writing with sales writing. Don’t use words just because they have a buzz and sound impressive. Leave the jargon on someone else’s copy.

22. Write in a language the reader can easily understand. Your writing grade should be no higher than a Grade 8 on the Flesch Kinkaid scale.

These 22 top tips work well, so don’t delay and start using them today. Before long you’ll see an improvement in your copy writing. There’s plenty of work for good copywriters so just continue to hone your skills and before long you’ll be one of the ‘best of the best’ in the copywriter world.