5 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer
Writing a book can be a difficult task. There are a few things people must consider when preparing to undergo the journey of telling a story from start to finish. The stress of waking up every day and pumping out a few thousand words can seem daunting. Or the painstaking task of outlining all of your ideas. Those are just a few stresses of writing that people don’t look forward to. But one of the biggest stressors is doubt. We tend to question if we even have what it takes to write a book worth reading. You may have a stellar story, but if it doesn’t articulate well then this can be extremely discouraging.
With that being said, here are my top five tips on how to become a better writer.
- Write. This is obvious. The more you write the easier it becomes. This starts the process of making writing a habit. I can still remember the first time I sat down and started writing my first manuscript. It was challenging at first, but after the first ten times, the process of pumping out words became a lot easier. My mind became accustomed to waking up at four a.m. and writing. Sometimes I wouldn’t even need motivation. The habit takes over at this point.
- Read. Expose yourself to as much literature as you possibly can. I personally try to stay genre-specific, meaning if I’m a drama author majority of what I read will be drama novels. The biggest pick-up from this is that you become familiar with the genre that you are in.
- Mimic your favorite writer. This is a great exercise to do when you have a little time on your hands. Take a book, turn to a random page and begin to write. Don’t stop until you’ve copied every word from the page in the book onto your paper. If you persist in this exercise your writing will begin to reflect that of your favorite author.
- Get into a writers group. I can’t stress enough the importance of joining a writers group. This is a great place to find a critique partner and other experienced writers who can give you advice. Their perspective and expertise are very important.
- Study your craft. This should go without saying. If you really want to excel in your writing you will want to pick up a bunch of books on how to write effectively. This is a perfect way to sharpen your grammar and punctuation, both of which are critical when it comes to articulating your story. Two books that I recommend picking up are “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White and “A Writer’s Reference” by Diana Hacker.
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