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It was about time to get our wonderful readers involved with the blog. Instead of writing an article with one hand, therefore, let’s group our knowledge and see what comes out of it.
The topic I want to cover is “Tips to Become a Better Writer.” All you need to do is to send one tip that you used to become a better writer. You can do this either by posting a comment below or by sending me an email via the contact form. Next Monday I will publish all the tips in a single article, so that we can use it as reference.
In order to kick start it below you will find my tip:
Pay attention to punctuation; especially to the correct use of commas and periods. These two punctuation marks regulate the flow of your thoughts, and they can make your text confusing even if the words are clear.
What methods have you used to improve your writing skills? What technique helped you to increase your vocabulary or correct your grammar? Don’t be shy and share them with us!
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This November, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo, which challenges you to write a 50.000 word novel in a month. I notice that my writing has definitely improved over the course of the book — and it’s not even finished yet.
Learn the rules of good writing … then learn when and how to break them.
For large documents, I use Word’s Speech feature to have the computer read the article back. This allows me to catch errors I have missed – especially missing words or words that ’sort of sound the same’ but are spelled differently (e.g. Front me instead of ‘From me’).
Love the blog!
Edgar.
Avoid wordiness.
Professor Strunk put it well: “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”
In Clear Understandings, Ronald Goldfarb and James Raymond write, “Wordiness is to a writer what obesity is to a runner.”
One of George Orwell’s six timeless guideline is: “If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.”
Knowing how to weave, don’t waste your thread. Knowing how to write, don’t waste your words.—Laotian proverb.
Write as if you’re on deadline and have 500 words to make your point. Then do it again. And again.
Sometimes I type in a large font to have the words and sentences bold before me.
Sometimes, in the middle of a document I will start a new topic on a fresh sheet to have that clean feeling. Then, I’ll cut and insert it into the larger document.
I wait until my paper is done before I examine my word usage and vocabulary choices. (And reading this column it has reminded me that no two words are ever exactly alike.) So at the end, I take time to examine my choice of words. I have a lot of fun selecting the exact words to pinpoint my thoughts or points.
I watch my action tense and wordiness in sentences when I am writing my technical diddley.
For example, in a sentence where you say …”you will have to…” I replace it with “…you must…”, or “Click on the Go button to…” can be replaced with “Click Go to…”.
Think of words such as “enables”, instead of “allows you to” or “Helps you to”.
If one word will work where three are, replace it! I always find these, where I slip into conversational as I am writing quickly, then go back and purge, purge, purge.
“At this point in time” came along during the Nixon congressional hearings. Too bad it didn’t go out with him.
I don’t know where “on a daily basis” came from, but we have it, and I’m sorry we do.
Instead of adding tags (he said/she said) to every bit of dialogue, learn to identify the speaker by showing him/her in action. Example: “Pass that sweet-smelling turkey this way.” With knife in one hand and fork in the other, Sam looked eager to pounce.
I sometimes write out 8 to 10 pages from the book of my favorite writer….in longhand. This helps me to get started and swing into the style I wish to write in.
Try not to edit while you’re creating your first draft. Creating and editing are two separate processes using different sides of the brain, and if you try doing both at once you’ll lose. Make a deal with your internal editor that it will get the chance to rip your piece to shreds it will just stay out of the way for a while.
A really nice trick is to switch off your monitor when you’re typing. You can’t edit what you can’t see.
After editing the work on screen or in print, I like to read the text aloud. Awkward sentences and errors that slipped through earlier edits show up readily when reading out loud.
I set my writing aside and edit a day or two later with the aim of making it terse. It has trained me to be more conscious of brevity when writing for immediate distribution.
Nice. I’m seeing suggestions new to me. And I’m a hoarder of writing tips.
My suggestions:
Along with reading the great tips coming from this post …
Keep reading the Daily Writing Tips. Daily.
(I’m not just being fluffy. It’s a true fav of mine)
Either read the book “Writing Tools 50 Strategies for Every Writer”, by Roy Peter Clark.
Or read the Fifty Writing Tools: Quick List on his blog.
Then join a writing group, or hire a writing coach. I’m a bit shy so I chose online coaching with an amazing writer.
Her tip to me? Stop reading so many books on writing and just write!
Don’t shy away from adopting the good habits that other writers / bloggers use.
Do not worry about the length of the article as long as it conveys the point. Of course, the fewer words you use, the better.
Start the article with a short sentence, not more than 8 words.
Change is the only constant. Initially you can follow a standard template for the articles, but over a period of time, you can develop your own way of writing. Who knows, someday a budding writer might use your style as a template.
To be a good writer is to start writing everyday. As Mark Twain said-’The secret of getting ahead is getting started’.
Try using new words. i.e avoid repeating words. this way we learn the usage of different words.
Do edit your previous articles.
start with small paragraphs like writing an article for a Newspaper or tips to Daily writing Tips where we get to read our writings with the rest of the articles or responses sent by people with different views and which can be compared and better judged.
Great idea to compile readers’ tips Daniel.
One that works for me every time is to focus on the positive intention behind my writing. What is it that I want to communicate, express, convey? By focusing on that, by getting into the state that I’m trying to express, I find that I stop worrying about the words – just let them tumble out of their own accord.
It’s a great strategy for beating writer’s block, or overcoming anxiety about a particular piece of writing, whether that’s composing a formal business letter, writing a piece from the heart, or guest blogging somewhere ‘big’…
Joanna
Remove as many adjectives as possible. Read Jack Finney’s tale, Cousin Len’s Wonderful Adjective Cellar for a fantastical tale about how a hack becomes a successful author with the help of a magical salt cellar that removes adjectives from his work.
Write often and to *completion* by following a realistic writing schedule.
Use others writer’s sentences and paragraphs as models and then emulate the syntactic structure with your own content. I’ve learned more about grammar and punctuation that way.
Read great writers for inspiration. If you read them enough, their excellent writing style will rub off onto your dazzling blog.
YOU ARE what you read (and write!).