How To Improve Writing

We think, we scribble and then we erase everything because we don’t like it as much as we thought we would. An idea that strikes you in your porch loses its appeal, when you finally manage to tear off a page from the nearby diary and settle down in your study to write it out. And then you blame it on that pest of your younger sibling, who squealed on top of his lungs, just because you snatched his precious pencil, so as not to wait any longer looking for a pen. Of course, the next time also you end up blaming the same sibling only this time, to avoid his ruthless squealing you didn’t snatch the pen—you waited so long to find one that by the time you held it in your fingers, the idea had completely oozed out of your head. Darn! A pen is all that matters. But have you considered that the actual reason why you are not able to express your classic thoughts could be your writing skills? A general lack of such skills makes you not like what you write. So here are some tips to help you write better.

 

 

Without reading various authors, you can never really know what is wrong with your writing. Every writer may have a different form of writing, but the one thing that is common is that all good writers capture readers’ attention. You can also read books on reading skills or any other fiction or non-fiction. As long as it helps you write better, any book is a good choice.

 

What makes a good writer good? Understanding of the text! Of course, when Dan Brown writes his works on secret societies, his thorough research is what makes his text appealing, but even then the most important thing is structure. The same information written without a structure will be futile and unappealing. So, make sure you structure your piece well

 

Grammar is the reason you understand and the reason you misunderstand. Make sure that you have a strong grasp of grammar. But also remember that grammar is vast and the same sentence can be written in many different ways and still be grammatically correct. So try not to be rigid, but be correct at the same time. Tenses and verb agreements are generally the fault lines. Watch them!

 

Repetitions can butcher your creation. Overuse of simple words like however, but, if or similarly can do more harm than good, to your beautiful piece. Even the use of hi-fi words in place of simple ones adds an air of verbosity to the text and makes it less readable. Also, the more time you spend in looking for complex words, the faster does the main idea escape from your mind and the written expression becomes less effective than you desire.

 

Be specific. Don’t overdo an idea or a thought by repeating and reiterating it. The more you beat around the bush, the duller and off-sheen your work gets. Using floral language does not call for undue repetitions - it just means usage of more adjectives.

 

Never hand in your work to anyone without being sure that the language is good. Being a writer, you are not expected to like all your work, but that doesn’t mean it is not good. It just means that you wanted to do more with the same line of thought. Hence, don’t judge your work based solely on your whims. Reread and proofread the grammar and then have someone give you a feedback.

 

It is easy to give up writing. It saves time and resources like paper, but ask yourself, if that’s what you intended to do, when you had started writing. Trying for something has never been easy, but that is not reason enough to kill the writer in you. Trudge along and soldier out the odds till you are what you want to be – the best!