Are you looking for tips to write well?
Writing is a strange craft because you won’t find a neatly compiled instruction manual for improving your skills.
But there are strategies you can start using right now to become a better writer.
For the past decade, I’ve collected pieces of writing advice that have served me well.
Hopefully, these tips can help you too.
1. Develop a Writing Routine
If you want to write well, you need to make time to write regularly.
This can be overwhelming when you’re trying to manage competing obligations.
But, all you need is a block of time where you know you won’t be disturbed.
Let’s have a look at how a Nobel Prize winning novelist made time to do her work.
Early in her career, author Toni Morrison had two young children and a fulltime job.
She knew she needed to allocate—and defend—regular writing time.
For Morrison, it was predawn.
And carving out that special writing slot triggered her creativity, she explained in this Paris Review article.
“I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come…Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the light, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.”
And, you don’t need to block off hours to write. Author Anthony Trollope wrote more than 40 books. One of his strategies was to write in 15-minute blocks.
You can study the habits of other writers for inspiration. But, you’ll need to find something that works for you.
Look for potential gaps during your day. Can you wake up 30 minutes earlier? Can you replace part of your social media scrolling with a writing slot?
In sum, your journey to writing well begins with a routine.
2. Write a Lot
This piece of advice appears on every list about learning to write well.
And that’s because it works.
The more you write, the better you’ll get. This goes back to why developing a writing routine matters so much.
My writing improved dramatically when I got up early and made time to write every day.
What do you write about?
Sometimes, this can cause a lot of panic. Here’s where freewriting can help.
Freewriting is a good exercise to improve your writing skills.
It’s an exercise pioneered by writing professor, Peter Elbow. Freewriting is the act of writing non-stop for 10 minutes.
I wrote about freewriting this article: This Simple Two-Step Writing Process Will Improve Your Skills
3. Read All the Time
If you want to write well, you need to read more.
Celebrated writer Bessie Head said:
“A career in writing began with a love of reading and a love of books.”
Stephen King added if you want to move someone with the power of your writing, it first needs to happen to you.
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot…reading is the creative center of a writer’s life…you cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.”
Reading can expand your vocabulary. Plus, it will introduce you to new sentence structures and tones.
4. Steal Benjamin Franklin’s Writing Exercise
When Benjamin Franklin was a teenager, he did an audit of his writing abilities and came out wanting.
The young Franklin decided to improve his skills with a technique that’s still used by writers today.
Franklin used this writing exercise to improve his writing:
- Find writing you like
- Read the articles
- Rewrite in your own words
Now, you can identify your writing weaknesses. Perhaps, like Franklin, you need to expand your vocabulary. Maybe, you want to refresh you knowledge of basic grammar principles.
Whatever it is, holding your writing up against the best, will shine the light on your shortcomings.
5. Have Something Valuable to Say
Writing well is less about beautiful words and more about a message your reader cares about.
Larry McEnerney, the University of Chicago’s writing programme’s director, said brilliant writing created value for its readers.
And the only way to create value is to care about your audience and understand their needs.
“…more than anything else, your writing needs to be valuable. Because if it’s not that, nothing else matters, it makes zero difference “
“If it’s clear and useless, still useless. If it’s organized and useless it’s useless. If it’s persuasive and useless, it’s useless.”
Putting your readers first is a simple fix to improve your writing.
6. Show Don’t Tell
Jerry Jenkins’ books have sold more than 70 million copies.
So, he knows about writing well.
He shares a writing you might have heard about it before:
Show don’t tell.
But, what does it actually mean?
Jenkins explains how this technique helps you write well.
“When you tell rather than show, you simply inform your reader of information rather than allowing him to deduce anything. You’re supplying information by simply stating it. You might report that a character is “tall,” or “angry,” or “cold,” or “tired.” That’s telling.”
Showing, on the other hand, would “paint a picture the reader could see in her mind’s eye”.
“If your character is tall, your reader can deduce that because you mention others looking up when they talk with him. Or he has to duck to get through a door. Or when posing for a photo, he has to bend his knees to keep his head in proximity of others.”
Why does this technique work so well?
When you show rather than tell, you make the reader part of the experience.
8. Use Active Voice
Using plain language was one of the George Orwell’s writing rules.
One of his most enduring writing tips is this:
“Never use the passive where you can use the active.”
Active voice is easier to understand, and is far more concise than passive voice.
Consider this example:
- Active: The person crossed the road
- Passive: The road was cross by the person
Here’s a guide for using the active and passive voice.
9. Write With Nouns and Verbs
Nouns and verbs keep your writing moving.
In Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, Roy Peter Clark, said:
“Strong verbs create action, save words, and reveal the players.”
Here’s an example from one the Bond books (strong verbs in bold):
“Bond climbed the few stairs and unlocked his door and locked and bolted it behind him. Moonlight filtered through the curtains. He walked across and turned on the pink-shaded lights on the dressing-table. He stripped off his clothes and went into the bathroom and stood for a few minutes under the shower.”
There’s a kind of steady flow in the passage, and that’s thanks to the strong verbs.
10. Be Clear
The Elements of Style is a simple writing handbook that has influenced generations of writers.
And, it’s easy to see why.
First published in 1918, the book lists the basics of great writing.
One of the tips is to be clear.
“Clarity is not the prize in writing, nor is it always the principal mark of a good style…But since writing is communication, clarity can only be a virtue.”
Struggling to be clear?
Then, you might need to start from the beginning.
“Clarity, clarity, clarity. When you become hopelessly mired in a sentence, it is best to start fresh; do not try to fight your way through against the terrible odds of syntax.
“Usually what is wrong is that the construction has become too involved at some point; the sentence needs to be broken apart and replaced by two or more shorter sentences.”
As a writer, it’s your job to convey your meaning simply and clearly. The reader shouldn’t have to work to figure out what you’re trying to say. Often, that’s when the reader will abandon your article for good.
11. Embrace Fast, Messy First Drafts
Even Ernest Hemingway hated first drafts:
“The first draft of everything is ****.”
Free yourself from the pressure of creating a first draft. See a first draft for exactly what it is: the start of the writing process.
Too often we put ourselves under needless stress because we think it has to be perfect the first time.
Remember that even best writers in the world write shabby first drafts.
Instead, get the words onto the page and move to the next step, revising.
12. Edit Your Own Work
Many writers spend most of their time and revising.
Every book on your bookshelf has been through several rounds of writing.
Even Maya Angelou revised her writing before sending it off to her editor.
“But the editing, one’s own editing, before the editor sees it, is the most important.”
13. Read Aloud
Writing well is about creating pictures in your reader’s minds.
And reading aloud is the best way to see the image you’re crafting with your words.
In this paper, writing professor and author, Peter Elbow said research showed we broke our language into “intonation units”. This means we speak in spurts and then pause.
“The pauses between these units reflect limitations on human attention: both speakers and listeners can focus their full attention on only small bits of incipient meaning at a time.
Here’s how this helps you:
“When we revise our writing by reading aloud, we create better shaped and less random intonational phrases. We take passages that sound clunky or problematic and fiddle with them till we find language that sounds clear in the ear and feels more natural in the mouth.
“In doing this, we are building intonation units that feel natural or pleasing or strong–even for the eye and the mind.”
This technique would help rid your writing of things like long, rambling sentences.
14. Get Feedback on Your Writing
Getting feedback on your writing makes all the difference.
Once you’ve established good writing habits, you want to make sure you’re on the right track.
My online writing improved significantly once I started a course.
The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had this to say about writing feedback:
“Asking for feedback at any stage helps you break out of the isolation of writing. When you ask for feedback, you are no longer working in a void, wondering whether or not you understand the assignment and/or are making yourself understood.
“By seeking feedback from others, you are taking positive, constructive steps to improve your own writing and develop as a writer.”
15. Eliminate Distractions
Cal Newport is a bestselling author and computer science professor. His ideas around deep work struck a code with distracted knowledge workers across the world.
Newport’s writing advice is this:
The only way to produce high-quality work is to eliminate distraction. For me, this means taking my phone out of the room and avoiding social media.
You will find your ability to focus on your work and make connections between ideas improves the more your train your concentration.
Anyone Can Write Well
Now, you might be wondering, “ Can anyone learn to write well?”
Some people seem naturally talented. But, no research has found any secret writing gene.
The best writers are successful because they put in the work.
And the truth is anyone can write well.
You need to start by believing that no matter where you are today, you can dramatically improve your skills.
The reality is your writing skills are always evolving. These tips can push you in the right direction, faster.
Starting today, you can make yourself into a better writer.
