5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Writing

As writers, we’re always pushing the envelope to express ourselves better than we did before. However there are times when we plateau, when our writing just doesn’t feel natural. Worse yet, there are times when we can’t get a good paragraph out. Those are times when we start thinking about pushing ourselves and our writing.

When you need to tweak and boost your writing up a notch, it’s always good to try something constructive.  For those who could use a couple of tips, here are a few that are sure to help improve your writing and keep it from going stale.

1.Imitate Different Authors

If you read other writers for inspiration, why not actively imitate their writing? Once you walk in another writer’s shoes for a bit, writing as they write, you get an idea on how to approach writing about things in ways you normally wouldn’t.  Moreover, it will force you to pay attention to what makes someone else’s writing style unique which, in turn, will help you find ways to make your own style unique as well. 

2.Increase Your Vocabulary

The pay off for increasing your vocabulary is priceless. With a good vocabulary, you literally boost your reading and writing level up a notch.  So whenever you come up against a word you don’t know, look it up, write down the definition, and try to remember and understand it. Re-read the entire piece without your definition list and see how quickly you can recall each word.  Ideally, you want to read the word over as naturally as possible, like you already know its meaning. If you get stuck, look at the definition again, then re-read the paragraph.  This method, while time consuming, will definitely help to expand your vocabulary and make your writing stronger.

3.Read, Read, And Read Some More

Everyone says that in order to write, you need to read. And it’s true. It’s the best way to inform your writing. Not only do you learn something when you read, you also unconsciously soak the writing in.  If you read a lot of books from one main author, you start to gradually develop and naturally adapt to that author’s writing style—its diction, phrasing, and sentence structure. Over time, this helps you become more creative and lets you take chances at expressing yourself in different ways. So read, read, and read some more! 

4.Exercise Your Writing Muscles Once A Day

The only way to keep your writing strong is to constantly write.  Writing regularly is a necessity to getting yourself in top notch writing form.  However, when you write, do it with a goal in mind. Give yourself a challenge.  For instance, you may want to pick a different topic for each day. Whatever you choose, write freely for an hour or until you feel like you’ve exhausted all you wanted to say.  This will get you in the habit of comfortably expressing your thoughts in words.  Exercising your writing muscles daily like this will improve the clarity of your writing by leaps and bounds if you just keep at it.

5.Write For Yourself

If you write for the web, you’re undoubtedly writing for someone other than yourself.  It can be draining and easy to forget why you love to write in the first place. The result? Writer’s block. Getting burnt out. Unproductive dry spells. Unlike the other tips, this one is focused on sustaining your writing. Keep yourself in the game by rejuvenating your love for it. Write for fun. Write for yourself. If you’re constantly doing something you love, it becomes effortless and fluid. You’re writing naturally and without any pressure.

The best part about this and the other tips is that they’re general enough so you can cater them to your specific needs. Whether you decide to read fiction or poetry, exercise your daily writing in a different language, or increase your vocabulary for a specific niche, how you improve your writing is ultimately up to you.

Bio:

Reena Cruz  writes for the Investintech.com blog, where she shares tips about PDF converter technology and software in general. As a tech-geek, she enjoys learning about new tech trends and sharing productivity tool tips online.