If you’re looking for ways to improve your craft, apply these easy-to-follow writing tips to your daily routine. Writing is a form of expression – both in a personal and professional setting – making it a valuable skill to sharpen.
This article aims to help writers who are facing the ever-so annoying mental block and need encouragement with their blog or social media post, or even a university or work document.
Writing tips to enhance your writing skills
1. Set a Writing Space
It’s easier to commit to a daily writing routine when you have an area which is strictly dedicated to performing your passion. Privacy, comfort and accessibility are the most important qualities to consider when choosing your surrounding. While possessing an expensive desk or breathtaking view can be desired, having the determination to write is more important. In your writing space, keep your inspiration, books and research within reach and view.
2. Set Writing Goals
Feel accomplished every single day by creating and fulfilling a daily writing goal. This could be writing for a certain length of time (i.e. 30 minutes) or writing until you hit a certain amount of words (i.e. 500 words). Pick a target that you can comfortably achieve, but still pushes you to be consistent with your forte. Remember to be gentle with yourself with what you produce – it does not have to be perfect. If it eventually starts to become unchallenging, then perhaps you can consider expanding your goal.
3. Read
Reading makes you a better writer for a number of reasons, such as expanding your vocabulary, empathy, creativity, and bringing inspiration for new ideas. Furthermore, it can be used as research to incorporate new writing styles as well as give you a fresh perspective on different topics, and poses health benefits like reducing stress and alleviating depression symptoms. Read anything that piques your interest i.e. a chapter from a book, blog post, or article a day.
4. Write in the Morning
Are you someone who feels more focused and motivated after a good night’s sleep? If so, now is the time to put pen to paper. There is a lower possibility of distractions too, for example, talking to other people and phone notifications which usually demand your attention. Journalling is a great writing self care activity to do in the morning as it enables you to clear your mind and process and analyse emotion.
5. Keep it Simple
Most people find long and complicated content off-putting to read, which is why you should adapt to using simple language. Some visitors do not read the entire text word-for-word but scan it until they find something relevant to grab their attention. Limit redundant words and phrases like “very” or “at the present time” as it does not add any depth to your writing.
6. Proofread…and Use Online Grammar Tools!
Never take your first draft as the final version, even if you have been making changes during the writing process. Instead, leave the text to “sit” for a day or two and visit it again with a fresh pair of eyes to proofread. Read your work aloud as it helps to distinguish obvious blunders which your target audience may pick up. Give your writing the full attention it deserves by separating the writing and editing process.
Make use of online writing tools to catch mistakes such as grammatical errors, faulty sentence structure and more, this includes:
Grammarly
Hemingway Editor
YoastSEO
7. Keep a List of Common Mistakes
Everyone has their writing struggles, but practice makes perfect. To overcome it, make a list of your frequent mistakes which you can identify and work towards correcting them. You can keep this list in a notebook in your writing space or even on your phone, wherever you can glance at it while writing or editing to remind you.
Thank you for the reading! I hope you find this article helpful to perfecting your craft. What daily writing tip or routine do you follow to better your writing? Please feel free to share in the comment section below!
You can read more blog posts on my site by clicking here.