20 tips to sharpen your writing skills

You already write every day.

You write when you send your boss an email or your mom a text.

You write LOLs when you DM your bestie yet another dog and baby video.

Writing is essential. It's how we communicate, and it's how we can get our ideas out. If our work is littered with mistakes or is confusing, all sorts of terrible things can happen. Like, someone COULD DIE.

Let's keep everyone alive and learn a few tips to write better, shall we?

Here are 20 tips on how to write better and how to turn anything you create into the most flawless masterpiece ever written.

Write daily

Use a prompt if you're feeling uninspired. Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird, a amazing book on writing and life, says to write 300 words a day. This is a very achievable quota. Try it, it's fun.

Write something that you'd want to read

In college, I had a professor who always wanted me to identify my audience. I would draw a blank. My audience for this crappy comparison essay is YOU, professor. No one else will read this drivel. And that was true. So now I say to you, don't worry about identifying an audience. Screw your audience! Write for yourself. Write something you'd want to read. If it's interesting to you, others will find it fascinating too. If you hate it, I guarantee your readers will yawn.

The more you write, the better you'll become

This is true. That's all.

Read

Read things that you enjoy. Read fiction, newspapers, blogs, whatever.
Read books about writing.

Imitate

But NEVER steal. There is a difference.

Figure out what you like about the words you read, and duplicate it. Is it tone? Content? What do you love about what your reading?

To find out:

  1. Highlight your favorite bits.
  2. Sit with it and see what stands out to you.
  3. Look at transitions, character, subject, word usage, dialogue, and literary devices.


Outline

Outlines help you get from point A to B quickly and efficiently. I'll be honest; I don't use outlines often. I find them constraining, and hard to organize all my thoughts into a neat stack. But when I do use one, hot damn, everything makes so much more sense. It's almost as if I should always use an outline...

Check your grammar

Use a grammar checking app. I like Grammarly, to show me all my comma splices and when I use passive voice.

Use the thesaurus

Find another way to say it.

Punctuate!

Periods, commas, and dashes add pace to your work-- and keep the reader moving.

Use straightforward words

Complex words overcomplicate things. No one likes to use the dictionary when they read your work. Plus, you risk sounding like a real braggadocio.

Eliminate unnecessary and repeated words

I use the find tool to locate words that I use too much.

I'm embarrassed to admit, but here are my overused words:

Also

Because

Like

Honestly

Just

Actually

Basically

Interesting

Amazing

Really

Good

Fine

Okay

I'm so ashamed. But, the first step is recognizing I have a problem. Once I notice that I use the same words over and over, I can find and replace them with a less shameful one. Everyone wins!

Cut the crap

Have you ever been to a website where a delicious recipe for carrot cake lives, but instead of the carrot cake recipe, you have to endlessly scroll through one woman's life story about growing up on a carrot farm? This feels like a micro aggression, harassment, and it is not okay. I need to speak to my lawyer. Say what you need to say, and get out.

Make your sentences shorter

Chances are your sentences are too long. Trim them up. Keep it neat.

Avoid cliches and common phrases

"At the end of the day," "first thing's first" "The dictionary defines friendship as…"

GROAN!

Use adverbs sparingly

What's an adverb? It's right there! Okay, fine, it's a word that describes or modifies another word. It's easy to pick out because it's usually (oop, there's another one) ends in an -ly.

Once you notice them, they're easy to pick out, and your writing becomes much clearer. You don't have to eliminate all your adverbs, just be mindful of them.

Have a point of view

What is your point? Do you have a unique view of something? Why are you writing? To inform, to share? Make your point distinct.

Research


Google things, ask questions, dive deep, stay curious.

Be specific

Vagueness sucks

Watch your sentences

Make sure they don't all follow the same pattern or start with the same words. That can be very monotonous and BORING.

Edit

Getting all your thoughts out is only half the work. Now the real fun begins.

Read it out loud, notice everything. Read it backward. You can use an app to have your computer read it out loud like the robot it is. And then ask someone else to read it and give you feedback.

Take a break from your work for a few hours or a whole day. Revisit it when your mind is fresh. A little bit of space from your writing will make you a better editor.

Now go! Go write your masterpiece- the single greatest work the world has ever seen.

You can do it.

OK write!