How To Improve Writing Skills –13 Straightforward Writing Tips

Writing can be a daunting task.

Isn`t  it?

How to Improve Writing Skills -It`s a skill that requires hours of practice to achieve mastery.

In online marketing and blogging space, it’s not about framing sentences to put forward your viewpoint.

You need a content which is compelling and useful.

It should have:

• All the ingredients to go viral.
• Attract tons of links.
• Keeps readers engage from start to finish.

Surely, you would be desirous and craving to know how to improve your writing skills in a shorter span.

Allow me to provide to-the-point actionable tips that will arm you with skills to write stellar web content.

1. Read Daily:

Yes, read daily.

Not only this builds your knowledge base and improves reading ability, but also allows you to analyse different writing styles.

Be it a novel, newspaper, magazine or a blog.

Pro Tip: keep a goal of devoting a Power Hour in day specifically to read stuff.

 

2. Closely Eyeball Your Most Liked Content.

Surely you would have a list of most admired blogs.

Why not inspect the element that appeals you? Why not apply the same in your writing?

It could be introductions, writing style, sentence structuring, usage of phrases, etc

Noting these minor elements can cut-short your path to attaining mastery in writing.

Why?

If it works for these fellow bloggers, rest assure it will work for you also.

 

3. Begin Writing Small Chunks.

To kick-off, aim to write small chunks of content daily.

Yes, every day.

Write about 250 to 300 words. Do this till it becomes a habit.

Gradually, you will reach a stage that will make you restless in case you missed writing a particular day.

 

4. Create an Outline.

Creating an outline helps you to structure the content and keep it organised.

It`s a blueprint.

Quick benefits of having an outline:

• The outline gives you an opportunity to think through the subject in- depth.

You get the insights on the sub-topics you need to research more.

• Outlining stimulates the creative flow of writing.

You will get rid of writer`s block.(Main  topic gets sectioned into multiple sub-topics.)

• Outlines save time.

How?  Organised content speeds up the editing process.

You will end up iterations of edits if the content is written in large data blocks which also diminish the readability.

• Outlining will help to communicate your ideas and thoughts effectively.

Once you know what is to be communicated, writing becomes simpler. You never miss out point to be covered.

 

5. Write Seamlessly – Keep The Momentum Intact.

When you are all set for drafting a content (and I’m assuming you have an outline ready ), make a conscious effort to:

A: Write seamlessly in a rhythmic way and maintain the momentum going till you finish the copy.

B: Do not traverse back and forth in editing the sentences and paragraphs. Keep the editing as the last task.

 

6. You Should EDIT Heartlessly.

Now that you have followed the above rule, it’s time to edit our draft mercilessly.

Editing isn’t a tough task as you think.

All you need to do is focus on making you sentences to-the-point and concise by removing unwanted words and fillers that do not add any value to the content.

As a blogger, we have all the freedom to express our viewpoint. But, when it is sugar coated with a sales pitch, results could be ineffective.

 

7. Remember, Iterations In Writing Makes The Content Strong.

Your first draft will always be crap.

No matter the years of experience you have in writing first cut copy of content will always be low quality.

Do not get de-motivated with this.

Read …read …read your copy aloud and rewrite the sentences till it sounds meaningful.

I always write a blog post as if I`m narrating something to a person sitting in front of me.

Apply this practice for every piece of content. You will notice the difference in draft version and the final copy.

 

8. Take a Micro Break In Writing Process.

I mentioned about the importance of seamless and momentum writing earlier.

Without contradicting what I stated, it is also beneficial to have short..micro breaks after every 25-30 minute.

Doing this:

• Will allow you to break the writer`s block – a deadlock situation
• Will reduce fatigue developed by staring at computer screen.
• Will keep your eyes being un-strained.
• Above all, it improves mental acuity (sharpness)

 

9. Never Skip To Research.

Whenever you are unsure about a certain point, make sure you do a concrete research upfront.

Skipping this would portray you as an amateur and your credibility could be a stake.

You don’t want this to happen, right?

Always look for the original source of the information.

Whenever required, attribute and add a reference to the original source.( this builds trust factor in readers mind as they know you have done your homework).

 

10. Be Conversationalist While Writing.

Let’s go back to school days.

Recollect the tuition teacher’s tone of voice while teaching us.

It is rigid one way of communication. At a time; he addressed many students in the class.

This, by no way, is a conversation.

For active conversation, you have to address the person in such way that he feels as if you talking to him only (specifically.)

Usage of ‘YOU’ in the content plays a key role here.

Few quick tips on how to write conversation content:

• A first-cut copy of your DRAFT is always garbage.Don`t worry; we have to improvise it and make it conversational as if you are speaking to an individual in front of you.

• Use lots of white spaces in between and cut the lengthy paragraphs.
• Use simple words instead of jargons.Do we use such jargon in day to day communication? No!

• Always write in active voice.
• Dissect the long sentences. A lengthy sentence diminishes the readability.
• Read the content loudly.If at all you get stuck, tweak the sentence structure.
• Ask Questions- Raising question grabs reader’s attention.
• Lastly, include a tip that is actionable and easy to implement.

 

12. Create a Process.

Having a process in writing will increase the probability of producing high-quality content every time.

• Firstly, you need research your Topic.
• Create a blueprint of points to be covered – An Outline.
• Focus on the momentum in writing.
• Be conversationalist.
• Edit ruthlessly.
• Format the structure of the sentences and paragraphs.

 

13. Master The Art of Writing Magnetic Headlines.

With so much of information overload around and knowing the fact that visitors have a shortest attention span, don`t expect a random visitor or a loyal subscriber to read every blog post.

You have to grab their attention with a catchy headline.

The headline is the bait to hook the reader. Once you succeed doing that, readers are more likely to go through the content.

Few tips for writing good headlines:

• Add Numbers: Numerals steals people’s attention quickly and easily remembered.
• Include power words: Power words are high emotion words.Including them in headlines drives action.
• Insert Main Keyword: Doing this will make you content ranked in search engine results.
• Make a Promise: People are interested in the benefit. “What’s in it for ME?”.

Having a promise made in headline stimulates as action – to read your content further.

That`s it!

I have attempted to cover all the vital tips to improve writing skills and curious to learn more writing tips from you.

If I need to append more tips to improve writing, then let me know.