9 Ways To Become A Better Writer
6. Make a Good Routine
Some people feel that their best writing happens when they write in bursts, i.e. when they write for days together in a stretch, and then don’t write for a very long time. Other people have the habit of writing at night and sleeping during the day. While these patterns make us feel that we are doing our best, the truth is that our body isn’t exactly happy with such patterns. A human body and brain need proper resting and working hours for them to be at their productive best. And your moody writing patterns also can’t be feasible for professional submissions, where there are deadlines to meet. So make a routine. Set the number of hours you work everyday, and focus that time without any distractions. Start your day early to get the maximum benefit. And use the other hours to rejuvenate, relax and observe life around you. After all, a lot of inspiration comes from life around you! This kind of a healthy routine avoids common problems of mental blocks and lack of ideas, because your mind will be well rested to think of new things.
7. Criticize Yourself
It’s important to criticize your own work. You need to develop that quality, in order to ensure that you are delivering the best. You can’t be biased towards your own work, because at the end of the day, you’d like others to read it too. So good writers must always have an inner battle going on, where they are constantly challenging themselves to write better. Usually, a good way to do this is to write the first draft absolutely freely by shutting down your inner critic. And then revising your draft innumerable times, till the time the critic inside you doesn’t feel satisfied.
8. Invite Criticism
Of course, only your own criticism is not enough. You must invite opinions from others around you, such as friends, colleagues etc. who can read your works and share their perspectives. It’s important to never take negative feedback to your heart. In fact, you must take it in your stride and incorporate the feedback to improve your work.
9. Never Lose Quality
As you do more formal and professional writing assignments, there will be pressure on you to meet deadlines and adapt your style to meet a publication’s or website’s (or whoever the final authority is) policies and image. But that shouldn’t affect your writing too much. Focus on quality over quantity. Learn to say no to wrong practices, and stay true to what you do. As long as you deliver quality work, there’ll be no shortage of opportunities for you.
One of the main reasons why people these days struggle to become better writers everyday is because of the professional risks attached to it. If you don’t write well, no publisher or newspaper would want to keep you, and that would mean that you would have to change your means of earning money. But if you want to keep earning money out of writing only, then you have to keep improving your writing style and methods, and make this a continuous process.
