If you dedicate time and practice, learn the first stage writing process to improve writing. Here we’ll walk you through how to become a better writer — from starting on your first piece to polishing your final draft—and hopefully, by the end of this article, you will have been convinced that anyone can be taught how to write well.
WRITING IS A SKILL ANYONE CAN MASTER
Writing is a skill anyone can learn and one that you can know to do well. The best way to become a better writer is to write more and read more. The more that you write, the better you’ll become.
Check out the resources below, as they are related to writing and reading, not about how to learn to write. Education is useless without instruction and guidance. Core Writing and Education Resources
The Master Writing Program “The Master Writing Program is an immersion writing program that takes a group of students to distant lands and introduces them to the fascinating publishing world. This intensive four-month program consists of a vigorous writing program and on-site visits with renowned writers and editors.
Traditional European methods are combined with American style to offer intensive writing and criticism in the company of experienced writers.”–
From The Writing Association
When searching for establishing writing programs, look at the US website WriterAccess.com, a service for writers looking for professional writing courses.
Be aware that they are American-based, but offer an international writing program worth considering. The site shows rates, costs, writing services, and tuition costs. You can also find some blogs written by qualified students on the WriterAccess site.
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The Writing Center
Let me start by saying that although this website is quite extensive, it is not comprehensive. I only went through a fraction of the resources this website would have covered, as the rest of the writing courses and the resources for improving your writing still need more research and a more extensive dive.
Before reading the rest, the first thing I suggest you do is to read the automated approach each resource takes.
These channels can be found in many areas, like grammar, punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, sentence formatting, formatting text to look good, etc.
It helps create easier reading transitions and report click rates (if it is a straightforward course).
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The Writing Process
There are dozens of methods to become a better writer. There are hundreds of ways that work. One of those ways is learning to write well from the inside out.
I teach writing and communication at college. As part of my degree, I have a group of five English students do a collaborative writing project. One of my main goals in coaching these students was to better prepare them for writing well.
One of the most direct ways to improve writing skills is to write from the inside out. My approach to that started when working with a former college roommate a few years ago. We’d met through college life committees, packed up, and moved to a new city together.
Our lives ensued, and our writing was limited to reading legal documents and grocery lists. In short, we didn’t write much beyond our parents’ bear hug, and nothing else made sense to us. It was a mediocre existence.
I knew what I wanted to do with my life someday. I wanted to be a freelance writer.
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Get Your Idea Out of Your Head.
The easiest way to make an idea happen is to write it down. When you write it down, you’re making a commitment to yourself. You’re saying, ‘I’m going to make this happen.’ I challenge you to write down your idea. Get it out of your head and onto a piece of paper.
Every writer starts somewhere; learn that step first.
Let’s get started…
HOW TO POLISH YOUR WRITING
Having the skill and knowledge may seem as vital as air in the vacuum of outer space, but shredded bits of paper makes all the difference in developing your skills.
If your newfound ability to write your first draft will keep your sentence together, you need to bring your diction to the surface. And research tells us you don’t start writing words until you have a solid vocabulary to work with. So remember to get comfortable with words.
When I talk about vocabulary, I’m referring to any words you can use to describe your idea. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to dive into a grammar lesson (much less a copywriting lesson), it’s time to stop what you’re doing and dive in.
The grammatical rules that govern how one word is used in a sentence are applied to all comments. So, if I use “to” as the verb in a sentence, this is how the grammar rule above would hold up: The sentence would be a verb for “to be,” and the state would be active.
While I am more than capable of writing without starting with a verb, it’s helpful to know the rules to keep in mind if beginning with a verb is your writing goal. If you’ve found yourself in a position where you’re writing without a verb to get the point across, understand this: all words are subject and verb, though some may have passive voice.
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Outline Your Ideas.
Don’t worry if you’re not a writer or feel your writing isn’t the greatest. Just write out your ideas as if you were explaining them to a friend. Getting your ideas out of your head and down on paper is key. So you have a reference for what you wanted to say.
Does that sound impossible? Let me put you on the right track with this seven-step guide to becoming a better writer.
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Read to Write Well
By this point, you should be an able writer, and it’s good to have the beginnings of the skill under your belt. However, without consistency, you won’t be able to improve.
Writing takes time, and to make headway, you need to write more often; some guides say to write every day and daily, some say twice a day and once a day — definitely try something to fit your schedule.
It is best to learn how to write by doing, so start writing whatever comes to your head. Don’t worry if it doesn’t come out exactly how you want it to; just write it anyway.
You’ll become a writing pro by learning how to write, which means you’ll get better results in everything from your writing to marketing to business to online essays.
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Learn to Edit
By now, you should be writing well. You might be improving.
The next step is to improve your writing by editing further. Have you ever had a piece you pretty much hated?
You might be starting to hate writing by the end of this step. The key is to edit your writing before you start saying it out loud. The only acceptable way to edit a writer is to do it in their voice.
This is how you will get better results. When you are just starting, these editing tips apply to any piece.
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Study to Understand
Before you publish your writing, you must devote time to reading the page on which you are about to write.
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Write Your Rough Outline.
Your rough draft is where you jot down your ideas and start thinking about how you will structure your blog post. It’s also a place to take notes to return to them if you don’t remember specific points or facts.
But don’t run off to the printer immediately; if you don’t like your first draft, continue reading to see if you can improve your technique and draft quality.
Common Writing Mistakes Beginners Make
When starting, writing is likely to seem daunting. You might worry that you don’t know enough grammar or fear knowing what to put in your final draft. Of course, many things make a writer fall short of perfect; however, I will focus on the most significant issues in this post for beginners.
Since a writer’s role is to organize and craft a well-structured piece of content, below, I have classified these as “problems.” It’s not always an issue, but your first draft or effort at this should be as clean and polished a document as possible. Don’t worry about editing later!
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Problems to avoid
When it comes to writing, the most important thing to remember is to write evenly. You can cover A LOT of information in a single paragraph and think about which parts need to be emphasized or cut.
This trick applies to every part of your writing: alliteration, repetition, progressive tense, parallelism, using a simile (e.g., comparing two things), and using metaphors (e.g., reaching two people).
If a paragraph is too long or confusing, consider reducing your writing time.
If you are new to blog posts, you are likely to have a brain full of ideas, and you probably won’t be able to time-block your thoughts.
Get someone else to do this for you. Just like learning a language, studying writing theory and listening to audio can take some preparation time, but don’t let this stop you from getting started.
Conclusion,
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Kevin
