Ever struggled with your writing? Or maybe you just want to improve your skills as a writer? If so, you may find this guide like confusing love quotes to be helpful. It contains tips and pointers on how to write better, an overview of notable authors, and a list of the top ten famous writers in history.
Whether you are just starting out or already experienced in the world of writing, writing is an art that can be difficult at times. But with these valuable pointers and tricks being offered by this article, you will be able to learn more about it than ever before!
Writing is such a key part of our society that anyone can benefit from reading this guide on how to master it.
1. Write What You Know
Writing what you know can be beneficial to your reader and your success as a writer. For one thing, it will give you more material to work with and it also means that you are writing from personal experience, which could just make for a more interesting storyline.
The idea behind this is simple: Don’t make up things about your story you have no knowledge of. If you do this, the reader will most likely have a hard time believing what the author has written about and will probably not be interested in finishing the story.
2. Stick With Conventions
When it comes to writing, there are many rules that need to be followed (but don’t let these scare you off).
For example, there are a number of ways you can start off a sentence. However, starting off in the middle of the action is usually frowned upon. For instance, you should not have a character burst through the door and then start talking. This can be done in movies because they have visuals to help guide the viewer but when reading, some readers may be confused and thus may not enjoy your writing.
Another rule is to keep punctuation simple and consistent throughout your writing. For example, if you want to punctuate with a comma, then that should be the only option you use.
The point of these rules is to make sure everything works cohesively in your story and that the reader must not get confused by anything. To put it simply, stick with conventions.
3. Don’t Write About What You Know…
If you find yourself writing about a subject that you are very knowledgeable of or well-versed in, then your writing will most likely suffer. It may be difficult for readers to believe your story because they may feel like it’s written from personal experience when it’s actually not true at all. Still unsure about this? Consider going through The United States Constitution . While it’s a great document, it’s very hard to imagine that someone wrote this who wasn’t already well-educated on the subject.
On the flip side though, if you are writing about something you know little to nothing about, you should make up some things. For example, if you want to write about a mechanical computer that takes place in the future when computers are more advanced than today, then you may want to throw in some things that are not entirely accurate and base others off of what is known today so it will be believable.
4. Get An Editor
An editor, more commonly known as a copy editor, is someone who may proofread your writing for you, making sure everything is correct and readable. Sometimes one person can do this job but that’s pretty rare and usually only for a large project.
They may be able to find typos and other grammatical errors in your writing which can be very distracting. They’ll also ensure that the information is correct and makes sense in the context of the story.
5. Hire a Ghostwriter
If you are a novice, writing can be difficult and frustrating. An experienced ghostwriter may be able to help you out with this by doing some of the research and writing for you. This way, you do not have to worry about getting stuck on something or having too much information to work with.
Another thing that hiring a ghostwriter can do is if someone asks to read your manuscript before it’s published in order to give their opinion on it. This is fairly useful in that it can save time when your own feedback isn’t going so well and maybe the person wants suggestions on what they could change to make it better.
6. Start Writing…
If you have never written anything before, do not be afraid. It may take some time to get used to writing, but once you become accustomed to it, a lot of things will make sense and writing will seem a lot less daunting.
Just remember that if you are just starting out and have a lot of ideas for a story, but don’t have the confidence in yourself to actually put them on paper or into words, then it might be time to invest in a ghostwriter like mentioned above.
7. Write Every Day
Writing every day helps with your workflow as well as your writing. The more you write, the more likely you are to produce writing quality material. If you don’t think that this will ever happen, it’s because you aren’t willing to put in the time and effort.
8. Have Patience
If you find that your work is going slow for whatever reason (too many ideas to choose from, no inspiration), then know that it’s okay at times to go a little long and not worry about rushing through it all at once. Sometimes we write our best when we are comfortable with what we are writing and that’s something that can take years of practice, so try not to rush your way through it too fast just because of how fast you want your story finished.
Conclusion:
Writing is a passion for many but it’s also a great way to express yourself. If you need help, try putting these tips into practice and you will get better at it eventually.
Also, check out this great article by Michael Carroll . He has some pretty good information on how to write your first book (and subsequent books). This can be very useful for anyone who is less experienced in writing or has a hard time getting started because the process of writing may seem overwhelming at times. This is just one more tool in your arsenal to help you on your journey to becoming a better writer and making your stories more interesting for the reader. Good luck!