Quick tips to improve your writing

There’s no sugarcoating it: writing is a lifelong process. Like most things in life, there’s no quick fix or magic pill to transform you into a prolific writer. 

But, there are quick and easy ways to improve your writing over time. Here are some tips on how I’ve improved my writing:

Read more

This makes sense - the more you read someone else’s writing, the better yours will become. But, you don’t have to sit down and read novels every day (unless you want to!). Read anything! Blogs, articles, even subtitles while you watch Netflix can help.

Journal

I admit, I’m not great at this. I don’t journal a lot, but I do write a lot. The reason I included journaling here is because many people swear by it for many reasons, one of them being improvement in writing.

Leave your writing and come back to it later

The best advice I ever received was to write, then put it away. You need to be able to look at your writing with fresh eyes in order to edit it accordingly. Sometimes, I will let my writing sit for up to a week before going back and publishing it.

Use plainer language

While it’s important to use proper grammar and punctuation, you should aim to write in everyday language. As English speakers, it’s hard for us to remember that written English and spoken English can be two very different ways of expression. If you use complicated language, you’re at risk of making your work feel too much like “eating your vegetables.” 

Ask for feedback

If you want to know how a piece of writing comes across, the best thing you can do is ask! Ask someone to read your work and give you honest feedback.

As I said, learning to write better is a lifelong process. But, I hope these tips will help guide you in your writing process!