Here are some writing tips for the budding writer, and anyone who’s looking to improve their writing skills.
Are you pouring your creative juices into writing? Or maybe doing some business writing for your company? Whatever type of writing your are currently into, we have some general writing tips for you.
Writing Tips
- Read. Read everything you can get your hands on. To be a good writer, one must be a good reader first.
- Always pay attention to punctuation. Doesn’t matter if you are doing academic, business or creative writing.
- First, wait to finish the draft. After, proof read and edit.
- For business or academic writing:
- Write only one idea per paragraph. This will make your work easier to understand.
- Write your point in the first sentence or paragraph. Avoid enticing and confusing your readers by building up the suspense.
- If you are writing a memo for your work place, avoid complex phrasing and jargon.
- For memos and email, make your writing “scannable” so that your busy colleagues will easily scan through the message you are trying to send across.
- For academic writing:
- Get a second opinion from an expert in the field of your topic, or a person who is an expert in language or writing.
- Proofread your work one more time before submitting it.
- Do your research. Ensure that the information in your work is correct.
- Mind your spelling and capitalization. Do not use text message abbreviations.
- If you are writing a novel:
- The first third of your novel is your introduction. Introduce all major characters and themes in your plot.
- The second third of your novel is the development, where you develop these characters and themes.
- The last third of is the resolution. Resolve and answer your themes, questions and mysteries.
- Always carry a notebook – always – to avoid losing an idea forever.
- Read your work out loud.
- Seek out criticism and accept it graciously, regardless if you think its wrong.
- Choose an inviting title.
Possibly one of the oddest writing tips from famous and prolific writers is to type with your screen turned off or your eyes close. It allows you to just pour the words in and all the imagination you have without you being obsessed about editing it. You can’t edit what you can’t see after all.
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