Learning is a life-long pursuit, and it’s the same with writing. As you continue to expand your writing space and add pile after pile of nuggets of techniques and strategies, you develop more confidence in each word you drop in a blank paper.
I guess what I’m trying to say is learn at your own pace and have more confidence in yourself. Believe that you can do more than this.
5 Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills Quickly
Before I further digress, today, I want to share the top 5 ways to get from a newbie writer to a wordsmith.
I know I’ve mentioned this quite a lot in this blog that writing is learnable. Unless you believe it, you won’t get anywhere.
No, it’s not one’s innate talent that makes him a legendary writer, but one’s ability to learn no matter the challenges.
So if you’re looking for ways to practice your writing, here are what you can try.
1. Read every day.
Be willing to spare some of your time to learn from successful people by reading their books.
Books are immortal, and believe me, you’ll learn a lot by just reading.
Whenever I read a new book, I feel excited because it’s like meeting the book’s author in a different world.
You get a chance to join the authors in their journey. You are drawn into their world, what they feel, their experiences, the core emotions.
I don’t know if you get that same feeling. Perhaps it’s something that you can only get once you’ve read enough books in your life.
Whenever I finish reading a book, I get an idea of what kind of person the author is.
2. Read and collect useful words.
As you write, there’ll be several instances when you’ll run out of words.
This happens even to the best writers.
So the only way to fill in the gap and get unlimited stock of ideas is to read and collect useful words or lines.
You get inspiration from books, and certain words may trigger an avalanche of ideas.
When you collect words, you also stretch your vocabulary and knowledge of the language, which is essential in writing engaging and quality content.
And it’s so effortless to do. While you read a book or an article and a phrase or word catches your attention, grab a pen or open a notepad, and write the word.
Don’t just bookmark the page or keep the word in your mind. Write it down immediately!
Or else you’ll forget about it.
3. Find a writing community.
I can’t stress enough how important it is that you find your own “tribe.”
If you’re like most writers, you may also be introverted and just want to be left alone most times.
A quiet space is vital for us, writers, because silence is the only way for us to let our imagination and creativity go wild.
Thus, as many writers are often mistaken as standoffish, you should take a step forward to find your people, the people who do the same thing you do – writing.
Find a writing partner, or better yet, join online writing communities.
You don’t even have to be active in these groups, but it’s great if you can spare a few minutes to comment or like other people’s posts.
Trust me. You’ll learn a lot of things by being just an onlooker.
I know because in the more than ten writing groups I’m in on Facebook, now and then, I encounter interesting discussions. Sometimes, one person will even post the same question I have thought of before, but I already forgot.
So, start finding your pack and associate yourself with them.
4. Take free online writing courses.
If you want to improve your writing skills fast, take advantage of the free writing courses on the internet.
You’ll be surprised to learn the array of institutions, organizations, individual coaches that offer writing courses, and you won’t pay a dime.
As a start, you can explore with Udemy.
It’s an online learning platform with thousands of courses on different skills.
Just sign up, search for free writing courses, and you’ll instantly get options enough to get you started.
So exploit the goodness of these people by taking their courses and learning from them for free.
5. Analyze writings.
We all have one book or one piece of an article we’ve read that has impacted us.
When you’re reading a book or any content, you only get to see what’s in the front part.
It’s like watching a theater show, and you only get to see the actors.
But not the people or the things backstage or whatever that lies deep.
Hence, you must go past the words that you read from your favorite book.
Sit for a few minutes every day to analyze the structure, frameworks, or techniques why such a book or piece of online writing has made such a dire impact on you.
Is it the emotions behind the words? Or maybe how the lines were delivered systematically?
You’ll get the answers to the questions if you read past the words on the page you’re reading.
Conclusion
In everything you do, make sure you learn something from it.
As writers, there’s a never-ending tunnel of learning and growth for us.
As the world shifts to something new, we also need to adapt.
Today, most people read newsletters, content marketing blogs, emails, and marketing messages.
As a writer, it helps if we also shape our writing skills to what’s currently in demand.
You can only do this if you read books, join a community, and tirelessly work on improving your writing skills.
