If you’re new at writing, it can be intimidating. The truth is that many people give up their dream of becoming a writer because it’s difficult at first. 

 

Developing your writing muscles takes effort and time, just like learning any other skill. 

 

And that’s something we don’t have enough of: Time. 

 

The problem that we have today is that we want things to come to us quickly.

 

One day shipping, instant money remittance, buy things online in a few clicks. 

 

We are slowly primed to get our hands on things almost instantly. 

 

I’m not against it because it just shows how convenient the world has become.  

 

However, it makes us develop a belief that we should get anything in an instant. And if we don’t get it, we get disappointed and even depressed. 

 

Remember, good things take time to form, and there are just things we can get in the best condition if we give it time to mold. 

 

So today, I’ll share with you one of the best exercises to improve writing skills, not instantly but much faster. 

 

Coupled this exercise with actually writing, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll improve in a month or less.

 

Let’s get started. 

 

What I’m talking about is using an application called Notepad++ to flex your writing muscles. 

 

It’s an everyday exercise for your brain to get familiar with what good writing is.

 

What’s Notepad++?

 

It’s similar to Notepad except that it’s a text and source code editor and has more functions. 

 

You’ll see many programmers use this application to write their code. But let’s not talk about programming. 

 

Because today, we’ll use it as a tool to hone your writing skills. 

 

You can download Notepad++ at this link.

 

How to use it?

 

I’ve found hundreds of resources to improve writing skills online, but this one is unique. I love doing this exercise because I hit two birds with one stone. I can read while, at the same time, practice my writing skills. 

 

Now, let’s get down to the business of how to use it, shall we?

 

The main concept behind this practice is similar to handwriting. 

 

If you’re familiar with copywriting or what others call persuasive writing (it’s a style of writing that urges readers to buy a product or service or take a favorable action.), chances are, you might have heard many legendary copywriters advised copy cubs to hand-copy the best sales letters.

 

Gary Halbert, American Writers & Artists Institute (AWAI), and many other legendary copywriters suggested it. 

 

Many of the local mentors I’ve talked to suggested doing it. This only proves that it’s effective. 

 

However, we won’t handwrite, but use Notepad++ to copy the sales letters or any of your favorite online articles.

 

What do you need before getting started?

 

Again, the concept is the same as handwriting. The only difference is the tool that you’re going to use. 

 

For this to be effective, I suggest you do this exercise in a quiet environment so that you can focus. 

 

The key here is to focus because you won’t just write. You’ll also dissect each part of the article or sales letter you’re copying. 

How to Use Notepad++ to Improve Writing Skills

Let’s get to the part where the rubber meets the road. Here’s how to do it. 

1. Download the application. 

2. Choose a sales letter or an online article. If you admire a writer or author, use one of her/his write-ups for this training. 

Again, this is an exercise for your brain to get familiar with what good writing looks like. 

 

3. If you’re not sure where to get an article for this exercise, you can choose one from The Guardian UK, The School of Life, or any publication with high-quality published posts. 

4. Now that you have all the tools, let’s get to the most exciting part, which is the writing.

How to do it?

 

1. Read one sentence out loud from the article and memorize it. 

 

If the sentence is too long, cut it into two lines, but make sure you memorize them. 

 

2. Keep the lines etched on your mind. Hide the article, minimize the browser, or cover the article you’re copying, whichever works fine for you. 

 

Then, write the same lines in Notepad++. Make sure you typed the right words, verbs, and punctuations.

 

3. Once done, check against the article if the lines you’ve written are 100% accurate. If it is, move on to the next line. 

 

If not, re-read the sentence, memorize it, and write it again in Notepad++. 

 

4. Repeat the process until you’ve finished writing the entire article on Notepad++. No cheating here, okay? 

 

If you happen to type one word in mistake, erase the entire sentence, and go back to reading, memorizing, and writing the sentence until it’s 100% duplicate of the original article. 

 

Let me show you what it looks like…

 

Here’s a favorite article I’ve read countless times from Thought Catalog. It’s entitled “Your Dreams Have Expiration Dates.”

 

I highlighted the first sentence and wrote it on Notepad++ like this. 

Just do this repeatedly until you finish the entire article. 

 

And best of all, do this for 20 minutes to 1 hour every day. You’ll, without any doubt, improve your writing provided you give full attention to the task. 

 

So that’s it. It’s so simple! But it’s super effective for me. I hope it’s the same with you.

 

I hate to complicate things, so I’ll share only simple strategies.

 

What You’ll Learn From This Exercise

 

1. Correct grammar and punctuation

 

As you go through each sentence, you’ll learn how to improve your writing skills and grammar. 

You’ll notice how the forms of both subjects and verbs are constructed and what punctuation is used appropriately. 

By dissecting each sentence as you go through this exercise, you’ll learn what verb tense should be used and how to construct sentences with grammar that aligns with the rest of the paragraph. 

So don’t just memorize each sentence, but also take a few seconds to observe the relation between the subject and the verb. If you do this right, you’ll improve your grammar tremendously.

2. Learn the right structure.

 

If you’re having difficulty maintaining the flow of the ideas in your entire article or blog, this is excellent writing training to improve it. 

When I was a beginner, my major problem was the flow of my writing. I’d lose the flow around the middle part, and the last part was usually a mess.

This is why you should select a high-quality article from reputable publications for this practice. You see, publications like The Guardian have strict publishing guidelines and only publish high-quality content. 

This exercise is similar to reverse-engineering the composition of one product so that you can duplicate it. It’s the same idea. If you use one article from a reputable publication, you get ideas on what’s considered published-worthy by their editors. 

If you do the exercise every day, you’ll, later on, be able to recognize what’s good writing and write like it. You can duplicate the structure and flow of good writers and link ideas creatively and seamlessly.

3. Learn about style.

 

There are four main types of writing: descriptive, expository, narrative, and persuasive. 

If you want to learn persuasive writing, use sales letters for this exercise. Otherwise, choose the article with the appropriate type of writing you want to master. 

I want to learn persuasive writing, so I use sales letters by famous copywriters, such as Gary Halbert. 

There are millions of sources of high-quality articles from the internet that you can use for this practice. So just choose one to get started. 

If you’re new to this exercise, I suggest sticking to using articles by one author first. That way, you get ideas in one consistent style. You can move on to other articles later on.

4. Tighten your writing.

 

Published articles, especially by famous publications, are solid and clean. 

By doing this, you’ll learn how to improve your writing skills and vocabulary. 

You’ll also get editing ideas and know what words to omit and include to make a line more punchy or relatable. 

Additionally, you’ll learn how to clean out the mess in your article, which means deleting unnecessary prose, prepositions, or extra words that don’t serve any purpose to the entire article’s idea.

 

Conclusion

Hopefully, you’ve learned valuable tips from this article. Using an application like Notepad++ is a simple writing exercise you can do every day that can have a tremendous impact on honing your writing skills. 

Just like exercise, you need to flex your writing muscles every day, so it stays in the right shape.

If you like this article, I’d be grateful if you can please share it with your friends on your social media, so they’ll also learn how to improve their writing skills using this quick and simple writing exercise.