In this article, Aaron Matthews shares 10 proven strategies to become a better writer. If you’re looking to improve your writing and even earn from it, this article is for you.

Becoming a better writer is not a straightforward task, but anyone can improve their writing skills with determination and practice. Every professional writer was once a beginner who first started writing anything they could to get the hang of it.

Like any other field out there, writing is one of the most sought-after but tricky skills to master. So, if a beginner wants to become a better writer and stay ahead of the curve, he needs to keep his nerve with the writing advice experts. 

That’s where this guide on how to become a better writer: 10 proven steps will come in handy. So, without wasting any time, let’s discuss the ten proven steps of expert writers.

How to Become a Better Writer – 10 Proven Steps to Becoming a Great Writer:

Become an Avid Reader

The first step in the exercises to improve writing skills is getting into the habit of becoming a regular reader. Although reading is not directly related to writing, it plays a vital role in enhancing a person’s writing skills.

Generally, the pros of the writing industry have an immense repertoire of experiences and knowledge. So, when professional authors want to write a book, they read different books related to their main topic. 

This way, they can creatively mash up the material from various books they’ve read to create something new.

The above scenario shows that if a person reads books of only one genre or from one author, it will not help his writing skills. 

Thus, reading books from different authors based on different genres proves more effective for polishing writing skills.

*** Pro Tip: If a writer likes a phrase or quote while reading various types of material, he can pause and think about how he can write that particular phrase or section. Doing this will engage him in a mental remixing exercise, which is a more intense exercise to improve writing skills than (just) reading and passing on ***

Develop an Everyday Writing Routine

Reading diverse material is similar to building an armory of different weapons because writers can use that material for various challenges and situations. 

But using the material well is another tricky part because it requires the skill of writing. That is why the second step in the “how to become a good writer for beginners” guide revolves around building the craft of writing.

Writing is like riding a bicycle because it’s all about building momentum. So, once a rider has created an initial momentum, he can keep moving with little effort. The same scenario goes for writing.

Writing is all about building the initial momentum. Therefore, writers need to develop a daily writing habit to develop the initial momentum for writing. 

This daily writing habit is a process that makes it easier for writers to get into the writing process. It might be different for every writer. 

For example, the daily writing procedure can involve a to-do list before writing, writing in a specific place, listening to a particular playlist, or using noise-canceling headphones.

Thus, once a writer has developed the initial writing momentum, he can write more than his daily goal, courtesy of the flowing creative juices.

Write About Subject of Interests

Developing a writing habit is essential. But most writers get carried away while building a daily writing ritual. So, they forget about their interest and pick the wrong niche for writing. 

As a result, they get disappointed and lose their passion for writing. Thus, selecting a writing niche according to a writer’s interest is necessary to avoid such issues. Otherwise, writing will become complete torture for a writer.

Give Priority to Audience

The fourth step in this “how to become a better writer: 10 proven steps” guide relates to the third phase, as it also revolves around the writing niche.

It is true that if a writer doesn’t feel strongly about his chosen subject, it will be hard for him to write content for that subject. But at the same time, it is necessary to prioritize the audience while creating content. 

For example, suppose a blog writer wants to be a successful blogger. In that case, he should choose his blogging niche according to his interests and trending topics because the success of a blog depends on the interests of readers and writers. 

Join a Writing Class

Every field has a particular set of ethics that a candidate should follow to become a professional in that field. The same goes for writing.

Each writing industry has its writing style, but they all follow the same list of dos and don’ts. For example, most writing experts recommend avoiding filler phrases and buzzwords while writing content. Therefore, a beginner writer can learn such dos and don’ts by joining a writing class.

A writing class doesn’t necessarily mean a physical class because various handy online learning platforms (Coursera and Udemy) are available. So, beginners can join online writing classes to become better at writing.  

Do Not Focus on Editing While Writing

As mentioned earlier, writing is about keeping the momentum going. So, it is essential to maintain the flow of a writing session and document the creative things coming out of a writer’s brain. However, one of the major killers of the writing momentum is editing while writing.

Getting the perfect piece of writing is every writer’s priority. But the first draft can never be perfect, as perfection takes time. So, when a writer edits his content while writing, he gets into a different state of momentum, which is less creative. 

Thus, constantly editing while writing will arrest the required writing momentum, which will never help a writer achieve good momentum.

That is why you should use an online text editor to write out your draft. That way, you will be able to focus on writing rather than editing and looking at suggestions.

Read Out Loud:

Once a writer has completed the first draft, the next step in the “how to become a good writer in English or any other language” guide is honing the first draft. An excellent way to start the editing process is by reading the written content aloud. 

Reading the content out loud can feel awkward to some writers. But it is better to feel awkward in front of a few people) than feeling uncomfortable in front of thousands of readers. Hence, it is ideal to find the areas that need improvement in the first draft.

This way, a writer can quickly identify the spelling and grammatical errors or the areas that need simplification.

Prefer Simplicity Over Fancy Vocabulary

When writers try to sound smart, they use fancy vocabulary and jargon. But using high-end language and slang makes the content more complex because it looks gibberish to a naïve reader. So, it is essential to simplify the complex sections of the content.

Simplifying the content doesn’t mean stripping the sentences to fewer words because words make things more exciting and vivid by adding colors and descriptions to the writing. 

So, a writer should think from the reader’s perspective while writing the content because a successful piece of writing indicates the likeness of the readers.

Be Open to Criticism

Criticism should be constructive because constructive criticism helps a person’s growth in his particular field. 

Therefore, the ninth and second last step of this “how to become a better writer: 10 proven steps” guide is using constructive criticism to become a better writer.

Even a final draft cannot produce a perfect piece of content because there will still be room for some improvement. So, a writer should ask his readers to give their honest opinions about his writing. 

This way, if a writer learns from the mistakes mentioned by his readers, he will build a happy writing community, which will be a key to his success in the writing journey.

Use Writing Templates

If a writer writes a similar type of content daily, he can build a template for his writing, which is the last tip in this guide.

Writing templates can help a writer a lot because if a writer uses templates, he will not have to start everything from scratch. This way, he can use the saved time to improve his writing in any other way because smart work is more effective than hard work.

Final Verdict – the Conclusion

Being a good writer requires lots of practice, patience, and essential advice. The steps mentioned above will become a beginner’s guide to do so.

Also, a writer must enjoy writing and stick to it. A writer should not just write because he wants to be a good writer. Instead, he should enjoy the writing process. Otherwise, he will never be good at writing.

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