5 Tips to Improve Your Writing
I don't believe good writing "just happens," even with good writers. Good writers have a working understanding of the writing process, and humbly and relentlessly give themselves to that process. Good writers understand that writing "is always accomplished one word at a time" (Stephen King, On Writing).
The writing process may come slightly easier for some than others, but the process of writing well does not change. I watch students develop from being weaker writers to become stronger writers. I see friends who lack clarity in their written communication develop greater coherence and readability. I see aspiring writers grow in their appreciation and love for writing by giving more attention to the process.
Good writers understand the process and sit down to do the work.
In order to improve your writing, you must be intentional - put in the effort, remove distractions in order to focus, and ... keep writing.
Ongoing exposure and practice over time will yield vast improvements in your writing. Improvements may go undetected for a time, but a brief moment of comparison and reflection will reveal your progress.
Learn from A Biblical Author.
Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books of the Bible. The author - the Teacher or Preacher - masterfully balances and interweaves poetic and wisdom literature. There is a memorable expression of humility near the end of the book that applies to the writing process. In Ecclesiastes 12:10 we read, "The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately."
The art of writing carries great weight. I’m drawn to the words “sought” and “write” and the glorious burden that takes residence in the writer’s heart. Some observations help cultivate a heart for powerful writing:
With diligence and persistence, the writer procures the choicest words of beauty.
With a sense of responsibility, the writer seeks to write with clarity, precision, accuracy, power, strength, and truth.
With hopeful expectations, the writer desires to change lives with what is written.
“If you want to change the world,
pick up your pen and write.”
Don’t Seek Perfection, but Perfect Effort.
Throughout my years of training in Tae Kwon Do, I remember my grandmaster embedding a sober reminder into the minds of his students, "I don't expect perfection. I expect perfect effort." Years later, as my daughter starts her martial arts training - at the same school with the same grandmaster - she hears the same admonishment with each session: Not perfection, but perfect effort. The same applies when you are trying to improve your writing. Perfect effort.
I think we are duped by mantras such as "practice makes perfect." I wonder if perfection should be on our radar. I wonder if the search for perfection is what kills wonder, love, and enjoyment.
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Anne Lamott reminds, “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” The pursuit and pressure of perfectionism cause great discouragement and have been the reasons why I have put off the task of writing in the past.
Now that we have taken a brief look at the heart and perspective of the writer, let’s move on to other practical tips to improve your writing.
Write Often.
You come across this tip on almost every forum giving advice on how to improve your writing, and I'll repeat it here without fear of sounding like a broken record. One of the key tips to improve your writing is to write often.
You must write often.
Whether it is recording a short inspirational quote, a brief reflection in your journal, a summary of what you are learning, a blog post, a paragraph or chapter of your new book, or a class assignment ... write often, write a lot.
Don't worry about the final product just yet, enjoy the process, and you will begin to see improvement.
When you sit down to write, don't allow the blank page with the incessant blinking cursor discourage you, but "come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page" (Stephen King, On Writing).
Have an attitude of determination and a heart for adventure. I consider the blank page as a moment to throw "pasta on the walls". At this point, simply get your ideas out, and you will see what "sticks" as you work through the process. Don't let the pressure of being creative discourage you. (I know it’s hard to do this in a day and age when the writing and content-creator world is seemingly over-saturated with creative people). The pressure of being creative and being recognized for your creativity kills your creativity.
There are times when you are inspired to write, like my son who feels a sudden surge of inspiration to build with legos.
Don't let those moments pass.
Build.
Write.
For the most part, my son's most creative builds have come from exploring his lego bin and fiddling around. Much of writing inspiration is the same. To improve your writing, start getting things down, get into a flow, and the flow state will yield its fruit.
There's no way around it.
Write something every day.
Don't sit idly by waiting for inspiration or motivation (arguably a myth by the way), and simply put in the work.
Read Often.
As you start setting aside time in your schedule to improve your writing by writing often, nurture your appetite for writing by reading often. Again, another tip you have heard over and over, but it's true. Wanting to write well without reading is like wanting to ride a tandem bike without another set of pedals.
“Any skill has some kind of vital correlating skill.”
Read often, and read well.
I recommend investing in books that develop your skill of reading such as the following:
An Experiment in Criticism (C.S. Lewis)
How To Read (Mortimer Adler), or
A Circe Guide to Reading (Andrea Lipinski and Andrew Kern).
Expand your reading by exposing yourself to a variety of writing styles, reading works by various authors, spending an extended period of time with a particular author, exploring different genres, or tackling readings of different lengths. Don't read in isolation only, read with a friend or a group as well.
A common objection to this tip to improve your writing is, "I don't like to read." I believe this may only be true for a few; for the majority, it is because they have not yet come across content they enjoy reading. This is where people come to a screeching halt and stop the process. You will never come across something you will enjoy if you don’t open yourself up to the possibility of finding it. Don’t simply wait for enjoyment to come before taking an interest; oftentimes, enjoyment and benefit come as a product of learning how to take interest.
Practice with Daily Written Communication.
What better way to improve your writing - a written form of communication - than to pay attention to what you use every day: Text messaging, social media, email, etc. These forms of daily written communication don't have to negatively affect your ability to write and communicate, but they can serve as great opportunities to practice for improvement.
This may be my Gen-X self speaking, "Practice grammar, syntax, punctuation, vocabulary, and figurative language in your text messages."
I know ...
it sounds unconventional ...
it sounds crazy ...
So crazy it just might work.
The point is to practice intentionality with your written communication.
What about social media? Another wonderful challenge to growing writers is to be clear and precise on platforms that provide limited character counts. Learning how to be clear and expressive with fewer words is a great practice that will greatly improve your writing.
What about email? We send email after email each day. But how much thought do you invest when drafting an email - its structure, form, clarity.
Writing letters to friends and loved ones is a practice many still hold dear. Letter-writing with the intent of a clear expression of the heart is a wonderful opportunity to improve your writing. I guarantee the hearts of loved ones will be warmed by your use of metaphor and parallel structures as you communicate how dear they are to you.
Bonus: Write How You Speak, and Speak How You Write
You often hear, "Don't write the way you speak." With different genres and shifts in cultural practices, you also hear, "Write the way you speak."
Yes, this may create confusion in the writer, but discernment can be the writer’s freedom.
Over the years, I come to realize that there is a place for different forms and practices of writing.
William Zinsser in On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Non-Fiction states, "There are all kinds of writing and all kinds of methods, and any method that helps you to say what you want to say is the right method for you."
There’s a time and place for you to write as you speak, but your manner of speaking may be limiting your writing.
A practice that greatly benefits my own writing and verbal communication is learning to speak how I write. In this case, I practice writing in a manner that reflects how I want to speak. I imagine speaking with proper grammar, with fluid use of literary devices, with poetic structure. My challenge to you is to write in a manner that reflects how you want to speak.
Get into the practice of critical and formal writing. This will trigger your brain to recognize and fluently use correct grammar, new vocabulary, word pictures, varied expressions, etc. throughout your daily interactions.
With these skills under your belt, you can both write how you speak and speak how you write. At the end of the day, your writing is a transaction between yourself and another, and what better compliment to receive than "It was not only clear and easily understood, but I can also hear and see you saying it."
You’re heading in the right direction when your reader is interacting with you, not just your words.
Be Patient. You Will See Results Over Time.
Like any craft, time invested will produce results over time. The same principle applies when it comes to improving your writing.
As I think about the idea of perfection further, I think about how fast the world is changing.
Can we actually become "perfect" or a "pro" at something, or should we humbly embrace the heart and attitude of an amateur (Austin Kleon, Show Your Work)?
I lean more towards the sentiment of "practice makes permanent." With time, practicing and broadening our skills builds into us a muscle memory, a proficiency, a new limit to push past, a new plateau on which to rest before the next climb, a new launching point for growth. I've seen this to be true whether it is learning martial arts, learning cardistry, learning to play the guitar, learning to preach and teach ... learning.
You will greatly improve your writing by learning from other authors, putting forth the effort, writing often, reading often, practicing daily, and developing your writing and speaking together.
For now, it's a great accomplishment to simply narrow your focus to writing with clarity and strength and without losing your humanity and warmth along the way (William Zinsser, On Writing Well).
Let me know in the comments what you're currently doing to improve your writing. Like, share, and subscribe to receive updates on new content.
Linus Nguyen is the founder of Of The Way Ministries and serves as lead pastor of Emmanuel Bible Fellowship (Houston, Texas). He has taught in, developed curriculum for, and written on the subjects of Biblical Studies, Theology, Discipleship, Spiritual Formation, Philosophy of Religion, Missions, Humanities, Rhetoric, and Communications at Secondary, Undergraduate, and Postgraduate levels. // Follow him on Podcast, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook.