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6+ Easy Practical Steps to Becoming a Better Writer in 30 Days or Less

becoming a better writer, writing tips

Becoming a Better Writer in 30 Days or Less

Update Bonus: 21 Shocking Writing Prompts to start writing your next book or short story optimized Quick Pinterest Pin at the bottom of the Page.

Follow these strategies below and you will most assuredly be a better writer than when you started.

Whether you want to become a technical writer, a ghostwriter, a TV writer, a travel writer, or just learn how to write your essays better, these tips should prove helpful.

Becoming a better writer isn’t difficult, but it absolutely takes a solid discipline.

As with most things the more hardcore you go with these strategies, the more you’ll get out of it.

6+ Easy Practical Steps to Becoming a Better Writer in 30 Days or Less:

  • Start a Blog
  • Read about writing every day
  • Write every day
  • Research Storytelling
  • Read about different types of writing
  • Read, read, read
  • Be a Critical Consumer

becoming a better writer, writing tips

1. Become a better writer by starting a blog

If you start a blog you are more likely to start writing than if you don’t.

There are plenty of good sites to start blogging today for free, wordpress.org being one of them and they allow you to use free plugins as well compared to wordpress.com.

Disclaimer: You can always start a “free” blog, but the terms of use for free sites is that they can shut it down for any reason (at ANY TIME). So it’s possible to randomly lose all your hard work on a free blog. Be careful.

So just a fair warning, you can use free blogging, but I haven’t had much success with it personally. I started many free blogs and none of them stuck. This is the only one I’ve paid for and I’m glad I did. And it is the only one that I continue working with.

If you want to start a legitimate blog or if you think you might try to monetize it one day you are eventually going to need a hosting site.

I personally use Bluehost. They made getting my blog started EXTREMELY easy and their ‘one-click’ WordPress.org setup was ridiculously smooth.

Bluehost is one of the top web hosting companies in 2020. You can start your own blog with them for as low as $3.95 a month (on the page you’ll see that they say it is normally $7.99, but I’ve never seen them try to get anyone to start for that.) The $3.95 sale price only comes with their 36-month plan. I use them and that’s what I did and I’m happy about it. ( I did the 36-month plan and so far we are still happy with it 🙂 )

Sign up them and you can also get your domain free if you purchase a 12 month or longer hosting plan (that’s worth $15). As I said, we did the 36-month plan because it was the best deal but you can choose any plan. If you’re not planning on monetizing your blog it might be a good idea to start with a free blog.

I can tell you from personal experience that a free blog won’t motivate you to write as much as paying for a blog, but it’s up to you to decide what works best for your unique situation. If you really love blogging you never know when you might decide to monetize and at that moment you’ll be happy you decided to host with Bluehost and owning your domain.

> For more detailed information check out my post on becoming a blogger that makes money blogging from anywhere. <

Having your own site looks more professional to affiliate programs and readers. You will be able to have a better following, no one can shut you down for no reason (like on a free blog) and at any moment you will be able to monetize through ads and affiliate programs.

Some of my blogging mentors had their blogs going for years before they decided to monetize. You just never know.

At the same time, you can always start a free blog to test things out and buy a domain name and hosting later, but there is no guarantee the price will still be as good and no guarantee that the domain name you love will still be available.

Do what’s best for you and your specific situation 🙂

For me personally, I started with Bluehost and WordPress.org right from the start because I enjoy work from home and being my own boss. As far as online jobs and work, blogging is one way to pay yourself and work when you want.

If you want to reasons why it’s a good idea to start a blog, you can check out this post here: Why Start a Blog

If you are interested in more details on how to make a great blog from scratch you can see this post: H ow to Become a Blogger in 2019

2. Read about writing every day

Good writers all have certain traits in common. One of them is that they read A LOT.

Most of them read every day. Now I won’t say that I’m a good writer that’s up to others to decide, but I do read mostly every day.

You might be thinking “ but you probably grew up reading as a kid and loved it.” Not true! I personally couldn’t stand reading and writing growing up. Hated reading with a passion actually.

It actually wasn’t until I got into college that I really started to read and then probably a couple of years into it that I started to enjoy it .

So you don’t have to be some kind of savant to get started in writing. You just have to have drive and discipline.

But this type of reading isn’t just reading at first. It is specifically looking to read about writing (I know, it sounds boring and it can be tedious but the foundational knowledge will help in the long run). During your becoming a better writer in just 30 days, you will want to be keen to read and learn about writing, especially if you want to do writing online or freelance writing.

Try to read things that help you get to where you want to go. If you want to become a blogger read about blogging tips and tricks. < (I googled it for you)

If you want to become a ghostwriter, read about how to become a ghostwriter. (Pssst! What’s a ghostwriter? A ghostwriter is a writer that gets paid to write something for someone but doesn’t own the project. For example, a person could hire you to write a novel for them, but they get to publish it as the author. They paid for it and own all the rights to it and you are just the ghostwriter.)

It’s just one way to get paid to write.

If you want to be a technical writer, read about the best practices of technical writers. As long as you are willing to read the right things you can learn to write anything 🙂 there really is nothing holding you back.

Look up blogs, articles, look at the library for books on writing. Depending on what type of writing you want to pursue will be very important to the writing that you read about.

As you get a good idea of a foundation for the type of writing you want to do, you can start to branch out studying other types of writing. You will see how understanding the why’s and what’s and styles behind them all can help you in your pursuit of becoming a better writer.

Look on Amazon for great reads on writing. I personally recommend these ones for when you need to think outside the traditional box or when you get bored of reading about writing:

On Writing by Stephen King

The View From the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds

These are non-traditional and will help open up your mind to more strategic possibilities for the potential of writing. Full disclosure: I didn’t read any of these yet. I took Neil Gaiman’s Masterclass , which was amazing and I highly recommend it.

In fact, I recommend Masterclass to anyone who loves learning and thinks it’s neat to learn from celebrities (such as Dan Brown , James Patterson, Samuel Jackson, Christina Agulera, and many more.

@ $15 a month, it is extremely worth it. I’ve been using it for a year and learn so much from professionals that I never would have. And the lessons always feel personal. Sometimes the teachers who are celebs even write back to your comments. Can you imagine Samuel L. Jackson responding to your comment?) about their crafts.

Check out Masterclass Here.

On Writing was recommended to me 2nd hand by a writing mentor of mine. He said that it was good if you need to get outside the traditional learning about writing books and it was interesting if you’re a fan of Stephen King novels too.

I love TED talks, I watch some when I can, so when I saw this book about public speaking from TED talks I knew it would be a winner with powerful knowledge.

If you’re wondering why I would suggest a public speaking book for learning how to be a better writer, it is simple.

When writing has been your profession for years you learn what crafts complement great writing. For instance, IF you want to be a great writer, your secret weapon is research. If you aren’t a personal professional researcher, it will be nigh impossible for you to become a great writer. Public Speaking skills go beyond just speaking and writing.

Those skills bleed into SO many professional avenues that it will not only make you a better writer. It’ll make you a better person in almost everything you do (unless you live in a hole and never interact with other humans in any way, shape, or form.)

Read some of the reviews on each one to see if they look like something you would enjoy. (And DON’T just read the 5-star reviews, read the bad reviews too. I almost always read the bad reviews, most of the time, I read the 1-star reviews first. This actually saves me time when shopping for a new product, especially tech products.)

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3. Write Every Day

Now this one is the kicker. If you do nothing else from this post, do this one thing and you’ll surely become a better writer. Write every day.

Now you can:

Write at a certain time every day

Write a certain amount of words every day

Write a certain amount of time every day

You can mix and match these however suits you best. You try them all out and see if one is easier and sticks better for you.

Me personally, I like writing a certain amount of time and writing at a certain time of the day. This keeps me going and I don’t feel bad if I don’t come up with a certain amount of words.

I tried writing a certain amount of words every day and I couldn’t keep up with it and instead of doing it I’d skip it because I knew it would take “too long.”

You see, you are more likely to develop a habit if you start small and take smaller bites that you can handle.

If you already write every day that’s great and you can choose to write more.

If you don’t write then start small.

Start with 1-10 minutes a day. If you find that easy, do more. If you find that hard, write less. At first, start with what seems easy to you and build on that.

The last thing you want to do is start with a habit that’s too hard to do every day. If you bite off too much you might not swallow it. If you find yourself dreading it, that’s a bad sign. If you find that you easily go a week without doing it, that’s a sign you tried to do more than you should start with.

If you want to do a certain amount of words every day I recommend starting with 100 a day. If that’s easy write more. If that’s too hard write less.

I tried 500 words a day and I couldn’t keep up with it. It just became tedious and therefore unenjoyable. I’m a professional writer, so that’s why I recommend starting with less. I mostly work in email writing, so if I’m on a job I might write more or less on those days, but if I’m not writing for a client, 500 just didn’t seem appetizing.

Blogging has definitely changed that for me, that’s why I recommend Starting a Blog.

I now try to write a certain amount of time every day and usually I find that if I get started, I end up writing longer than the first little amount that I force myself to do anyway. Thus, this strategy works very well for me. I’d start with the easy goal of 1 minute. 60 seconds, if you can’t do something for 60 seconds a day, maybe you don’t really want to do it at all.

You can also benefit from writing at a certain time every day. You will know what time works best for you.

It could be first thing in the morning. Some people find that this is their most creative and profitable time.

Me personally, I don’t do so well in the morning, I prefer to write at other times. Afternoon and evening, not late evening though. If I feel my eyes start to droop, I just know that I’m not gonna get much coherent information on the page. (It can be comical though. I’ll go back and read what I was writing the night before and it can be some of the worst writing! I’ll save myself time and energy if I just get some sleep or caffeine instead of trying to push through.)

You might like to write during your lunch at work, or first thing when you get home after eating something.

It’s always a good time to be able to put something on T.V. and write while relaxing.

So you can take time and figure out when is best for you to write.

If you write even just 10 minutes a day for 30 days you will be a better writer at the end of that short 30 days, and you might find that you have developed a habit you look forward to and fully enjoy 🙂 I know I do.

Update : Since Blogging and traveling more while blogging I find that a certain amount of time a day and a certain time of the day becomes tedious and makes blogging less enjoyable for me personally. Again this may work for you, so don’t hesitate to experiment.

Now, I enjoy writing at some point during the day. I find that it doesn’t have to be strict or a certain number of anything. I sit down to write and I find that I can easily be there for hours or an interruption might come up like a family member or friend wanting to hang and I am able to get up and go without any sort of remorse. I find this to be key to my success as a writer and blogger.

4. Research Storytelling

Storytelling will benefit you no matter what writing niche you go into , except maybe academic writing. Even then I’m sure it could be a little useful.

If you look around, you’ll start to see how stories are everywhere and people love stories. We eat them up. We can’t get enough of stories.

Stories are in the movies. Stories are on the news. On blogs, web pages, profiles, social media, history, we find stories fascinating and that is why they work so well and why we should find ways to incorporate the skill of storytelling into our writing, no matter what niche we are in.

Let me give you an example:

I once knew a guy.

He had a problem.

He was about 30 years old living in America, but he didn’t know how to read or write…

Did you notice something there?

I introduced a character and a problem he had , did you notice how you instantly went into “consuming story mode.” Did all your attention get drawn into the short story that started?

If not, that’s okay. It wasn’t super dynamic, but if you did, take time to think about why that happened. Stories are a powerful tool you need to add to your writing arsenal. Study stories and storytelling to engage your audience and grab their attention when you choose.

Stories are great at helping illustrate a point. Great as an ice breaker and a great way to regain your audience’s attention if you think you are losing them.

And stories work across all mediums. Art, writing, presentation, public speaking, with a group of friends or colleagues. Storytelling is a life skill that anyone would benefit from developing, but especially writers.

5. Read about different types of writing

After you get a good handle for your specific niche of writing, you will really benefit from studying other styles of writing and using different tips and tricks to make your style even better by borrowing from the other types.

Different Types of Writing include but not limited to:

  • Copywriting
  • Non-fiction
  • Email Writing (cold emails, drip campaigns)
  • Article Writing
  • Academic Writing
  • Web Page Writing (About us, Home pages, etc)
  • Landing Pages
  • Sales Pages
  • Video Scripts
  • Sales Funnels

There are probably more. And there used to be a time not long ago where most of these genres didn’t have precedence, but these days knowing how to do any one of these well can mean good freelancing money for you or better your own business. Either way $$$.

And don’t get me wrong, writing isn’t all about money, but it sure is nice to get paid to do something you enjoy doing either way.

Even looking at this list might help you think more about what you want to do or discover for yourself. You may have not been aware that some of these opportunities existed before now, but now you know and can do something about it.

6. Read, Read, Read

It should make sense at this point. One easy way to get better at writing every day is to read every day.

And don’t just read things about writing.

Read blogs, read history, read academic writing, read fiction and non-fiction.

Having a wide array of reading will make you well rounded and increase your understanding and vocabulary.

Writing a lot is necessary but if you don’t expose yourself to all sorts of different voices and writing styles you might find that you don’t have much to write about.

I recommend have light reading along with tough to read stuff simultaneously.

By having light reading you’ll be able to enjoy reading and move along. But having tough to read material will stretch your will power and ability as a reader and writer.

Exposing yourself to writing that is better than your own will help you improve . You will also more readily observe bad writing and notice when you yourself are writing poorly.

Humans have been writing for some time now and many tricks of the trade are out there for you to see, experience, enjoy, and make a part of your own writing repertoire. So don’t skip the reading.

Bonus: Be a Critical Consumer

Being a critical consumer doesn’t mean you make a bunch of critical comments on the stuff you read and watch like your the next reality TV show judge.

Being a critical consumer is the opposite of being a mindless consumer.

We all watch and read a lot of entertainment.

When you are reading or watching your favorite stories or documentaries take mental notes.

Think about how they use dialogue. What is the main theme of the story?

How did they seamlessly carry you through each step of the story while you consumed it?

Did something not sit right with you about the character development?

Were all the important plot questions answered satisfactorily?

Think critically while you enjoy your content.

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I hope this helps! Now go write something!

What do you do to get better at writing?

What did I not mention here?

Do you have a favorite book or reading you recommend to help others improve their skills?

How are you becoming a better writer?

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Updated Bonus: 21 Shocking Writing Prompts to get you started writing your next book or short story.

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2 thoughts on “ 6+ Easy Practical Steps to Becoming a Better Writer in 30 Days or Less ”

I’d love to learn from Masterclass someday. By the way, thanks for the tips!

I have been using Masterclass for almost 2 years and I really enjoy it. I highly recommend it when you get a chance. It is really fun especially if you have several passions and enjoy learning for fun. No problem and Thank you! 🙂

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Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Posted on Feb 11, 2021

How to Become a Better Writer: 20 Hacks and Tips

Practically speaking, writing is just about putting one word after another. But as anyone who’s struggled with the question of how to become a better writer will tell you, there are sometimes entire worlds of frustration compressed in the seconds between setting each word down. If that sounds familiar, or you’re simply trying to improve your craft without the existential writerly despair, we’ve got 20 essential tips to share with you.

In this post, we’ll be sharing writing advice for everyone, but you can head to our more specific guides on starting from scratch, writing novels, nonfiction, and children’s books if that’s what you’re after:

  • How to Start Creative Writing: 7 Ways to Fast-Track Your Writing
  • How to Write a Novel: Writing an Amazing Book in 15 Steps
  • How to Write a Nonfiction Book in 6 Steps  
  • How to Write a Children's Book in 7 Surprisingly Simple Steps  

1. Start by spending more time writing

How to become a better writer | Malcolm Gladwell quote about practice making you better

  • You’ll get to know your own writing habits better, e.g. the time of day when you’re most productive, or the location where you’re most inspired to write;
  • You’ll develop writerly discipline (an essential skill if you ever hope to write a book or another long form project); 💪
  • You'll work out what you really like to write, whether that's literary fiction or epic fantasy;
  • You’ll stick around long enough for new ideas to occur to you (especially helpful if you’re a pantser, not a plotter ).

2. Practice reading books by other authors

How to become a better writer | Stephen King quote about how important it is for writers to read widely

On the level of vocabulary, sentence structure, and rhythm, the “ease and intimacy” King talks about occurs subliminally, beneath the surface of your consciousness, quietly sharpening your perceptive skills. On the level of plot or structure, you actively discover the creative strategies of other writers. Now aware of what others are doing with their words, you become a native to that “country of the writer”. 

Ultimately, the more wonderful things you feed your brain, the richer the pool of knowledge your creativity will be able to draw from.

📚 If you need recommendations, we’ve compiled reading lists for every taste here:

  • 25 Creative Writing Examples to Inspire You Today
  • The 115 Best Books of All Time
  • The 60 Best Nonfiction Books of the 21st Century
  • The 125 Best Children’s Books of All Time
  • The 30 Best Memoirs of the Last Century
  • The Best Short Stories and Collections Everyone Should Read

3. Pick up writing skills from other texts

Okay, enough with the subconscious magical learning — you also need to put in serious, active effort. That means taking apart passages that impress or move you and dissecting another writer’s methodology. 

This will be most helpful if you focus on texts in your genre or form: read respected newspapers or magazines if you’re hoping to submit to such publications, poetic collections if you long to publish poetry , academic papers by reputable academics if you’re a budding scholar. 

How to Become a Better Writer | Alexander Chee extract, annotated to show how you can learn by analyzing other writing

Read each sentence carefully, asking yourself how you would have gone about writing it. Notice the differences between each version: look closely at how the other writer avoids repetition and regulates sentence length, and become aware of all the words that could’ve gone into the sentence, but were trimmed out. If you remember the lessons you draw from this exercise, you’ll be on your way to becoming a better writer. 

If you struggle to write consistently, sign up for our How to Write a Novel course to finish a novel in just 3 months.  

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4. Study examples of writing theory

Time for some homework: aside from picking up other writers’ tricks by reading their work, you can also study up on basic writing theories . Learning about story structure and the different models that dramatists and fiction writers rely on, like Freytag’s pyramid or the classic three-act structure , is valuable for any aspiring writer. These models are guides to centuries of storytelling tradition: demonstrations of how you might apply a structure onto a story.

How to become a better writer | Freytag's pyramid

When it comes to expressing yourself, brushing up on your literary and rhetorical devices is also helpful. After all, as much as people like to pretend writing is a mystical art, divinely bestowed upon one by magical inspiration, a lot of it comes down to active effort on the writer’s part.

Head to these guides to literary and rhetorical devices if you’re ready for school:

💡 45+ Literary Devices and Terms Every Writer Should Know

💡 30+ Rhetorical Devices Everyone Must Know

FREE RESOURCE

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Literary Devices Cheatsheet

Master these 40+ devices to level up your writing skills.

5. Create your own voice

Some people’s advice for learning how to write is to stick to templates. These can be wonderful if you’re writing something meant to be plain, like a legal document or a freelance proposal . (If this is the case, all you need to do to become a better writer is be accurate, precise, and grammatically correct.) For everything else, by all means inform yourself about things like story structure, but never adhere to templates to the point where your personality is extinguished.

If you’ve got a sense of humor, interests, opinions, or possess literally any other quality unique to human beings (as opposed to bots), you can channel that personality into your writing, and lift mundane subjects up with the buoyancy of your voice.

💡 Need an example? Check out this post on the best reading chairs written by Savannah, one of Reedsy’s writers. You might not have a passion for chairs, but you’ll stay for the engaging tone of her writing voice. 

6. Experiment with your writing style

How to Become a Better Writer | Samwell Tarly from Game of Thrones writing at his desk

Hit a plateau? If you don’t feel like you’re improving, it’s time to switch things up. Try writing something completely different to cleanse your palate with the literary equivalent of pickled ginger in a sushi restaurant. Experimentation seems to be working for George R.R. Martin, who has for decades been writing short stories , novellas and even reference books between instalments of his novel series A Song of Ice and Fire — evidently, switching between different forms has helped this author of epic fantasy stay inspired and motivated. 

We’ve got over 1,000 creative writing prompts you can browse for inspiration, as well as an interactive plot generator if you need someone to establish plot parameters for you. We know writers struggle to set themselves deadlines, so you could even join our weekly writing contest — we’re happy to provide you with some external pressure, and $250 if you manage to win!

7. Outline your book 

K66Km2r4Njw Video Thumb

Openings and endings don’t just matter in fiction. Inherent in all good writing is story: a narrative with a full-fledged arc that must start and end in places that make sense and add value to the entire text.

Writing students commonly struggle with slow or delayed story openings — where the writer takes too long to clear their throat. They can fill two or three paragraphs, several pages, or even an entire chapter before they get to something interesting. 

To sharpen your beginning, try deleting parts of it to get a feel of your work without them. You may find a later passage is more gripping to your reader — you’ll then know you’ve found your true opening.

Endings are similarly crucial. As editor and former publisher Jasmin Kirkbride points out, “Every subplot and all the different strands of your main plot should reach satisfying, clear conclusions. If they are meant to be left ambiguously, ensure your reader knows this, and create something out of that uncertainty.”

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8. Write with a clear vocabulary

As you edit your work , you’ll be thinking of what you intended to say at the time of writing. For that reason, you’ll need to maintain a level of mental alertness that enables you to evaluate whether or not what you ended up writing actually does convey what you wanted to say. This is particularly important if you’re writing nonfiction. 

How to Become a Better Writer | Example of wordy sentence before and after editing

9. Self-edit for errors in your prose

While we’re discussing lazy, unmemorable writing, this is a reminder that fillers are another literary ‘bad habit’ to actively resist. Cluttering up your prose, these short words sneakily crawl into your writing and distract your reader from the essence of your point. 

In her free Reedsy course on self-editing, Lisa Lepki identifies the most common words in the English language as the culprits of literary clutter. Lisa advises writers to avoid “meandering around [their sentences’] meaning”, and offers this sentence as a wordy example:

“Andy went over to the far end of the playground to see if there was a rake that he could use to tidy up all of the leaves that had fallen down in the night.”

Lisa offers this distilled alternative:

“Mountains of leaves had fallen overnight, so Andy checked the playground for a rake. ”

Sign up to take the rest of this free course here:

Free course: How to self-edit like a pro

Rid your manuscript of the most common writing mistakes with this 10-day online course. Get started now.

10. Cut the repetitive sentences

One practical way to become a better writer is by consciously analyzing your writing to identify repetitive patterns. This is hard to do during the drafting process, especially if you write your first draft quickly , but it’s mercifully simple in retrospect. So dig out some past writing samples ( creative nonfiction , poems, short stories — anything will do), grab some coloring pencils or highlighters, and mark every instance of repetitive language.

Study your words on multiple levels:

  • The lexical level, i.e. specific verbs, adverbs or adjectives you might be repeating (are your characters constantly grinning?);
  • The sentence structure level, like if all your examples come in threes;
  • The narrative structure level, like if you unwittingly but consistently lapse into new flashbacks.

The point of this exercise is to identify your personal linguistic reflexes — known in linguistics as your “idiolect”. In terms of language use, it’s your fingerprint, and familiarizing yourself with it can help you identify repetition and edit it out of your writing.

💡 If you want to learn more about idiolects, check out this post by one of Reedsy’s writers.

11. Avoid clichéd language  

Clichés are every writer’s stumbling block, ever an uphill battle — though the battle has its ups and its downs, and what matters most is not the destination, but the friends we made along the way. You get our point, hopefully: clichés are lazy, overly familiar, platitudinous, and often boring. Every time you use a cliché, you’re wasting an opportunity to be original and authentic. 

Primarily, our issue with clichés is no moral qualm about authenticity. It’s the simple fact that they completely drain your writing of its ability to be memorable. Lifeless, it falls to the ground, faceless and forgotten.

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12. Understand the ideas behind your work

You’ve already taken the first step toward seeing the bigger picture by honing your opening and ending. Now it’s time to look at all the extraneous stuff outside your text: in other words, situate your writing within a wider framework of similar work. 

How to Become a Better Writer | Alan Lightman quote, to show the importance of providing context

13. Respect your reader’s attention 

Don’t lose sight of the fact that there’s a person on the other end of the line. Be a compassionate writer by imagining yourself as the reader: is that fourth paragraph detailing the history of a secondary character’s nomadic tribe really necessary? It’s certainly great world-building , but if it puts your reader to sleep, it’s got to go. 

Similarly, do not manipulate your reader. Pointless plot twists or clickbait will erode your readers’ trust, and hollow hot takes will impress no one. Stick to substance, and skip the paratextual circus act.

14. Get feedback from an editor

Nobody writes flawlessly. Most published writing undergoes significant editing both by its author and professional editors. For example, Raymond Carver’s classic short story collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is known to have been extensively shaped by Carver’s editor, Gordon Lish. 

No matter what you’re writing, give your work time to cool before stepping back into it with the fresh eyes of an editor. Assess the clarity of your meaning, expressions, overall structure, your tone, and the mood of the piece, and compare these to the vision you had when you were writing.

Any writing intended for publication should also be professionally edited — and lucky for you, you can hire some of the most experienced fiction or nonfiction editors in the publishing world, right here on Reedsy.

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Learn how Reedsy can help you craft a beautiful book.

15. Be open to constructive criticism

How to become a better writer | Professor Bhaer from Little Women

Becoming a writer means releasing your work into the world, and with that comes both praise and criticism. But neither will help you become a better writer if you shut all feedback out. Though some of the criticism you’ll receive may not be helpful, some of it will be, and you’ll struggle to improve your writing if you refuse to see that. Open your heart up to constructive criticism, and you’ll see your writing flourish.

16. Invest in your career with a writing course

While we’re on the topic of learning: there’s plenty of classes and courses you can take, if you’d rather study in a more structured way. If you’re serious about becoming a better writer, whether that’s an author, journalist, ghostwriter , or freelancer , a class can give you access to the wisdom of more experienced professionals — and a real-life class also means meeting mentors and kindred spirits. 

You can check out writing courses online — we’ve got a bunch of completely free courses you can take:

FREE COURSE

FREE COURSE

Author and ghostwriter Tom Bromley will guide you from page 1 to the finish line.

👩‍🎓 How to Write a Business Book —  taught by business coach Alison Jones

👩‍🎓 The Non-Sexy Business of Non-Fiction — taught by author coach Azul Terronez

Still hungry? Consider pursuing a writing degree. These aren’t just for people looking for creative writing classes — MFAs also focus on nonfiction, so if that’s what you see yourself writing, there are plenty of options. Only you know which program and school would be the best fit for you, and the Internet will be your friend as you work the answer out.

17. Keep company with other writers

Everything’s better with company. Whether your choice is to join a local writing group, critique circle , or an online Facebook group, having friends who are writers means you’ll have someone to bounce ideas off, someone to support you if you feel insecure about your writing, someone to inspire you to work harder, and someone to offer you advice and opinions about your project. All important aspects of improving your skills! ✊

18. Write content consistently

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Writing takes a lot of determination and discipline, especially when you’re working on a longer work like a book or a series . Sometimes things won’t work out, and you’ll be frustrated, impatient, demotivated, and temporarily hopeless. All of this is fine, and an entirely normal part of the process. When you get to this stage, be gentle with yourself, but do not give up. 

Writers are often the most stubborn of people: so go ahead and keep writing in spite of yourself, in spite of your insecurities or personal failures, and in spite of what anyone else might think. If that doesn’t earn you the ‘badge’ of a writer, we don’t know what does.

19. Don’t give up on your words

Your ideas will be exciting, but they won’t always be masterpieces. Some you can fix with a zealous edit. Others, not so much. Accept this as a reality and let them float down the river of oblivion. 

We know this sounds contradictory to our last bit of advice, but trust your intuition to decide whether it’s worth persevering with a particular project. For example, there’s no point in trying to resurrect the passion you had for a project you started long ago, if the inspiration has long since left you. There is also little point in pursuing something you began simply because you felt it was what you were supposed to be writing. If it doesn’t speak to you anymore and you see no way to revive the spark, cut your losses and move on. 

20. Embrace failure to become a better writer

Finally, just as you’ll have to handle criticism, you’ll also undoubtedly face rejection and failure. Whether you’re rejected by literary agents , fail to get a publishing deal, or have your stories, pitches, or poems rejected by literary publications, you must remember that failure is an inescapable and inevitable fact of life, and does not determine your worth as a writer. 

How to Become a Better Writer | CV of Failures

Be assured that others fail, too, even if they only fail in private. One of our favorite reminders of how common failure is is the famous CV of failures published by Princeton professor Johannes Haushofer , where he lists every program, award, and position he was rejected from, as a reminder that everyone experiences failure. And if you need a writer-specific example of success despite failure, remember that Douglas Stuart’s novel Shuggie Bain , winner of the 2020 Booker Prize, was rejected 32 times before it received a publisher’s offer.

You don’t need anybody to officially ordain you as a writer — you’re a writer if you believe you’re a writer and write anyway. 

We hope these tips help you figure out how to become a better writer. Your quest is noble, and we believe in you! 

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How to Write A Book in 30 Days (Even if You’ve Never Written Anything Before)

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Emily Martin

Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at [email protected].

View All posts by Emily Martin

It’s almost time everyone! Yes, it’s almost Halloween, and you know what that means. One last hurrah before it’s time to hunker down with your laptop, typewriter, or pen and paper and get to writing for NaNoWriMo . If you’re new to NaNoWriMo, here’s what you need to know. Each year on November 1, NaNoWriMo challenges you to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. The community-powered event has been going strong since 1999, and whether you’re a seasoned writer or just trying to write something for the first time, NaNoWriMo is an excellent challenge with lots of community support.

I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo since 2012. Having a deadline always makes me write faster. I haven’t always successfully completed the challenge, but I always enjoy trying. Since I’ve been doing this for almost ten years, I’ve learned a little bit about what helps (and what doesn’t). And I’m happy to share with you my secrets for getting a bunch of writing done in a short amount of time.

One big thing I want to point out before I get into my tips? Remember that NaNoWriMo is just one way out of many that you can set deadlines for yourself. Yes, this is a time of the year where a whole bunch of people are committing to writing more, but you can absolutely do this on your own (or with others, if you can find the people!) at any time. So whether you’re getting ready for a busy November, or just trying to write quickly for your own deadline, here are my tips for writing a book in 30 days, even if you’ve never written anything before.

1. Tell People About It

I’m a writer. But it’s really hard for me to tell people that. Why? I don’t know. It sounds pretentious, I guess. I really hate telling people that I’m a writer. Even more than that, I hate telling people about what I’m writing. I always worry that the more I talk about writing something, the less I’ll actually want to write about it. Like telling people about the writing will scare it away.

But look. Listen. If you’re really dedicated to getting something done in 30 days, you’re going to have to tell people about it. First of all, by letting people know about your goals, you’re setting up accountability. You’re less likely to give up on your writing goals if you know other people know about them. Like, it’s okay to let yourself down, but you can’t let other people down.

You also have to tell people about your 30-day writing goal because, guess what? If you’re writing 50,000 words in 30 days, that’s going to take up a lot of time. People are going to notice. They’re going to wonder where you are. When they try to make plans with you, you can make up an excuse or you can tell them the truth: You can’t leave your house because you’re 5,000 words behind your goal, so you’ve got to get serious.

2. Quantity Over Quality

Yes, of course you want your writing to be good, but you’re not looking to create a finished draft a the end of 30 days. You’re just trying to get something down. For the next 30 days, keep your writing hat on and your editing hat far, far away. In fact, throw your editing hat out of the window. If you lose it and you have to buy a new one in December, so be it. For now, you’re not allowed to critique or change your writing. Just write.

On that note, I know everyone writes differently, but for me, it’s best if I just write whatever I feel like writing rather than trying to write the whole thing in order. You’ll write more if you’re excited about what you’re writing, so pick what part of the story you feel like writing, and go to town. If the thought of writing everything out of order feels like chaos, I suggest coming into this 30 day writing period with a strong outline so you can pick up wherever you want in the story and know where it fits.

3. Stop Writing When You’re in the Middle of Something

This one is kind of related to writing things out of order, because this is also all about writing what excites you. When you’re in the middle of writing something and you know where it’s going, try to stop half way through and save the rest for your next writing session. Why? Because you’ll keep thinking about it until your next writing session, and when you sit down to write again, you’ll know exactly where to start.

You know all those times you sit down to write and end up staring at your computer trying to find the words? Yeah, this is basically a foolproof way to avoid all that wasted time and anxiety.

4. Reward Yourself With Snacks

This one might seem obvious, but trust me. You might forget. Please take snack breaks while you’re writing. And hydrate too. Sometimes when you’re really in the zone, it can be easy to forget to take care of yourself. Invest in some good writing snacks that are healthy and easy to eat while typing away.

Or, even better, when you’ve finished a great writing session, take a step away from your computer screen and sit down at the table to reward yourself with a snack. Yes, you’re going to need a lot of time to write, but you’ve also got to take breaks to avoid burnout. On that note, don’t forget to get plenty of rest too!

5. Commit to Writing Sprints and Mini-Deadlines

Writing 50,000 words in 30 days is one big deadline. To get there without getting overwhelmed, you’ll want to break it down to smaller, easier-to-reach mini-deadlines. Try to set a goal for number of words per day, or even per writing session, and try to stick to that number so you don’t fall behind.

Writing sprints are another way to set very small mini-deadlines. I usually set a timer to 20 minutes, write non-stop for the full 20 minutes, and then reward myself with a short break after. You might have hours of writing scheduled for one day, but if you break it down into short 20 minute sprints with breaks in between them, writing for those small blocks of time feels much more attainable.

6. Find Other People to Write With

This may or may not be something that helps you. Everyone works differently. But for me, finding a community of writers who are also trying to get a lot of writing done has been helpful. You can check out the NaNoWriMo website to find local writing sprints to join if you want to surround yourself with other people who are writing. Or if you’d prefer to stay online and socially distanced, there are so many writing communities you can join online for support and for community writing sprints. Writing with other people has been a game-changer for me because yes, it creates accountability, but I also love how supportive writers are of each other (disclaimer: usually). Writing is so solitary most of the time. I love when I get to connect with other people who are just as passionate about writing as I am.

7. Keep Reading

Okay, you’re doing a lot of writing. You might feel like you don’t have time to do anything else. But trust me on this one. Keep reading. Reading makes you a better writer and it will inspire you. Find time to keep writing. Use it as a way to relax after a long day of getting your own book done. Read stuff that’s like what you’re writing if you want. Or if you need to take a step away from your work entirely, pick up something that has nothing to do what you’re writing. Allow yourself to escape your own head for a little bit and enter into another writer’s world.

8. Visualize How You’ll Feel When It’s Done

This is advice that works for basically anything difficult you’re trying to finish. You’re trying to write a whole book in 30 days. That’s so much! But you can do it. How do I know? Because I’ve always visualized what it’s going to look like when you’re done.

You can do this too. When you’re in the middle of doing something hard, it can feel impossible. But the fact of the matter is, it’s going to get done because you’ve dedicated yourself to doing it. In moments where it feels impossible, just remember how great it’s going to feel when you make it to that 50,000th word.

You’ve already committed to doing this. You’re going to do it. I believe in you!

If you need more inspiration, here are 8 of the best books to prep for NaNoWriMo . And if you want to help inspire the other writers in your life, here are 15 gifts for NaNoWriMo writers . Finally, whenever you think it can’t be done, here are 9 books that started as NaNoWriMos .

become a better writer in 30 days

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How to Become a Better Writer

How to Become a Better Writer: 32 Proven Tips

Whether you’re a beginner or have been at it for decades, writing well is flat hard work.

I’ve written and published nearly 200 books, including 21 New York Times bestsellers, and I still take daily steps to improve my writing.

One doesn’t arrive at good writing. It’s a lifelong pursuit.

Maybe you write daily but feel your writing is still lacking. Or it’s as if you’ve hit a brick wall.

Many struggling writers would’ve given up by now, but you genuinely believe that with help, you could become the writer you want to be and see your message reach the masses.

Let’s see if you’re right.

I can’t turn you into a bestselling author overnight, and I’d caution you to look with suspicion on anyone who says they can.

But I do believe I can help improve your writing immediately.

  • How to Become a Better Writer: My Best Advice

How to Become a Better Writer

1. Don’t aim to write a bestseller.

That’s the last thing I think about when I start a new book .

I have no control over the market, sales, reviews, and all the rest. All I can control is how much of myself I give to a writing project.

To have any chance at success, my writing must come from my passions, the overflow of what drives me.

What’s your passion? Your strength? What drives you ?

Write about that. 

Your passion will keep you at the keyboard and motivate you when the writing gets tough —and if you’re doing it right, it always gets tough.

2. Always think reader-first.

Write Think Reader First on a sticky note and place it on your screen or somewhere you can see it while you’re writing.

Your sole job is to tell a story so compelling , so memorable your reader gets lost in it from the get-go.

Treat your readers the way you want to be treated and write what you would want to read.

That’s the Golden Rule of Writing .

Never let up, never bore. Always put your reader first.

3. Establish a strict writing routine.

Writing a book takes time, and lots of it. If you write only when you feel inspired, you’ll never finish. You need the discipline of a regular habit .

Schedule your writing time in your calendar and make it non-negotiable.

Track your progress: Your words or pages per day, or writing for a certain amount of time.

Set a deadline. Determine the number of words or pages you need to write every day to make your deadline. Just make sure your per-day production goals are realistic so you don’t get discouraged and quit.

Finally, even if you have to occasionally adjust the number of pages you finish per day, keep your deadline sacred at all cost.

4. Eliminate distractions.

Create a dedicated space for writing. It doesn’t have to be perfect — a writer should be able to write anywhere. 

Buy the best chair you can afford. You can’t be productive if you’re uncomfortable.

Keep on hand and close by all the supplies you’ll need.

Ruthlessly protect your writing time. Don’t let meetings, interruptions, household chores, or the Internet get in the way. Turn off your email and social media, block notifications, and hang a Do Not Disturb sign outside your door.

5. Start writing.

Good prep work will help you write with less frustration.

You need at least a basic structure — even if you’re not an outliner — whether writing fiction or nonfiction .

Preparation requires research (see #25), but even that can become a contributor to procrastination . Decide when you have enough information to begin writing, and get to it. 

If you’re writing fiction, study the best ways to start a story .

6. Avoid throat-clearing.

That’s a term we in the writing business use for any writing that stalls a story or chapter by beginning with anything but the good stuff.

Cut the setup, the description, the setting, the philosophizing, and get on with the story.

7. Show, don’t tell.

Telling spoon feeds your reader information rather than allowing her to deduce what’s going on.

Showing triggers the theater of her mind (see #10).

Telling: It was late fall.

Showing: Leaves crunched beneath his feet.

Telling: It was cold.

Showing: He tightened his collar and turned his face from the biting wind.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” — Anton Chekhov

Click here to read more about this concept .

8. Avoid telling what’s not happening.

“He didn’t respond.”

“She didn’t say anything.”

“The room never got quiet.”

If you don’t say it happened, we won’t assume it did.

9. Introduce your main character early, by name.

The biggest mistake new writers make is introducing their main character too late.

As a rule, he should be the first person on stage and the reader should be able to associate his name with how they see him.

10. Trigger the theater of your reader’s mind.

Ever wonder why the book is usually better than the movie?

Not even Hollywood, with all its creativity and high tech CGI capability, can compete with the theater of our imagination.

My mind conjures images of everything an author implies.

Give your readers just enough information to engage their imagination, making them partners in the experience, not just audience members.

11. Cut dialogue to the bone.

Unless you’re revealing a character as a brainiac or a blowhard, omit unnecessary words from dialogue .

Obviously, you wouldn’t render a conversation the way a court transcript includes repetition and even um, ah, uh, etc.

See how much you can chop while virtually communicating the same point.

“ What do you w Want to do this Sunday? I thought we could go to the amusement park Sunday.”

“I was thinking about renting a rowboat,” Vladimir said. “On one of the lakes.”

“ Oh, Vladimir, that sounds w Wonderful! I’ve never gone rowing before .”

This doesn’t mean your dialogue has to be choppy — just cut the dead wood.

You’ll be surprised by how much power cutting adds.

12. Omit needless words.

Less is more.

Tighten, tighten, tighten.

Again, you’ll find cutting almost always adds power to your prose .

13. Choose the normal word over the fancy one.

By showing off your vocabulary or flowery turns of phrase, you draw attention to the writing itself rather than the content.

That’s the very definition of author intrusion.

Get out of the way of your art.

14. Use active voice vs. passive voice.

The easiest way to spot passive voice is to look for state-of-being verbs and often the word by .

Passive: A good time was had by all.

Active: Everybody had a good time.

Passive: The party was planned by Jill.

Active: Jill planned the party.

Passive: The book was read to the children by the teacher.

Active: The teacher read the book to the children.

Avoiding passive voice will set you apart from much of your competition. Even better, it adds clarity.

15. Avoid mannerisms of attribution.

Have people say things, not wheeze, gasp, laugh, grunt, snort, reply, retort, exclaim, or declare them.

Sometimes people whisper or shout or mumble , but let your choice of words imply whether they are grumbling, etc.

If it’s important that they sigh or laugh, separate the action from the dialogue:

Jim sighed. “I just can’t take it anymore.”

16. Avoid began to …

…laugh, or cry, or shout, or run. People don’t just begin to do these things. They do them.

Just say it: He laughed, she cried, Fred shouted, Traci ran…

17. Eliminate clichés.

And not just words and phrases.

Also, root out situational clichés , like:

  • Starting your story with the main character waking up
  • Having a character describe himself while standing before a mirror
  • Having future love interests literally bump into each other when they first meet
  • Having a shot ring out, only to have the shooter be a surprise third party who kills the one who had the drop on the hero
  • Having the seemingly dead or unconscious or incapacitated villain spring back to life just when we thought the hero had finally saved the day

Avoid the dream cliché .

It’s okay to have people dream, but eliminate the dreadful cliché of spelling out an entire harrowing scene and then surprising the reader by having the character wake up.

That’s been used to death and lets the air out of the balloon of your story.

Also, avoid heart and breathing clichés: pounded, raced, thudded, hammered, gasped, sucked wind, etc . 

If you render the scary situation compellingly enough, you need not tell the reader anything about your character’s heartbeat or breath. The reader should experience those himself.

18. Avoid on-the-nose writing.

A Hollywood term for writing that mirrors real life without advancing the story, on-the-nose writing is the most common mistake I see in otherwise good writing. Click that link and master this, and you’ll be miles ahead of your competition.

19. Use adjectives sparingly.

Good writing is a thing of strong nouns and verbs, not adjectives.

20. Avoid the words up and down —unless they’re really needed.

He rigged [up] the device.

She sat [down] on the couch.

21. Read The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

The Elements of Style

This short paperback is recommended by every writing teacher I know and should be at the top of your list if you want to improve your writing skills .

I’ve read it at least once a year for more than 40 years. Its simple truths cover everything you need to know about style and grammar.

Click here to get the book .

22. Give your readers credit.

They understand more than you think.

Example: “They walked through the open door and sat down across from each other in chairs.”

If they walked in and sat, we can assume the door was open, the direction was down, and — unless told otherwise — there were chairs.

So you can write: “They walked in and sat across from each other.”

23. Use powerful verbs.

Ever wonder why an otherwise grammatically correct sentence lies there like a dead fish?

Your sentence might be full of those adjectives and adverbs your teachers and loved ones so admired in your writing when you were a kid. But the sentence doesn’t work.

Something I learned from The Elements of Style years ago changed the way I write and added verve to my prose:  “Focus on nouns and verbs, not adjectives and adverbs.”

To learn how, read my post 249 Strong Verbs That’ll Instantly Supercharge Your Writing .

A couple of things to watch for:

  • Avoid hedging verbs like: smiled slightly , almost laughed , frowned a bit , etc. Characters either smile, laughs, frown, or they don’t.
  • Avoid state-of-being verbs: is, am, are, was, etc. Not: There was a man standing on the train platform. Rather: A man stood on the train platform.

24. Resist the urge to explain (RUE).

Marian was mad. She pounded the table. “George, you’re going to drive me crazy,” she said , angrily .

“You can do it!” George encouraged .

We need not be told Marian was mad if we see her pound the table. And we know she said what she said in anger.

25. Conduct your research.

Though fiction, by definition, is made up, to succeed it must be believable. Even fantasies must make sense.

Once the reader has accepted your premise, what follows must be logical. Effective research is key to adding the specificity necessary to make this work .

Accurate details add flavor and authenticity. Get details wrong and your reader loses confidence — and interest — in your story.

The essentials:

  • Consult Atlases and World Almanacs to confirm geography and cultural norms and find character names that align with the setting, period, and customs . If your Middle Eastern character flashes someone a thumbs up, be sure that means the same in his culture as it does in yours.
  • Online and hard copy Encyclopedias.
  • YouTube and online search engines can yield tens of thousands of results.
  • A Thesaurus , not to find the most exotic word, but to find that normal word that’s on the tip of your tongue.
  • In-person interviews with experts. People love to talk about their work, and often such conversations lead to more story ideas.

And remember, research detail should be used as seasoning. Don’t make it the main course—that should be your story itself.

26. Become a ferocious self-editor.

Agents and editors can tell within two pages whether a manuscript is worthy of further consideration.

That sounds unfair, and maybe it is. But it’s a reality we writers need to face.

Learn to aggressively self-edit using many of the tools I’ve given you here.

Never submit writing with which you’re not entirely happy.

27. Develop a thick skin.

Every piece of published writing is a duet between editor and writer, not a solo. Learn to take criticism, especially from professionals who are on your side and want you to succeed.

28. Finish your first draft.

Writing is rewriting, and you can’t rewrite a blank page.

If you never finish your first draft, you’ll never publish a book.

Don’t fall prey to the myth of writer’s block . No other profession is allowed such an excuse for not working.

Suffering from writer’s fear? That fear is justified. Writing is tough and competition is fierce. Embrace your fear and channel it into motivation to do your best work every time. 

Procrastinating? Embrace that too. It’s inevitable and can actually be helpful, so schedule it.

Stalling because you’re a perfectionist? Put perfectionism in its proper place — during the editing and revision stage. As Margaret Atwood says, “If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.”

29. Jump start your creative juices.

Some days you’ll struggle to write even a few sentences and may wonder if you’re a writer at all.

It happens to all of us.

That’s when it’s wise to try a few writing exercises .

30. read your writing aloud., it’s a great way to check your self-edit and see where your story may bog down., 31. vary sentence length..

Sentence structure can dramatically impact your writing. 

Run-on sentences and sentence fragments may get an essay downgraded, but they can enhance your prose if used judiciously.  

32. Become a voracious reader.

Your career as a writer can end before it starts unless you make time to read.

You won’t find the time — you have to carve it out of your busy schedule.

That might seem impossible with your busy life, but how badly do you want to become a published author?

Writers are readers. Good writers are good readers. Great writers are great readers.

  • You Can Improve Your Writing Skills

I’ve dedicated most of my life to coaching writers because I love paying forward all I’ve learned and seeing you succeed.

Practicing these 32 tips won’t turn you into an overnight success — writing is hard, exhausting, time-consuming work. And if it isn’t, you’re probably not doing it right. But all that effort can be worth it.

Dreamers talk about writing. Writers write. So don’t quit.

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From CVs to emails and essays: 10 effective ways to improve your writing

From CVs to emails and essays: 10 effective ways to improve your writing

For those of us who live by our pen, looking at how to become a better writer is a daily task. 

Carefully and consciously building sentences that tell a story, express an emotion, relay a fact or simply sound satisfying — it’s a lifelong journey.

Maya Angelou’s line, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you,” rings true for many. 

On the journey of how to become a better writer, one of the first things people tell you is if you want to write well, read widely. 

As a student, I would reach for classics such as “Pride and Prejudice” and “Frankenstein” to analyse how the authors crafted their prose to elicit emotion. 

I was awed by startling lines such as “We all owe death a life” by Salman Rushdie, which is simple yet effective. 

When novels became too one-dimensional, the freedom of poetry opened new doors. 

Think of award-winning Scottish poet Carol Ann Duffy and how she compares love to an onion (“Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful”).

Naturally, this is not the only way to learn how to become a better writer. As you write, you learn many little tips and tricks over time. 

Often considered one of the best remote jobs , writing only takes a laptop and time.

While not everyone hopes to pursue this craft as a career, writing permeates every industry in one way or another, from job applications and essays to reports and emails.

Being able to string a cohesive sentence is a great skill, but communicating your thoughts and facts effectively takes things to the next level. 

How to become a better writer: Discover different styles and your voice

Writing is a lot like cooking — you need to experiment with different ingredients (words) and the order in which they should be added to the pot. 

The right balance creates flavours that evoke a great deal of emotion. This is what it takes to tell a good story. 

Learning how to become a better writer is not just a skill; it’s an investment in clarity, influence, and self-expression.

According to the experts at MasterClass, there are four main writing styles . These general categories are less about your voice and more about purpose:

  • Expository writing: This style is about facts and information. Think of snappy news articles, technical treatises and non-fiction tomes. 
  • Descriptive writing: Here, writers use flowery prose to convey a scene. This includes vivid imagery and sensory details, often used by poets. 
  • Narrative writing: This is the style of creative writers. Think novels, screenplays, and most fiction for this style. It features a plot, characters and setting.
  • Persuasive writing: Often used for letters of recommendation, academic writing and cover letters, this style attempts to convince readers of something. 

Once you master your desired style, inject your voice into your writing. 

Finding your own voice is not a process that can be sped up. We often mimic the voices of writers we admire until we find ourselves in words. 

No matter your level, consciously embarking on a journey to becoming a better writer is transformative. 

It enhances communication, sharpens critical thinking, empowers influence, and nurtures personal well-being. Start your journey with the following cheat codes. 

how to become a better writer

To know how to become a better writer, start by reading the world’s top writers. Source: AFP

10 proven top tips to improve your writing 

1. build your writing muscle.

Think of writing as an exercise: the more you write, the better you become.

To start by learning how to become a better writer, you can experiment with writing for 30 days. Commit to practising your writing every single day so you can build that muscle and skill over time. 

The best part? It doesn’t have to take up much time. Set aside 30 minutes each day and write something about your day-to-day routine. 

Perhaps you remembered something from talking with your friend over coffee after class. Or you really enjoyed watching the latest episode of your favourite TV show. 

2. Read more

Many acclaimed authors will share similar advice. To be a better writer, you must read. The more you read, the more exposure you have to broader vocabulary, ideas and perspectives. 

Even the most successful people in the world read way after they have made their millions. Warren Buffet, for example, reads 500 pages every day and Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. 

Even better, try writing a short review or blog post about the lessons you learned from reading a book or a timely article. It not only helps you become a better writer, but also improves your ability to understand concepts more deeply. 

how to become a better writer

Experts say you should avoid using exclamations points. Source: Shutterstock

3. Avoid exclamation points

Often, we rely on exclamation points too heavily as a crutch, which can prevents us from learning how to become a better writer.

“Don’t ask punctuation to do a word’s job,” warns Beth Dunn, chief writer and editor on HubSpot’s product team. 

“It dilutes your message.” 

Instead, she suggests working on making our words convey more precisely what you want to say. 

When in doubt about whether to use an exclamation point, consult this flowchart .

4. Know your audience and use the right tone

It’s crucial to be in tune with your target audience. You’ll need to focus on what issues are key to them and which topics they want to read about.

It is also important to communicate using the words and voice familiar to that audience via the websites and apps they like to use.

One research found that 75% of all pieces analysed used a tone of voice that was too casual for their intended audience. 

Make sure all your articles are written in the voice appropriate for the intended audience.

how to become a better writer

How to become a better writer? Set specific goals. Source: Shutterstock

5. Set specific goals

Before embarking on your writing journey, it’s vital to articulate your improvement objectives and identify your aims. 

Whether it is focusing on spelling, grammar, prose, or technical skills, having clear-cut goals provides clear markers to pursue and gauge progress. 

Tailor each goal to your proficiency level and allocate specific timeframes to attain them. 

6. Study examples of writing theory

Did you know that you can learn about basic writing theories when reading other writers’ work? 

Learning about story structure and the different models that dramatists and fiction writers rely on, like Freytag’s pyramid or the classic three-act structure, is valuable for anyone who wants to learn how to become a better writer.

These models guide centuries of the storytelling tradition, demonstrating how you might apply a structure to a story.

When it comes to expressing yourself, brushing up on your literary and rhetorical devices is also helpful. 

After all, as much as people like to pretend writing is a mystical art, divinely bestowed upon one by magical inspiration, a lot of it comes down to active effort on the writer’s part.

how to become a better writer

Planning always makes your writing better. Source: AFP

7. Outline each piece

Think of your outlines as the skeleton to your full product. 

Starting with an outline can keep your thoughts organised while helping you focus on your writing goals. It can also help you begin and end your document or presentation. 

Consider outlining your next writing piece with a simple one-sheet plan that determines where you want each section, what tone you want to use and the purpose of your document. 

You can also download some templates online if you want more guidance.

8. Don’t be afraid to experiment and find your own voice

Some advise you to stick to templates when learning how to become a better writer.

These can be wonderful if you’re writing something meant to be plain, like a legal document or a freelance proposal. 

If this is the case, all you need to do to become a better writer is be accurate, precise, and grammatically correct.

But that’s not the formula for becoming a good writer or writing a good story. 

Embrace your sense of humour, interests, and opinions. Channel that personality into your writing, and lift mundane subjects up with the buoyancy of your voice.

how to become a better writer

Take a closer look at your favourite books and pay attention to what makes them so enthralling. Source: AFP

9. Break down some favourite reads you’ve come across

Most people read the same blogs or sites regularly because the material appeals to them, but fewer people understand why their favourite blogs are so appealing.

Find a handful of recent blog posts you really like, then print them out. 

Next, just like your high school English teacher did, take a red pen and highlight things you liked: certain sentences, turns of phrase, even entire paragraphs. 

Examine why you like these elements, and see if there are any common threads in your favoured reading material. See how writers take one subject and transition into another. Apply these techniques to your own work.

10. Edit your work ruthlessly

Say you’re writing every day — or regularly, at least — and you’re feeling more confident about your work.

Here’s where you need to do something different: you are going to become your own harshest critic. 

Editing is a tough skill to learn for beginner writers because they place immense value on the time and effort they put into writing in the first place. 

A lot of writing, however, is actually rewriting and this is where the cold, hard eye of an editor will serve you well.

Develop the discipline it takes to eliminate extraneous words. Resist the temptation to wax lyrically and get to the point. 

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10 Fast Ways to Become a Better Writer

October 6, 2023 10 min read

become a better writer in 30 days

“Writing doesn’t just communicate ideas; it generates them. If you’re bad at writing and don’t like to do it, you’ll miss out on most of the ideas writing would have generated.”

— Paul Graham

The sun’s been down for hours and you are alone with a warm drink next to your laptop. You’re burning the midnight oil again in the back room, building your online business, and you know you need to put another post up on your blog, but you’re just not sure what, exactly, to write about.

The struggle of building your business and hustling on the side is that you don’t always have the time and luxury to write whenever you want, and while the idea of editors, proofreading, and revising your essays sounds great-you need to write something and write it now .

For people working a full-time job during the day, juggling families, and responding to other demands, having ample time to fill notebooks, draft, and re-write sounds like a pipe dream.

How can you quickly improve your writing?

What tools are there beyond grammar and spellchecker to make sure you’re doing your best work? In the world of online and email communication, writing powerful copy makes all the difference.

Sometimes we need tactical, specific, and immediately useful tips to make our writing better. Most writing tips, for me, always seem to feel good — and then I struggle with the actual writing and re-writing. How do you transform the writing tips of Stephen King, Stephen Pressfield, Seth Godin, and Ray Bradbury (amazing storytellers, all) into actionable outcomes?

Here are 10 of my favorite strategies that help when you’re self-editing, scrambling to make ends meet, and holding both a beer and a coffee in your hands while trying to write-and want to do your best work.

1. Start with a story.

Begin your piece with a fable that illustrates your point and shows the reader what it is that you’re talking about. Develop a scene and a scenario where people can nod their heads and say, yes, I see, that happens to me. I can picture myself doing that.

Despite how useful facts and lists are, stories are what resonate. We’re pulled into the grip of a helicopter crash, and most of us can’t look away when we see bright lights or hear loud noises. It’s the pull of the story and the unknown that captures our attention. Stories are memorable, and we can tell and re-tell them; they are, in fact, how we wire information into our brains.

Great writers on the web today hook readers in with stories, creating fictional (or narrative non-fictional) scenes with detail, specificity, and color.

Here are two great examples:

DANIELLE LAPORTE, ON MANAGING & LOVING MONEY :

“No one ever taught me how to manage money. My folks were young and working, Catholic High School didn’t give me any tips, and I skipped college. So that left me and my Visa card, which mysteriously showed up in the mail on my nineteenth birthday. I promptly went shopping that weekend. And the next weekend.”

If you look closely, the post is actually about a book launch , but the first paragraph isn’t about the book, the author, or the call-to-action at the end of the post. It’s a relatable, tangible story that outlines the problem all to common to many people: the problem of managing money, and the story of what happened when she got her first free credit card.

And a second example:

Caleb Wojcik, on The Metrics You Should Measure :

“You know the rush. A guest post you’ve written goes live on a huge site, you finally launch the product you’ve been working on for months, or an older article of yours gets Gizmodo’d . You watch your traffic spike and you can’t peel yourself away from the analytics for the whole day.

‘Look at all those visitors!’ you yell to your significant other as they feign interest.”

This post is about what you measure when you’re evaluating your blog, website, traffic, or product. The introductory story, however, is about that feeling you get when you see a post of yours go live, hit the charts, or make the rounds in Twitter-and the way your significant other may or may not be involved in your online business.

You can also use this strategically in personal emails. For example, rather than jumping to the question you’re dying to ask , you can start out with a quick story (or set the scene for where you are). This situates the reader (on the other end, perhaps in some place far different than where you are) within the framework of your life. Like Instagram but with words, you can give a little snippet of your life through language:

For example, change typical emails that begin:

“Hey Ryan, how are you? Hope you’re well.”

To a quick setting of the scene-showing where you are and what’s in your life:

“Hey Ryan,The other day, I was walking through the streets of San Francisco and grumbling about the never-ending fog. I realized that the city was like a refrigerator. Now that I’m in New York, I miss the air-conditioning and I also miss many of my friends like you dearly. It reminded me to email you and say hello. I hope you’re well.”

In both blog posts and in emails, using stories helps you illustrate your point and takes general advice and makes it something the reader can see and feel.

2. Start with a question.

Much of life, and blog posts, are paradoxes, not answers. Starting with the answer first can be terrifying (and worse, inaccurate or incomplete).

We revisit the same ideas over and over again not because we’ve conclusively decided, but because each topic is worth thousands of conversations. We need the reminders, we meditate on the ideas, and we each have our own flavor and take on the issue. In a recent New York Times Opinion piece about the suffering in Syria, the author opens the essay with a question that haunts human philosophy:

“ Does the torrent of suffering ever abate — and can one possibly find any point in suffering?”

You don’t need to answer the question to write a great story or essay. Begin with a question, and add your thoughts.

3. Play with the use of first, second, and third person narrative.

First person is filled with “I” statements — great when you know the author, or you have a relationship with the person doing the writing. Second person uses “you” all the time — and can be a wonderful tool for creating empathy and describing a scene that you want the reader to inhabit — but can become bossy quickly with excessive use. Third person focuses on the scene or the action from an anonymous observer within the room.

Most of the time, we don’t actually care about the writer. Your reader wants to know exactly how the writing affects him or her-and whether or not the reading is going to matter to them specifically Right from the start, you should paint a picture of the person or scene and show the action happening.

While first-person can be a tremendous tool as a writer, many bloggers (myself included) are often far too liberal in writing our experiences. Luckily, there’s a quick way to fix this: write the post you would normally write, and then edit selectively to remove the “I” from a couple of paragraphs.

Take a paragraph that looks like this, for example:

“I was tired and hungry from a long day and the rain was beating down on my bike helmet. I didn’t want to work anymore-I was completely exhausted and ready to hit the hay. But I knew how important it was to continue to get this project out the door-it was my first real project as an entrepreneur, and delivering it mattered.”

And turn it into this (reducing the use of I statements-but still narrative):

“The rain beat down on my bike helmet. It was a long and tiring day. Sometimes it feels better to hit the bed instead of continuing to work-but I wanted to impress my newest client. Getting projects out the door on time is critical for first-time entrepreneurs. It was important to deliver, and deliver well.”

You’ll know when removing the first person is great when the paragraph stands on its own without the use of the first person narrative.

Take this post by Chase Reeves on “ How Much You Should Be In Your Business?”  — the opening sentence is focused on the reader (the second person). For the sake of contrast, I’ll rewrite the opener in two different ways as a point of comparison.

Original (Second Person) : “You’re here because you want to create a business that supports you. You want to build something that earns and affords you the life you aim for.”

First Person: “The more important thing to my business is creating something that supports me-something that affords me the life I want and creates earnings I can live off of.”

Third Person: “It’s clear why building a business is critical — it’s a form of support. It’s a source of earnings and creates a desirable lifestyle.”

To me, the original (second person) option is the most powerful-it connects with the reader, has them nodding yes, that’s my vision, and sets the parameters for the post. The first person version makes me wonder why I care about their business, and the third person feels dry and impersonal.

If you’ve written something and you know the content is good-but it’s not resonating in the way that you want-try re-writing it from a different point of view. That might be the trick to creating the snappy writing you want.

4. Talk it through.

Start with the communication vehicle you’re most comfortable with. Most people get stuck writing because they haven’t done it enough. They haven’t sat at the computer and made writing a habit, and each time they do eventually get to the screen, they agonize over each word choice and sentence until they’ve beaten the poor essay to death, 500 words and 2 bottles of wine later, declaring, “I’ll never write again, no, not me!”

If you’re stuck on writing, chat with a friend and use voice recorder, or stomp around your office or hallway and talk things out. Much of great conversation and thinking is done while moving-why should we sit and expect the great ideas to pour out of us once we’ve relegated our bodies to stillness? Start talking, start recording, and go for a walk. Many a mile I’ve walked with an earphone in my ear and a voice recorder on, pretending to talk to someone else while I’m actually just talking to myself.

5. Write the outcome you want first-by beginning with the ending.

Start with the ending, and the desired action. Sometimes the posts I write are creative, lyrical, poetic, and exploratory-that’s fine. Other times, I want something, and I want something specific. Perhaps it’s a donation to charity water, or a sign-up to my latest writing workshop . Each time, I think carefully and specifically about the person who will be reading the essay, and the end of the piece, and what action I want them to take.

Step one: write the desired outcome. Before writing your post, write the action or outcome that you want people to do. How do you want them to take action?

For example, a desired outcome might be getting people to sign up and enroll for One Month’s Content Marketing class. So, I begin by writing this outcome down:

Ryan goes to the website, reads my post, and nods. Yes, he’s working through all these problems I’m articulating. He really wants something to help him with building his audience and online business. Why does he click on the opt-in at the end? Something is really compelling — he clicks because he feels like the author completely understands the frustrations he’s having. He feels like his issue has been heard. So, here’s what I’ll write at the end: Want to get better at building your audience and writing content that actually gets shared? Sign up for One Month Content Marketing.

Step two: Outline the puzzle pieces (usually I use post it notes across my desk) that create a story framework that will lead to this desired outcome:

  • Start with a story-introduction that elucidates the situation or pain point;
  • Add in background information and expert details;
  • Create the framework for a solution to the problem with suggested steps;
  • End with a call to action and final solution (your recommended solution).

6. Write about things you know.

Write about things that seem incredibly obvious to you (and that you’re perhaps overlooking). Describe how you do things, and how you sort your day. Pay attention to the questions people ask you at conferences, in email, and during dinner conversations for clues to what people want to know. Surprisingly, people are incredibly different and what you do may be novel to someone else.

7. Be incredibly specific.

Clichés and abstract thinking are painful to read and prevalent across every type of writing. The solution to clichés is to get incredibly specific-start detailing the scene and describe who is doing what, where you are, and what is happening. Examples are more powerful than anecdotes.

For example:

“It was grueling, and I was exhausted. I’d never worked so hard in my life.”

Can be turned into something much more specific, with details about who, what, where, when, and why:

“My arms were quivering and shaking; in retrospect, doing a 26-mile run the day before writing my launch essay was probably not the best strategy. I could barely keep my fingers above my keyboard.”

8. After you’ve written your essay, go back and delete the first and the last paragraph.

After you’ve written your post or essay, go back and delete the first and last paragraph. The body usually contains the most of the “meat” of the post, and many writers amble on too long in the introductions and conclusions. Try deleting it and shortening it to make it sweet and punchy.

9. Mimic great writers you like.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If you’re stuck, use Evernote to copy and trace patterns that you like. I like to save out great essays and drafts from my favorite writers, print them, and then highlight them to study how people write effectively. Behind the words that you enjoy the most are patterns and clues to great writing.

  • Email headings: Pay attention to what you click on in emails-what were the five emails you opened first today? What did the headlines say? Jot those down. Circle words that felt great. Were they long or short? What made you want to click? Take one you like and flip it around to become something that works for your business, idea, or model.
  • Start with a bang. Use powerful ledes. Not sure what a lede is? (It’s the bullet or grab at the beginning of a story, made clear in the first paragraph) — skim 5 opening paragraphs of the New York Times with a highlighter and see what you like about each one. Convert it to your own style.
  • End with a boom. Wrap up the writing with a punchy statement, a leading question, or a call to action. If you’ve deleted your first and last paragraphs, perhaps there was one sticky statement you wanted to keep-perhaps distilling that into one sentence will do the trick.

10. Write less and link more.

Find examples and point to them. It’s perfectly okay to not reinvent the wheel — it can be equally valuable to curate great content or showcase your process of discovery if it’s lead you to a great outcome or conclusion.

Here are three relevant articles on how to be a better writer:

  • 17 Tips for Getting Unstuck and Back Into Creative Flow , on Scoutie Girl
  • Why You Should Write Daily , on Zen Habits.
  • How to Develop a Writing Habit , by Mattan Griffel

In todays’ world of digital and fractured communication, writing is more essential than almost any other skill-when you get better at writing, you get better at everything.

Writing isn’t just a tool for communication — it’s a tool for creative generation and unlocking what’s within your mind. It’s a tool for discovery, search, synthesis and re-wiring. Writing regularly is not just a means to create content, but is itself a tool to generate ideas and crystalize ideas. Whenever you can, use a notebook, use Evernote, google docs, or another system to capture your ideas and practice collecting (and imagining) ideas.

The more you write, the easier it gets, just like any other habit.

When I first began writing, it could take me 6 to 8 hours to write a short post. Today, I can start and finish a post in under an hour if I’ve been thinking about it during the week. Writing has gotten easier to do because I keep it up as a habit. I use writing and sketching regularly as a means to generate ideas. My notes become stories, my stories become paragraphs, my thinking wanders over the page, and then I pour content into the computer .

But when you’re pressed for time-or you’re stuck in the here and now of needing to write a post, having someone to tell you that “practice” and “consistency” are the best tools to get better at writing doesn’t help you with the post that you’ve got to find a way to write — right now.

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Want to Write More? | Daily Writing Prompts

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become a better writer in 30 days

How To Become A Better Writer

Dickie bush & nicolas cole, ultimate guide table of contents.

Becoming a writer is not easy.

And there is no “one-size-fits-all” way to get better.

It takes time, effort, and experimentation to get good at it—and even then, there will always be room for improvement. Which means that if you want to become a writer (of any kind), then being able to commit yourself fully is key.

You need patience with yourself and the process .

Different writers have different needs, but like an athlete looking for an "edge," search for ways to practice the craft of writing that other writers wouldn't think to do (or don't have the patience to do).

Here are five weird techniques to help you get better at writing:

Tip #1: Read a page of the thesaurus every morning

If you expand your vocabulary by one word per day, or even per week, imagine how much bigger your working vocabulary is compared to other writers.

Now imagine you did this for a year, two, three, ten, etc. You would become a walking thesaurus—able to express your ideas precisely, rich in color and depth.

become a better writer in 30 days

To get started, create a vocabulary journal. This can be a notebook or a digital document where you keep track of the words you've learned. Choose a word from your daily thesaurus reading and write it down in your journal. Capture the definition and write a sample sentence of your own.

For example, let's say you found the word "ennui" interesting. Write it in your journal along with the definition," a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction." Then write a sentence like," Don't let ennui take control of your life. Nurture your curiosity." Bonus points for rhyming! After ten years, you'll have added 3,650 words to your journal.

One word of caution, the goal is to enhance your writing, not make it difficult to read.

Avoid complex words that your readers won't understand, like ennui.

Tip #2: Rewrite old sales letters (by hand), word for word

Well-known copywriter, Craig Clemens, introduced this technique to Cole.

After learning about this, Cole bought Gary Halbert's entire collection of sales letters. It cost him $1,500 for two big ring binders. He’s since rewritten dozens by hand, word for word.

This exercise helps you internalize the techniques used by successful copywriters and teaches you how to craft compelling messages that resonate with your audience.

When you rewrite a sales letter by hand, you pay closer attention to the structure, word choice, and persuasive language used, which trains your brain to recognize each of these elements, helping you incorporate them into your writing.

Here’s how to get started:

  • Choose a successful sales letter to study. Swiped.co has hundreds of copywriting examples. Filter by “Sales Letter,” and print one you like.
  • Rewrite the letter word for word. Start with the headline and slowly work your way down the page.
  • When you are finished copying, analyze the structure and language of the letter. Look for sentence length, phrasing, and the reasons you felt compelled to keep reading.
  • Then rewrite the letter in your own style for your product or service applying what you learned.

You can do this for any type of writing, not just sales letters.

Let's say you're interested in improving your email marketing skills. Choose a successful email marketing campaign and rewrite each email by hand. Head over to Medium or Buzzfeed and select a handful of headlines that catch your attention. Start copying them down by hand. The options are endless.

The more you copy, the more you develop your own writing style influenced by the tone and voice of successful copywriters.

Tip #3: Print and highlight wordplay-heavy rap songs

Print off the lyrics to songs by Eminem, 2pac, Biggie, Method Man, Wu-Tang Clan, Kendrick Lamar, or any artist you like and highlight your favorite rhyme schemes.

Try to internalize how they did it. Notice how they manipulate words to create a certain rhythm and rhyme, and how that enhances the overall message.

Take the opening verse to the song "Lose Yourself” by Eminem:

become a better writer in 30 days

Eminem uses internal rhyme (sweaty, heavy) and alliteration (palms, sweaty) to create a rhythmic effect. He also uses imagery (vomit, mom's spaghetti) to convey the physical and emotional state of the character in the song.

Take what you learn and rewrite one of your own paragraphs or sentences. For example:

  • Rhyme: Try to internalize how they did it. Observe their wordplay, and make it fit.
  • Alliteration: They wield words to weave a wondrous web of rhythm and rhyme.
  • Imagery: Their skillful hands twisting and turning phrases like a potter molding clay.

Rap is full of depth and complexity.

Study it and learn to use language creatively.

Tip #4: Study genres way outside your wheelhouse

Read things you don’t like.

It's easier to spot how the author assembled the writing. And you will expose yourself to different styles, perspectives, and techniques that you can incorporate into your own writing.

For example, if you typically read self-help or business, try picking up a romance novel or a literary fiction book. You may discover new ways to tell a story or communicate an idea that you hadn't considered before.

Tip #5: Train ChatGPT to be your writing coach

AI can help you improve your writing and recognize good writing.

  • Want to get better at writing headlines?
  • Want to get better at being more specific?
  • Want to get better at writing rhythm and flow?

You just need to ask for feedback!

AI can provide an impartial assessment of your writing based on principles of grammar, syntax, and style. You don’t have to schedule a meeting. You can do it whenever it's convenient for you. And you'll get feedback on your writing faster than you would with a human coach.

Here is an example prompt you can use:

Act as a writing coach.

You are an expert in how to write online content that engages readers, builds a following, and generates revenue. Give me a writing prompt in the form of a question and I will respond in 150 words or less.

I want you to give me both comments on my answer and suggestions to improve. I will make corrections and you will provide more feedback until I ask for a new prompt.

Are you ready?

ChatGPT will respond with feedback and then it’s up to you to respond with any adjustments.

become a better writer in 30 days

Take the prompt further by adding specifics to the prompt to help ChatGPT understand what you want to improve.  For example, “I want to improve my rate of revelation for the reader” or “I want to improve the flow and structure of my writing.”

Make an appointment with your “coach” and start writing! And then keep writing.

The best way to get better at writing is to write consistently over time.

There are no shortcuts.

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9 Ways to Become a Better Writer

9 Ways to Become a Better Writer

  • By  Helen Woodhouse
  • Oct 27, 2023
  • Skills and Experience

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Would you like to become a better writer? Whether you’re an experienced content writer wanting to up your game or a complete beginner looking to launch a new writing career , there are lots of things you can do to build and refine your skills.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss nine ways to become a better writer.

What Skills Do You Need to Be a Freelance Writer?

Making a career as a freelance writer is an attractive option for anyone who enjoys writing. In a previous post, we considered the hard and soft skills required to be successful in such a career, which naturally include strong writing skills. It’s never too early – or too late – to work on those, so let’s have a look at some ways in which you could improve as a writer.

How to Become a Better Writer

We don’t intend this to be an exhaustive list, but here are some tips to get you started:

  • Identify your weak spots.
  • Know your audience.
  • Make an outline.
  • Don’t stress about the first draft.
  • Read your writing out loud.
  • Ask for feedback.
  • Write more.
  • Take a course.

Let’s have a look at each of these in turn.

1. Identify Your Weak Spots

We all have aspects of our writing that we could improve. Maybe you’ve always struggled with spelling or punctuation and need to brush up on those skills. Perhaps you have a tendency to waffle and need to work on your clarity and concision . Or you might suffer from writer’s block and need to find inspiration. Being honest with yourself will allow you to focus your efforts on the skills you need to improve.

2. Know Your Audience

Who do you hope will benefit from the piece you are writing? The answer to this question will inform not only the topic but also the tone of voice you adopt (whether formal, informal, or humorous) and your word choice. Using lots of jargon for a piece aimed at the general public might be a turnoff, and using examples or idioms peculiar to your region may confuse a reader from elsewhere.

3. Make an Outline

Before you plunge headlong into the writing, try making an outline of the piece . Sketching out the headings and main points can help you to organize your thoughts, keep the piece on track, and avoid any gaps in the information to convey. With an outline, you can also easily see how the piece will flow, which will help your readers follow the finished article.

4. Don’t Stress About the First Draft

Sometimes the word or phrase you want escapes you. Don’t worry about it. Write down something – anything – that will remind you and move on. No one else needs to see your first draft. You’ll enjoy the satisfaction of completing the piece and can hone it later.

5. Read Your Writing Out Loud

Or, if you don’t like the sound of your own voice, use the Read Aloud feature on your device. By reading your piece out loud, you’ll hear how it will sound to others, and you’ll likely catch little errors that your eyes may skip.

6. Ask for Feedback

And don’t be shy! You are undoubtedly your own worst critic, so any feedback from others is unlikely to be as bad as you imagine. Make use of your friends and family, but try to find a good match for your potential audience (see Tip 2).

7. Read More

Whatever weak spots you may have identified in your own writing, reading the work of others is a good way to improve. You’ll pick up on spelling, grammar, punctuation, tone of voice, clarity, concision, and (depending on what you choose to read) expertise as you go.

8. Write More

It may be a cliché , but practice really does make perfect – or, at least, it can help you to improve. And it doesn’t matter what you write; it’s developing the habit that counts. Try keeping a daily journal – that way, you won’t have the added pressure of anyone else reading what you’ve written.

9. Take a Course

To borrow the closing line from Some Like It Hot , nobody’s perfect. You may not even realize you have a particular weak spot but simply want to improve your skills or keep up to date with technology. Whatever aspect of your writing you wish to improve and however you prefer to learn, there will be a freelance writing course for you. To help you consider your options, we’ve curated a list of 5 of the Best Freelance Writing Courses for Beginners .

Becoming a Freelance Writer

Following these tips on how to become a better writer is something you can do at any stage of your writing career. If you are still at the stage of wondering whether such a career is for you, why not give our Becoming a Freelance Writer course a go? You can even try it out for free .

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DO These 10 Things To Become A Better Writer in 30 Days.

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DO This and you will become a better Writer

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10 Ways How to Write Better and Engage Your Readers

Do you know that readers make up their minds to read a piece the first five seconds into the written piece? If your writing does not engage them they stop, if it does, they continue to read.

In one way or another, writing is a part of our daily communication. This could be born of the need to keep records, communicate or just for business.  Whichever way, the goals you set for your write up must be achieved, if your writing is to be engaging.

become a better writer in 30 days

As a passionate writer, you will agree with me that every written piece is out to either communicate, inform or entertain. This, in other words, means that for every written piece, there is a goal the writer has in mind for the piece to achieve. You have failed as a writer if your writing doesn’t match the benchmark you have set for it.

To do this, however, you need to know how to improve your writing style. The post will help you master how to write better,  the exercises to improve your writing skills and how to communicate better with your writing.

It doesn’t matter if you want to go into freelancing, book writing , technical writing, ghostwriting or fiction writing, these tips will change your writing game forever.

Table of Contents

Tips To Improving Your Writing

Write everyday.

Do you know that athletes workout every day not minding the fact that they might only be competing in the next four years at the Olympics?

Like these athletes, you must write every day, every single day, to build your writing muscle. If you don’t use your writing muscle, you will lose it.

It doesn’t matter what mood you are in every single day, you must cultivate the habit of writing if you want to write better, even if it’s a thousand words.

This is one of the tips great writers have attributed their success in the field of writing to.

So every day, commit to writing a piece for your blog, for your mailing list or for your social media handles.

“You must write every single day of your life… You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads… may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”

― Ray Bradbury

Ready Everyday:

As a writer, apart from writing every day, another job you should take up is reading. This might seemed obvious, but it’ll help you improve your writing.

We all know that to learn a trade or a skill, you need to learn from folks ahead of you. This same pertains to writing also. Read books of gurus who are ahead of you in your chosen field.

When you take reading seriously, you broaden your experience, creativity and increase your knowledge of the topic. You also strengthen your vocabulary.

While reading these books, pay attention to the style of writing and method employed by the authors of these books to convey their messages.

“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.”

—Samuel Johnson

Pay attention to your Grammar:

Consciously or unconsciously, your readers are grammar police without a barge. Nothing put a reader off than a grammatical error a writer missed.

If you don’t pay attention to your grammar, you will be tossing your credibility into the sea. A single error can make you lose your readers’ attention and money-making opportunities.

Make effort to get your grammar right. Familiarize yourself with grammatical rules that guide the English language, or the language you write in.

You can employ editing software like Grammarly to help you scan your writing for errors.

Write a review of all your readings.

Its help to not just read, but to also write out your opinion and review of the books or piece you read.

This process, help you kill two birds with a stone, you read and write at the same time.

It helps you gather your thought and develop your opinion of what you have read.

Read meticulously to understand why you are in love with the author, his writing and why others, also, love his/her work.

Form your opinion about it in a review. This helps you get better.

“Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it.

Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.”

― William Faulkner

Track Your Ideas

Ideas are important. The quality of your writing is enhanced by the way you track and handle your idea. So you must treat your ideas like treasures.

One way to do this is to have a notebook handy. In this notebook, you will jot down ideas that flow into your mind.

Write down the idea for a book, a story, a novel, or an essay. Write down all the details that came along with the idea, write down your thought on how the idea will be implemented.

I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me

—Ray Bradbury, WD

Make It Short:

In writing quality triumphs over quantity anytime, any day. Writers who are able to be concise in their communication and engagement are most likely to be rewarded for their efforts.

In other to make life and reading easy for your readers, you must be ready to write “simple”. Employ simple words, simple sentence structures and simple and short paragraphs.

Employ shorter sentences with powerful verbs. Avoid adverbs and unnecessary Adjectives. Instead of writing, “Aliko Dangote is very rich” say, “Aliko Dangote is wealthy”. Always find the best words for a scenario to avoid the sloppiness caused by adverbs or adjectives.

“When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.”

—Stephen King, WD

Eliminate distractions

Distractions are all around you, you live with them, and they suck the best out of you. They kill the writer in you.

You have to deal with the distractions, Netflix, social media, your children, spouse or habit, pose to your writing game.

Procrastination, lack of a clear goal, lack of discipline, and lack of focus, are killing your writing game. If you want to write better, you must immunize yourself against them

One way to do this is to have an impeccable routine. A routine you follow through and through.

These writing routines include rituals, writing time, reading period and other activities that make your writing endeavour organized and purposeful.

Kill distraction before it kills your writing prowess.

Learn to revise and edit your Writing:

I must confess that editing is the hardest and the most boring part of writing for me. That being said, this part is the most important.

You must have come across a written work that seemed to have a great idea behind it, but it ended up pissing you off because you found some errors in them, or because the writing was not adequately pressed to bring out the juice in it.

If you have spent hours putting your thoughts together to produce written content, it is only right that revise adequately what you have written.

You separate yourself from mediocre writers out there when you do a good job editing your piece.

Writing is only 30% of the job, editing is 70%.

“Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.”

—Larry L. King, WD

Take Feedbacks Seriously.

I sense that you might be one of those who have trouble coping with criticism. However, you need feedbacks of any form to become a better writer.

Get your friends or your writer colleagues (those who will be unequivocal with you) to read your manuscript. Employ the service of an editor, one who will be open to telling you your flaw and how to write well. However, don’t be depressed when they start their job. They might make your work seem like the worst piece ever written.

Most importantly, implore your readers to send you their opinions of your writing; areas they think you can get better in, areas you should put more effort into. Sample their opinions. Act on the recommendations you get from these feedbacks.

“I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.”

—Harper Lee, WD

Write Like a Copywriters:

One thing Copywriters do effectively is to make their piece conversationally. You want to make your reader feel that they are having a conversation with a friend. Make them feel they are characters in your writing.

Your readers will relate to your writing better when you write as you talk. You don’t have to bore them by written as though you are writing a business report.

You want to win your audience’s attention by using storytelling. You want to take them on a journey that will thrill them.

“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.”

—Elmore Leonard

Learn From Great Writers:

Although nobody can teach you how to write, however, you can learn to write better.

You can learn the secret employed by great writers to make their writing clear, engaging and relatable. You can learn by reading their books on how to write better. Most importantly you can learn via mentorship and paid courses.

Learning from these greats accelerates your progress, boost your confidence and make you more accountable and disciplined.

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master”

—Ernest Hemingway

The most important thing to do to get better as a writer is to always put your pen to paper. Just write. You get better when you practice.

If you are a freelancer or wondering how to start your freelancing journey, click here. 

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become a better writer in 30 days

  • Write To Bank

11 Life-Changing Tips to Become a Better Writer in 30 Days

  • April 25, 2023
  • by Precious Oli

You flip the first ten chapters, non-stop. The grumbling sound of your stomach. Cute cats, flying dragons, and babies in strollers pass by. You are oblivious to the happenings around you. Your utmost desire is to get to the last chapter of the book you’re holding.

Yes, that is what good writing feels like! It is the exact feeling every reader loves to experience. It is also the same feedback every writer wants to receive. It explains the increased word search on the internet “How do I become a better writer?”

Becoming a better writer isn’t a walk in the park, nor is it handed over; like the athletic baton used for relay races. Nobody is born a professional writer. Even the best writers had their worst days when they first started playing with words.

What separates the best from the rest is their tenacity, passion, and zeal. To push through burnout, writer’s block, and grammar deficiency.

If you decide today. In 30 days you can become a better writer by applying these strategies in your daily routine. 

Writing is such a beautiful gift. It holds the key to seducing the heart of people, melting the strongest hearts, impressing a boss at work, or a crush with a simple love letter. You can secure a million-dollar contract with the power of words. This is why 75% of research on the internet is on becoming a better writer. Whether English is your native tongue or not, you can become a better writer too.

Let me burst your bubbles for a minute, you’re a writer already. 

Often, people say to me, I want to write as well as you do, or Precious, I want to become a writer. The first question I usually ask them is this: “Do you own a Facebook account or even an Instagram account? Do you make posts on any social media platforms? What about emails and SMS? How often do you send them?

Well, you’re a writer already. A writer is someone who weaves words to convey thoughts, share ideas, and express emotions on paper. At least, it’s how I love to define it.

The question you should rather be asking is how do I become a better writer? In this post, you’ll learn how to become a better writer in 30 days. Most Importantly, how to develop your words, convey them on paper/print, and move your reader to take action. You’ll learn:

Why do you need to become a better writer?

Click here to secure your spot in this Free Bonus Live Webinar. Crazy Hacks That Will Take Your Writing To the Next Level and attract more clients for your business

Do you want to move from an average incompetent writer to a powerful word master Become a better writer, and bring your thoughts to life in print and on paper seamlessly without much stress and difficulty?

Then, you must read to the end.

There’s another bonus waiting at the end for you just for reading through!

become a better writer in 30 days

Why Do You Need To Become A Better Writer? 

As a kid, I enjoyed rewriting the endings of every movie I watched. I especially loved “they lived ever after endings”. If the movie lacked such, I’d rewrite it and give my plot twist. It was fun for me. I never thought that what I considered fun will someday become my main source of income.

Though I’m more into non-fiction writing these days. But, those days of fiction writing did put a handle on my obsession to become a better writer. I wrote for no reason including my stolen stories and the lost drafts. Writing became my comfort zone.

Most people when confronted with the need to improve their writing skills often present defenses. Why do I need to become a better writer when I have no intention to write a book in the nearest future? I can always outsource my email marketing copies, website articles, and the rest of it. There’s surely no need to improve my writing skills.

You engage this flow of thought because you’re probably tired of trying to write like your favorite author. It may be that English is your second language. Communication is difficult, let alone putting thoughts on paper. Your excuses are valid but they hold no water.

I drew this conclusion the day I heard the lecture of a mixed language course teacher. A Canadian-Russian writer, yet so fluent and precise. Can you guess what she teaches? Yes, you guessed right! Writing skills. I thought it was all play until I read reviews written by her students about her. Simply put, she is a beacon of hope and light to anyone who desires to become a better writer.

Becoming a better writer puts a handle on the door to different pathways in your life. Whether it’s to secure a promotion at work, seal a million-dollar contract, send a love note to your crush, express your thoughts on paper, make money writing, and educate millions of people all over the world. 

#1 Writing Is A Powerful Skill

Don’t take my word for it. Read what other writers say about improving their writing skills. Just being able to put down your thought alone is too powerful for words to comprehend. The simple superpower to influence the world, impact lives, send a heartfelt love letter to your loved one, change the law in your environment and make your voice heard for a just cause.

Imagine that the advocates of all the legal rights we enjoy today lacked the simple skill of writing. We won’t be here right now. You now see the manifestation of this oldie gold quote “The pen is mightier than the sword”. It is not a facade or agelong cliche. It’s simply the truth.

#2 Writing Can Get You A Promotion At Work Or Even Land A New Job

 If you desire to work in the office or land a promotion at work, you should start now to improve your writing skills and become a better writer too. Certain jobs require a specific skill set. 

Writing, my dear friend, happens to top the list of high-income skills everyone needs to have in the 21st century. People who possess good writing skills attract the most attention and summon when a need to rely on someone arises.

You’ll need to make a report at work, write your cover letter for a new job, submit a proposal, and draw up a presentation. All of these can yield better results if you become a better writer today. Rather than pay for these writing needs all the time on Fiverr and Upwork. You can become a better writer and carry them out yourself. Cool right?

#3 To Express Your Thoughts

 Imagine having a thousand thoughts and emotions run through your mind, stories to share, personal experiences, and ideas to share with others but no skill to let them out. 

Yes, you can talk about it if you’re a good public speaker. However, there’s a saying in documenting your journey as a stress relief practice and self-care. Some people prefer to read than listen to a video of any form or even podcast. 

As more people subscribe to journaling and book writing for personal and business purposes, the need to become better comes up as a necessary skill demand. If someone asks me the number #1 skill every adult ought to have, I’ll say writing before ten other high-in-demand skills.

#4 To Build A Source Of Income 

When you search for top high-income skills in demand, writing tops the list any day and anytime. With the emergence of platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and other freelance platforms, writers enjoy better opportunities and privileges to earn money.

All you need to do is hone your writing skill and become a better writer. Before you know it, clients will start to flood in. There are several niches to write in. Companies are also on the search for writers to assist them with several writing needs such as business plans, white paper, slide decks, sales copy, web briefs, and a host of other writing demands. 

#5. To Build A Seamless Process Of Communication 

What is the best mode of long-distance communication? What is the first form of communication companies adopt in the face of crisis and emergency?  you guessed right! WRITING. Writing fosters communication and professional writing leaves no room for questions and doubts.

Becoming a better writer can change your life. From the ease of communication to dependency at work. Best of all, becoming a best-selling author. If you place yourself on a 30-day writing stretch as I did with my students in the Bootcamp, you’ll become better by the need of 30 days. Not only a better writer, but you’ll also become addicted to writing too. 

become a better writer in 30 days

11 Life-Changing Tips To Become A Better Writer In 30 Days. (Strategies And Secret Tips To Help You) 

I understand you wish for a magic wand that can suddenly transform you into the James Bond of writing. Alas! It’s impossible. 

Like everything in life, mastery is achieved by placing one brick over the other. Great results are found in consistency. To become a better writer today, you must start today to pay the price. Read on to find out the proven tips I’ve practiced and guaranteed to help you become a better writer in 30 days. 

#1. Commit To A Daily Writing Schedule-The 30 Days Rule. It is an Email Course Where You Get A Writing Prompt For 30 Days For Free. 

In consistency lies the power of long-term success. If you decide today to build a routine around your writing skills, you’ll be shocked by the tremendous result you’ll register at the end of the day. When I decided to transition from hobby writing to professional, I knew what I was up against. So, the first thing I did was to place myself on a 30 days journey. By the end of the 30 days, I had become a better writer. 

#2. Good Readers Are Better Writers 

Reading one book at a time possesses so much influence over you as one who wants to become a better writer. Reading exposes you to different styles, elements, mastery of tone, character development, and lots of amazing techniques employed by your favorite authors. Here’s a tip to note down-READ LIKE A WRITER. Reading as a writer instead of merely enjoying the book alone puts you at an intelligent advantage where you get to observe and take note of the right application of the techniques we discussed above.

#3. Keep A Journal 

Not just any kind of journaling journey, have the kind where you write those ideas. Do you remember the engaging conversations you hold with yourself in the bathroom or alone on the street? Write them down and develop them later. Take note of interesting conversations that you hear. Write plot twists and visual details and fragments of song lyrics or poems that move you. I started practicing this habit in 2019 and it’s since become a habit 

#4. Study Other Successful Writers In Your Niche 

This isn’t about copying anyone or modeling the way they write but rather studying and observing them closely. If you read from a particular person for a long time, chances are that you’ll be influenced by his writing style and you’ll find yourself writing in the same manner. 

So, the goal is not to copy and paste them. This would mean that you’ve thrown away your originality which is not healthy for a writer. Here’s what you should do instead. Whenever you read a good book or your favorite author, observe closely the professional way they string words to create a flow of thought. 

#5. Be Original 

I preach so much about originality because I know how important it is and also how frustrating it can be. Important, because your voice and style ought to be appreciated; perfect or not. Imagine reading an article and thinking to yourself “She didn’t write this, she copied this from a certain writer you know”.

Often, It’s either the writing is indeed a plagiarist copy or the writer adopted the same writing style neglecting the tone of their brand. Your originality is what sets you apart, it brings this fresh zing and perspective on topics people have read about. 

The goal of becoming a better writer isn’t to earn accolades but rather to bring a fresh view and perception on topics people have read about or have repeating questions on. 

#6. Have A Flow Of Thought 

Just because we say to commit to a writing routine, you’re not going to run around in a circle writing about ‘Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a bucket of water’. The idea is to first have a flow of thought or a thought pattern. Say, for example, I want to write about how to build a passive income with digital products. The flow of my thought process even before carrying out keyword research starts with analyzing the questions I receive on this topic.

Maybe, you’re yet to build expertise to the point where people ask you questions on certain topics. Generate your flow of thought from conversations, Google, Ask the Public, Medium, and books you’ve read in the past, or simply concerns you have about a certain subject.

Having and maintaining a flow of thought without digressing and shifting focus is one way to become a better writer. Ensure that as you write, the sequence of writing can be traced. So smooth, it makes your readers come for more. 

#7. Prioritize The Needs Of Your Audience 

If you want to become a better writer, you need to place the questions, needs, and doubts of your audience first. There may be occasions you want to write on a certain topic of your choice, which is fine by the way. However, if you are on the journey of building a brand and voice on the internet, you need to consider the needs and questions of your audience.  Trust me on this, being able to solve people’s problems with your content puts you on top of their list. It’s called the crystal ball technique in content marketing. 

#8. Cut The Filler Phrases And Buzzwords. 

Public speakers are the most victims of filler phrases such as ‘errm, uhhmm, yeah?’ And other filler alternatives. Unfortunately, it affects writers too. Filler words punch the wheels of your writing, present your writing as average, and cloud your message with verbal static. Editing software like Grammarly underlines words like absolutely necessary as redundant phrases. You don’t need absolutely. Example: Consistency is absolutely necessary to become a better writer. Rather write: Consistency is necessary to write well. 

#9. Improve Your Grammar

Every single day, I learn and correct grammar errors. This is not only because I’m a writer. It is because I want to speak better and write better. Regardless of your height and expertise in writing, you’ll always learn a better way of writing and perhaps a grammar error hiding under your radar unnoticed. You’ve used it for years and now you’re ashamed to even admit that it’s an error. Breaking news, you’re not perfect, you can only get better.

Certain grammar errors are so commonplace – and sound seemingly right to the ears – that they are hard to let go of when you finally figure out the damage they’ve been doing. Funnily enough, the first time I heard “It’s high time you left” in high school, I laughed my pants off. My classmates even fought over it because it didn’t sound right.

Well, we accepted that English grammar is a burden to the soul. No need for the hall of shame. This is why I enjoy books like ‘grammar mistakes every writer needs to know’ by the eloquent Eno Sam. You need books like this to polish and finetune your writing to a professional level.

#10. Write The Way You Talk. 

Training yourself to become a better writer doesn’t mean you must always write in a formal tone or a stiff manner. I like my writings to be conversational, one of my readers once gave me feedback on his addiction to my faith blog. He said, “You write like you’re speaking directly to me. I love it cause it feels like we’re having a real-time conversation”.

Conversational writing sells your identity and personality to people. Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, people can pick it up when they read from you. Observing all the grammar rules without life in your writing bores people to death. 

Always have a good reason to bend the grammar rules if you have to as long as you make a great delivery at the end of the day. Your readers are not expecting a professor-grade kind of formal writing, they want to interact with your writing. 

#11. Register For Writing Courses-Free And Paid 

More importantly, register for courses. There are lots of writing courses out there that can help you become a better writer. Some of them like the Writers Bootcamp holds you by the hand and show you every single detail you need to take note of to compete in the global space and also make better deliveries without breaking a sweat.

To help you get started, I created the FREE 30 days writing challenge. You’ll receive a daily writing prompt to develop. It’s a great way for you to push yourself above your limit, try something insanely worth it and see the recurring change in 30 days. If you want to become a better writer in 30 days, click here to invest in your future for free.

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Trump ordered to pay $454 million in fines and interest in NY business fraud case

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  • Donald Trump has been ordered to pay about $454 million in total penalties after a judge found that Trump, his company and others fraudulently inflated assets to boost his net worth and get financial perks.
  • That includes about $355 million in disgorgement and more than $98 million in prejudgment interest at a 9% annual rate.
  • Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron also barred Trump for three years from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation, or applying for loans from any New York chartered or registered financial institution.
  • "Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological," Engoron wrote in a scathing ruling.

A New York judge on Friday ordered Donald Trump to pay about $454 million in total penalties as part of his ruling in the former president's civil business fraud trial.

The staggering figure includes about $355 million in disgorgement, a term for returning ill-gotten gains, plus more than $98 million in prejudgment interest that will accrue every day until it is paid, according to a spokesperson for the attorney general's office.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron also barred Trump from running a business in New York for three years.

The former president also faces a three-year ban on applying for loans from financial institutions registered with the state.

"New York means business in combating business fraud," Engoron wrote in the 92-page ruling.

The judge delivered the final decision from the trial, which was held without a jury.

"We've employed tens of thousands of people in New York, and we pay taxes like few other people have ever paid in New York," Trump said in remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort after the ruling. "They don't care about that. It's a state that's going bust because everybody's leaving."

His attorney Chris Kise said in a statement earlier Friday that Trump "will of course appeal."

The former president "remains confident the Appellate Division will ultimately correct the innumerable and catastrophic errors made by a trial court untethered to the law or to reality," Kise said.

The appeals process could take several years to resolve.

The explosive trial stemmed from New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit accusing Trump, his two adult sons, his company and top executives of fraudulently inflating Trump's assets to boost his stated net worth and obtain various financial perks.

"There simply cannot be different rules for different people," James said in a statement celebrating the ruling Friday afternoon.

"Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage to buy a home, and if they did, our government would throw the book at them," James said.

James had asked Engoron to ban Trump for life from New York's real estate industry, and for $370 million in disgorgement.

Instead, Engoron fined Trump $354,868,768 in disgorgement. He also ordered Trump to pay a total of $98.6 million in prejudgment interest, which will accrue at an annual rate of 9%.

The grand total, including disgorgement and interest, for all defendants in the case: just under $464 million.

Of that sum, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who took over the Trump Organization after their father became president in 2017, have been ordered to pay more than $4 million each.

Eric and Donald Jr. also face two-year bans from serving as officers or directors of any New York corporation or legal entity.

Co-defendants Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's former chief financial officer, and the company's comptroller, Jeffrey McConney, are permanently banned from controlling the finances of a New York business, Engoron ruled.

But the judge vacated his own prior directive to cancel the defendants' business certificates, meaning he is no longer pursuing what some legal experts described as a "corporate death penalty" for the Trump Organization.

The decision is only the latest court-ordered punishment imposed on Trump, who is running for president while dealing with numerous criminal and civil lawsuits. Last month, a jury in a separate civil case in New York federal court ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll when he responded to her claim that he had raped her in the mid-1990s.

Trump is the clear front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, setting up a likely rematch with President Joe Biden , who beat him in 2020.

Lawyers for Trump and the other defendants quickly blasted Friday's ruling, accusing the judge and the prosecutor of political bias and warning that the outcome will drive business away from New York.

"Countless hours of testimony proved that there was no wrongdoing, no crime, and no victim," Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement.

But Engoron wrote in his ruling that the statute used in the case does not require that a victim lose money.

"It is undisputed that defendants have made all required payments on time; the next group of lenders to receive bogus statements might not be so lucky," he wrote.

"Defendants submitted blatantly false financial data" as they sought to borrow more money at better loan rates, "resulting in fraudulent financial statements," Engoron wrote.

He also pointed to the Trump team's legal defenses, saying they proved the company and its officers would keep operating the same way they always had unless he forced them to change.

"When confronted at trial with the statements, defendants' fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality," the judge wrote.

Their "refusal to admit error" led the judge to conclude "that they will engage in it going forward unless judicially restrained."

"Indeed, Donald Trump testified that, even today, he does not believe the Trump Organization needed to make any changes based on the facts that came out during this trial," Engoron wrote.

"Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological."

Read more on this Trump fraud trial

  • Trump lashes out at financial monitor in business fraud case after she reports errors
  • Trump storms out of fraud trial after judge clashes with his attorneys, fines him $10,000 for violating gag order
  • New York AG pushing for lifetime Trump ban cites Martin Shkreli ruling

Trump has frequently raged against his many legal battles as "witch hunts," claiming they are part of a Biden administration-backed conspiracy to tank his political ambitions.

He vociferously denied all wrongdoing in the New York fraud case, blaring his claims of total innocence on social media, at the courthouse and even on the witness stand.

Trump claimed to be worth far more than what was reported on his financial statements, while asserting that a disclaimer on the records protected him from liability for any inaccuracies.

But Trump and the other defendants were found liable for fraud by Engoron before the trial even began.

In a bombshell pretrial ruling, Engoron granted summary judgment on James' main cause of action — that the defendants committed fraud in violation of New York law.

Engoron found that Trump's statements of financial condition between 2014 and 2021 overvalued his assets between $812 million and $2.2 billion.

The ruling razed Trump's defense claims, accusing him and his co-defendants of trying to convince the court to "not believe its own eyes."

The trial was conducted to determine the amount to be paid in penalties and resolve other claims of wrongdoing from James' lawsuit.

The trial also doubled as a soapbox for Trump to air his grievances about his perceived political foes, including those sitting feet away from him in court.

On the witness stand, Trump railed against Engoron and James while defending the values that were reported on his statements of financial condition. Trump also tore into another key witness, his former fixer and personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who testified that Trump had directed him to falsely manipulate his net worth.

Trump's venting brought consequences. On the second day of the trial, Engoron imposed a narrow gag order after Trump repeatedly targeted the judge's principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield, who sat in court.

Trump violated the gag order twice within four weeks, catching fines totaling $15,000.

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IMAGES

  1. 6 Easy Steps to Become a Better Writer in Less Than a Month

    become a better writer in 30 days

  2. How to become a better writer? 10 ways that will work for you

    become a better writer in 30 days

  3. Cool Writing, Writing Words, Writing Life, Writing Advice, Creative

    become a better writer in 30 days

  4. Becoming a Better Writer in 30 Days or Less Want help with writing

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  5. 6 Easy Practical Steps to Becoming a Better Writer: 30 Days

    become a better writer in 30 days

  6. How To Become A Better Writer

    become a better writer in 30 days

VIDEO

  1. How to become a better baker #shorts

  2. Parotta

  3. writers NEED to listen to this to be productive😲 #writer #writing #writersofinstagram

  4. Is this Beginner Writing Advice USEFUL or DAMAGING?

  5. Better Days- (slowed version)

COMMENTS

  1. 6 Easy Practical Steps to Becoming a Better Writer: 30 Days

    1. Become a better writer by starting a blog If you start a blog you are more likely to start writing than if you don't. There are plenty of good sites to start blogging today for free, wordpress.org being one of them and they allow you to use free plugins as well compared to wordpress.com.

  2. How to become a better writer in 30 days

    1. Create a daily writing routine If you want a daily writing habit to stick, you need to bake it into your daily routine. It doesn't matter when—early in the morning, late at night, or somewhere in between. What does matter is making sure it's on your schedule every single day over the next month.

  3. How to Overcome Writer's Block in 30 Days: a Complete Guide

    How to Overcome Writer's Block in 30 Days: a Complete Guide In my case, there were four most prevalent causes of experiencing a creative plateau as a writer. Here's how I overcame them with a 30-day challenge. Marta Brzosko · Follow Published in Better Humans · 31 min read · Aug 6, 2019 -- 29 All illustrations by the author.

  4. How to Become a Better Blog Writer in 30 Days

    1. Write down ideas, all the time When you write down your ideas, you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few if any of us can write one thought and think another at the same time. Thus a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools. - Michael Leboeuf Nurjean Chaneco revived his blog by continually writing down new ideas.

  5. 30 Minutes, 30 Days: This Practice Can Help You Become a Better Writer

    In 30 days, I: Published nine new posts on my blog, Freelancing Mama and drafted another 21 posts. Planned out my content until March 2017. Completed 30+ pages of an ebook on becoming a virtual assistant. Decreased the amount of time it takes me to write a post Gained more confidence in my abilities.

  6. How to Become a Better Writer: 20 Hacks and Tips

    1. Start by spending more time writing In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell famously claims that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve greatness in any skill. Even if you only put in two hours more per week than usual, any increase in the time you spend writing will accelerate your improvement.

  7. How to Write A Book in 30 Days (Even if You've Never Written Anything)

    2. Quantity Over Quality. Yes, of course you want your writing to be good, but you're not looking to create a finished draft a the end of 30 days. You're just trying to get something down. For the next 30 days, keep your writing hat on and your editing hat far, far away. In fact, throw your editing hat out of the window.

  8. How to Become a Better Writer: 32 Tips from a Bestseller

    1. Don't aim to write a bestseller. That's the last thing I think about when I start a new book. I have no control over the market, sales, reviews, and all the rest. All I can control is how much of myself I give to a writing project. To have any chance at success, my writing must come from my passions, the overflow of what drives me.

  9. Writing for Profit: How to Become a Freelance Writer in 30 Days (or Less)

    1. Take a course. My number one tip is to invest in yourself from the very beginning. When I first got started with freelance writing, I took a course by Gina Horkey of The Horkey Handbook. Gina offers two courses on freelance writing, Kickstart Your Freelance Writing Biz, a FREE, 5 lesson course to dip your toe and 30 Days or Less to Freelance ...

  10. Here's How To Become A Better Writer

    Writing Tip # 2: Read more. Many acclaimed authors all say it: in order to be a better writer, you must read. The more you read, the more exposure you have to broader vocabulary, ideas, and ...

  11. Do You Want To Become A Better Writer In 30 Days? Start Here

    Do You Want To Become A Better Writer In 30 Days? Start Here Implement these daily habits if you want to be successful. Matt Lillywhite · Follow Published in The Startup · 4 min read · Jul 8,...

  12. How to become a better writer: 10 tips to wow readers

    1. Build your writing muscle. Think of writing as an exercise: the more you write, the better you become. To start by learning how to become a better writer, you can experiment with writing for 30 days. Commit to practising your writing every single day so you can build that muscle and skill over time.

  13. How to Become a Significantly Better Writer in Less Than 30 Days

    To become a better writer in the next 30 days, start building your own catalog of headlines. When reading the work of your heroes, take notes of their titles and ask yourself how you too, could ...

  14. How to Become a Better Writer at Work

    If you're unsure, read aloud and make sure you—and a colleague—can follow what you're trying to say. Unless you're an advanced writer with a knack for lengthy, complex lines, opt for short, straightforward sentences. In the example above, the first sentence is a run-on (which is why you probably felt lost from the beginning).

  15. How To Become a Better Writer: 11 Steps for Success

    1. Set specific goals Before you begin writing, it's important to clarify your objectives for improvement and determine your goals. Maybe you want to work on your spelling and grammar, prose or technical expertise.

  16. How to Become a Better Writer: 14 Expert Tips

    Try committing to a "write every day" challenge to improve your discipline. Platforms like WriteEveryDay.app are a great starting point for that goal. 3. Get a Clear Brief. Whether you are writing for your own company or work for someone else, a clear brief is key to good writing.

  17. 10 Fast Ways to Become a Better Writer

    How can you quickly improve your writing? What tools are there beyond grammar and spellchecker to make sure you're doing your best work? In the world of online and email communication, writing powerful copy makes all the difference. Sometimes we need tactical, specific, and immediately useful tips to make our writing better.

  18. 30-Day Challenge

    My 30-Day Reading Challenge. Giving back by sharing some kindness and appreciation within the writing community! Trisha Dunbar (She/Her) Become a better writer in 30 days with a writing challenge.

  19. How To Become A Better Writer

    Dickie Bush & Nicolas Cole Becoming a writer is not easy. And there is no "one-size-fits-all" way to get better. It takes time, effort, and experimentation to get good at it—and even then, there will always be room for improvement. Which means that if you want to become a writer (of any kind), then being able to commit yourself fully is key.

  20. 9 Ways to Become a Better Writer

    8. Write More. It may be a cliché, but practice really does make perfect - or, at least, it can help you to improve. And it doesn't matter what you write; it's developing the habit that counts. Try keeping a daily journal - that way, you won't have the added pressure of anyone else reading what you've written. 9.

  21. DO These 10 Things To Become A Better Writer in 30 Days

    It doesn't matter if you want to go into freelancing, book writing, technical writing, ghostwriting or fiction writing, these tips will change your writing game forever.

  22. 11 Life-Changing Tips to Become a Better Writer in 30 Days

    In 30 days you can become a better writer by applying these strategies in your daily routine. Writing is such a beautiful gift. It holds the key to seducing the heart of people, melting the strongest hearts, impressing a boss at work, or a crush with a simple love letter. You can secure a million-dollar contract with the power of words.

  23. How to become a better Writer in 30 days

    With the advent and advancement in technology, came new ways of doing things and shifts from the usual. It is true that writing could be traced to centuries ago, but never in the history of man ...

  24. Trump fraud trial: Judge Engoron fines ex-president $454 million

    Last month, a jury in a separate civil case in New York federal court ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll when he responded to her claim that he had raped her in ...

  25. What records are exempted from FERPA?

    Records which are kept in the sole possession of the maker of the records, are used only as a personal memory aid, and are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the records.