This is a guest post by Rick LaPoint, who successfully runs various websites and you can see all of them at RickLaPoint.com. In today’s guest post, you will learn how to improve writing skills that will easily attract readers towards it and you will find yourself enjoying great benefits.
Anyone can write a sentence. And anyone can string sentences into a paragraph. Anyone can communicate their ideas to others in a manner that is understood.
But there is a big difference between writing that simply communicates and writing that motivates.
Good writing is engaging, entertaining, and leaves the reader with specific emotions deliberately embedded by the author of the text.
Whether you are writing for a blog or an advertising campaign, Good writing…
- Catches your visitor’s attention
- Gets your readers involved and motivated
- Leads your readers to a pre-determined outcome
…and is all planned and executed in advance by you, the writer.
Writing well is both an Art, and a Science. And many believe there may be just a little bit of Voodoo in there, as well 🙂
No one can really teach you the Art, but writing has Rules. Rules makes writing a Science that can be taught. Although this article is much too short to be a complete study, we can examine a few tips to help you greatly improve. Learning some basic exercises in combination with disciplined practice can open up your intuitive creativity and put you ahead of your peers.
Writing Begins with Reading
The first Rule of good Writing is good Reading. Read everything you can find that is written in the style you wish to emulate. The more you read one type of writing, the more you will “soak up” that style into your sub-conscious mind. Have you ever noticed that you become friends with people who are like you? And you, in turn, become like the friends you spend time with.
It’s the same with reading. I used to read the Wall St. Journal every day, and after a while I began thinking like the Wall St. Journal, and my words and sentences began to look more like the Wall St. Journal. My writing never became as good as the Journal’s writing, but my skill developed to a much higher level than it would have otherwise.
- Exercise #1: Read books, magazines, web postings by authors whose writing you would like to emulate. As much as possible, stick to one style.
- Exercise #2: After a while, try to understand and “dissect” the “formula” for that style. What are they doing? How are they using descriptive words, sentence length, stories?
Write Every Day
The more time you spend writing, the better your writing will become. What you write every day isn’t nearly as important as the exercise of doing it. At the end of each session of the creative writing class I attended, we were required to write about anything. Anything at all. But we had to fill the page. We could ramble, we could mumble, and could rant, we could sing. The only thing that mattered was that we force ourselves to write, whether we felt like it or not.
On many occasions my mind was blank, and I had nothing at all to say. But the very act of writing one or two sentence of random thoughts would get the creativity flowing, and before I knew it, I had filled a page. Granted, it wasn’t very good. But that was not the point. It was the “mind-dump” first draft. It was a creativity exercise.
- Exercise #3: Keep a notepad or journal handy at all times, and whenever an idea hits you, about anything, write it down. If you have time at that moment, write as much as you can about it for as long as the ideas keep coming. This will help you begin a collection of great things to write about later.
- Exercise #4: Set aside a “special” time for writing your blog. Write as quickly as you can, using every idea that comes to you regarding one subject. Don’t worry about organizing your thoughts, you can do that later. The exercise here is to let your mind come up with as many focused ideas as possible. Write them as sentences, write them as bullet points, it doesn’t matter. If the ideas start flowing, you will end up with enough material for several articles you can fine-tune later.
Edit, Rewrite, then Edit Some More
We see it all the time. misspelled words, poorly constructed sentences that don’t make sense, several words in a string that should have been deleted, poorly organized content… it’s a very long list.
The frustrating part of this is that most of these people are capable of much better writing, but they are in a hurry. They are not bad writers — they’re sloppy writers.
Any writing can be greatly improved fairly easily.
Use a spell Checker. Slowly read your article for Typos, duplicated words, words you meant to delete. This proofing is not for Content as much as Mechanics.
Make sure your article flows from one point to the next in a logical order. You don’t always have to use bullet points in your finished work, but it may help in the beginning stages until you work your ideas into inspiring and informative sentences.
Remove or strengthen weak sentences. Don’t say, “dull,” when you can say, “lifeless.” Exchange lifeless words for words that sparkle. Highly descriptive words help your readers “feel” your ideas with their emotions. Remember, If you get bored proofing your text, your audience will get bored reading it.
Yes, it’s difficult to slowly proof-read your own material. But proof-read you must. And you must do so over and over again until it flows as a coherent and descriptive stream of information.
- Exercise #5: Spend an entire week working on one specific article. Write the entire article in one sitting, then edit. Walk away. The next day work on it some more. Add some things and maybe move things around to better organize the flow. Edit. Walk away. On day 3 you do the same, all over again. Spend the entire 7 days working, reworking, and polishing your article until it is the best you can possibly write it. If you can, have someone else read it with a Red Pen to mark it up. Then rewrite it again.
Writing is Interaction
While sitting alone at the keyboard, it can be easy to forget sometimes that we are trying to engage real, live human beings to motivate them into thinking new thoughts, and acting in new ways. When explaining how to do something, explain why they should do it, and what the expected outcome will be. Always appeal to their own self-interest, and try to use examples from your own experience to better illustrate the points you are making.
By explaining how you did something, then telling the Story of what happened to you as a result, you can draw your reader into a more intimate conversation with you. You can encourage your readers with your own success as a result of the methods you’re teaching them, and warn them of your failures by explaining what went wrong at times — and what you did to fix it.
- Exercise #6: Write an article as if you were writing a letter to a close friend or family member. Avoid writing as if you were a professor teaching a group of students. Be friendly, use examples, tell a story.
End Your Writing by Writing an Ending
When you complete your article, don’t allow it to simply hang dangling when you are finished with the topic. Wrap things up to a satisfying Conclusion with a:
- Summary
- Call to Action
- A final Story
- Inspirational Quote, Example, or Advice
- Go full circle and conclude by referencing the article’s opening
There are many more things we could discuss about writing well, and we may do just that in a future article. But the techniques and exercises listed above should give you a good beginning.
The real Key to writing well is to Practice. If possible, have friends and family members read your work and give you honest feedback. If you can, find someone who writes better than you do, and have them be very honest with you. I always give my wife a Red Pen, and tell her to “tear it apart.” And she does. I just wish she didn’t enjoy it so much!
Writing well is a Skill that can be learned, an Art that can be nurtured, and a Magic that can be used to dazzle and persuade others to your way of thinking and to your plan of action.
Now, before I go, we have one last Exercise:
- Exercise #7: Follow my Call to Action, and with as much creativity as you can muster, leave me a comment in the box below 🙂
Hi Rick
One word for this article “brilliant”. You are a true wordsmith (see my post I will publish tomorrow for more on that one) and it shines through in the way you have written this post. I love reading well written posst and you sure haven’t disappointed. You seem to be getting round to the well established blogs and guest posting and I’m sure there will be others who agree with me that this is worth reading and taking note of the important points you so skillfully describe for improving our writing skills. Thanks for sharing.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi Patricia,
Thank you for the kind words.
I worked this article for days, and your feedback clearly illustrates the rewards that come from Edit & Rewrite.
I would say thank you for stopping by, but everywhere I go, you are already there!
Rick
Thanks very much for sharing these tips, Rick.
I am not speaking English, so my writing skill has so many limits, sometimes I couldn’t describe my original ideas. I will start practicing with your exercises and hopefully it will really work.
Nice day.
Hi Tuan,
I know this site has many visitors whose first language is not English, which is why I picked SmartBloggerz for this article, rather than somewhere else. This was not about English Rules of Grammar.
Practice will help you a lot. And taking the TIME to Edit and Rewrite will really set you apart from those who are not willing to take the extra care necessary to stand ahead of everyone else.
Thank you for taking the topic seriously.
Rick
Rick I make writing an everyday thing so I can better and make things sound better to my readers. No I’m not perfect but its getting better and hopeful one day I can consider myself an writer.
“TrafficColeman “Signing Off”
Hi Antonio,
It’s that dedication to improvement that really makes the difference. People notice.
We must have confidence on the one hand, or we wouldn’t have the courage to put ourselves before the public. And we must be humble enough on the other hand to know we must keep working to be better.
People respect your efforts as much as they respect your skill.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Rick
Yes, with this tips we can be a better writer and blogger. Thank for the tutorial bro.
Hi Latief,
I appreciate your taking the time to comment.
Rick
great tips !! loved the two first points !! its indeed essential to write a lot for a good experience and read a lot since you need it to improve and know who you will be dealing with !! well done 🙂 thank You
Hi Rahul,
Don’t forget the importance of point 3. It’s the willingness to slow down and carefully Edit that makes the real difference. That’s where your original ideas can become something greater than you first thought.
It’s the Editing stage that most often sees the real Inspiration come through. First, you focus on What to say. Editing is where you focus on How well you say it.
Thank you for your positive feedback.
Rick
I agree with you on all accounts. One of my biggest pet peeves online is poor grammar and diction in blog posts. Whatever takes away from the flow of your article hurts your retention rate terribly.
Hi Carl,
I’m guilty of typos, as well. Sometimes I read over a post after it’s live a day or two, and wonder how I missed this or that.
On the other hand, I see many very sloppy posts out there where I wonder if they bothered to read it at all before throwing it before the world.
Thanks for the comment.
Rick
Hi Rick,
1st – Thank you for this great post, as always.
2nd – Surprised, I just tell you that in order for me to be able to write one good English I have to learn, try and read a lot (because I’m not a native English speaker).
3rd – I just find out that if I would like to produce a good English article that can catch up reader’s mind I have to concentrate on one or two good writers, learn their styles, adjust to be mine. Then I see this article from you which supporting my idea. 😉
4th – One of my favourite writer is you, another is Kristi from Kikolani. I am very carefully reading your article word by word with lot of enjoyable.
5th – One point from your list that I still miss it, is to take notepad with me, so several of my ideas get lost among the others.
Following your advise, I should be able to write great article like you soon.
(I feel funny myself when I am thinking… I can do programming, can fix computer, network problem, every IT works but I seems stuck on English writing.)
Hi Rose,
I have heard for years that English is one of the most difficult languages because so many of the rules seem to make no real logical sense. “I before E, except after C” for example. At least computer programming languages have very strict rules that always apply in each situation.
It may be helpful to find a book or two with grammar rules, or at the very least use the grammar checker in Microsoft Word.
My own site is read by serious business people who expect good writing, so I have to work hard to create content they will accept.
It takes a lot more effort to maintain a blog that is exceptional. But if it was easy, everyone would be doing it :-). If you make the extra effort, you have much less competition.
Thanks for you kind words, Rose.
Rick
HI Rose
I just came back over here to check I haven’t missed anything. What I can say to you 2nd language English speakers is that I admire your courage. Like Rick says; there are so many exceptions to the rules and unless you are using English in conversation and mixing with English speakers it is so hard. Yet so many of you are doing it. RESPECT.
If you would ever like to have your posts proof read before you post I am happy to look over them for you. I am looking for ways to give back to this amazing blogging community and that is a way I feel I can contribute.
You see unlike you I find the techie stuff a mystery. My problem solving skills are almost non-exisitent so anyone who understands the stuff you and Rick do I put in the realm of genius 🙂 Be encouraged, the more you write the easier it should become. I’m here if you need any help.
Patricia Perth Australia
I can testify to this. I’m dyslexic and find writing a bit of a challenge. But having my blog, Writing everyday. Read other blog post. Commenting on other blogs has so improved my writing skills. My spelling has improved, not perfect though, but improved. My grammar has also improved, and so has my reading.
What do they say, practice makes perfect.
Hi Robert,
I’m quite a bit “Lexdystic” myself, and am constantly fixing the strangest things. It’s like my brain says one thing while my finger are off in their own little happy place. “How in the world did I write that?”
That’s one reason I emphasize Editing so much.
Practice does make perfect, so maybe someday I will get there.
Thanks for stopping by.
Rick
Good points, to become a successful online you first have to learn what you want to trade.However, good writers are good readers! Good writer should read a lot, and be more attentive to what they read.
Thanks for the post
All my life I have noted that those who are always reading tend to be the better communicators.
Yes, “be attentive to what they read.” You can only get so much from osmosis; you still must study the style you want to emulate. And I still have to work and rework every article.
Thanks for the comments, Biodun.
Rick
This is Magic! This is Voodoo!) And this advice works in an amazing way! Believe soon I will improve my writing skills, thank you!