How to be a Good Writer

Writing is something most people do in some form every day.

But I think a lot of people at some point have wondered how they can be a better writer. It seems to come so easily to some people, while others find expressing themselves difficult and they constantly stare at an empty page, or a page with words that just don’t sound right.

There are a lot of benefits of writing.

So it’s definitely worth doing more often. 

What makes a good writer?

Good writing creates emotion. It makes the reader feel and whisks them away on a journey. Good writing connects things and tells a story that the reader can relate to.

Good writers connect to their audience.

Writers often compare themselves to other writers and feel like they can never measure up, like they will never be good enough.

It’s not about being better than other writers, it’s about being the writer you want to be. 

How to be a better writer

Read, read and read some more

It’s hard to be a writer if you don’t read. Read as much as you can. And different types if possible.

Write daily

Like everything you want to get better at, the more often you do it, the better you will get at it. Writing is no different. It doesn’t have to be anything specific, even if it’s just for your own eyes only. Write about your day, something that happened, something cute or crazy your kids have done. Whatever you feel like.

Find your own voice

Trying to sound more like another writer will not do any good. Don’t try to imitate anyone. You don’t necessarily have to write the way you speak, but write in a way that feels natural and unforced. The more you write, the easier it will become. You will begin to trust yourself and it will show. Embrace your uniqueness. Be yourself.

Write from the heart

Some of the best writing is done when we feel emotions strongly and we learn to express it. If you are going through an emotional time of any kind, write about it. Often the words will flow easily and you will connect to it more because you feel it. Another benefit of this is it can help you work through your emotions and deal with them.

Use your experiences

Everything you have experienced in your life is different to everyone else. What have you seen or done? What would others be surprised to learn about? What could you tell someone who knew absolutely nothing about it?

Know who you are writing for

Write for yourself, write for others, but know who you are doing it for and why. If you are doing it for yourself, write from the heart, put your whole self into it and feel the emotion. If it’s for someone else, who are they and what do they need from you? If you know the demographic of who you are aiming for, you can write it to suit them. You can’t write something that will please everyone. Write for your audience, whoever that may be.

Write down ideas as soon as you think of it

When an idea pops into your head, make sure you write it down. I makes sure I have notebooks everywhere because you never know when an idea strikes. Because chances are, you won’t remember it later and you will be kicking yourself. Often the best ideas happen when you are least expecting it. And when you can’t think of something to write about you can look back on your notes.

Keep a diary or journal

Write about your day or anything you feel like writing about. It can be great to keep memories you may have otherwise forgotten about, or remembering how things made you feel. I’ve kept a diary since I was about eleven years old. It helped me to write about things that were happening in my life and to express what I was feeling. Now, looking back I can remember how I felt when those things happened. The positives and the negatives.

Write letters

So many people don’t write letters anymore. But it’s good to do. If you don’t have anyone to write, to, you could write letters to your kids for them to read when they’re older, or even yourself if you want to.

You are a writer

Say to yourself, “I am a writer.” You write something, you are a writer. Believe in yourself and remember that. You are a writer. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a hobby or you get paid to do it. Even some of the best writers in the world say they are still learning and there is room for improvement. That’s what makes them amazing. They are always striving to be better.

Creative Writing

So what is creative writing?

Creative writing is done using imagination and creativity in order to tell a story. The best part of creative writing is it can be whatever you want. You can let your imagination run wild.

I’ve always loved creative writing since I was little. I loved seeing what I could come up with and I loved telling stories. Even if you aren’t a creative writer, it can be good to give it a go every now and then. It gives you more practise and gives your brain an extra workout.

Don’t underestimate the importance of creative writing.

And, it’s heaps of fun.

Types of Creative Writing

There are many types of creative writing. The most common are fictional stories, plays, movie and television scripts, poems etc. But that can be a bit much when you just want to practise writing.

There are heaps of creative writing ideas around. Here’s some simple creative writing exercises or projects to help improve your writing

Creative writing exercises

Creative writing exercises can be a lot of fun to do, which is great because if you enjoy doing them you are likely to do them more often, which can improve your writing skills.

Free Writing

Just pick a topic and write about it for a set amount of time, like five or ten minutes. In that time you aren’t allowed to edit or read back what you want, you have to keep going. When you have finished, you can leave it as just an exercise you did, or you can edit it into a story or something else, or even use the ideas.

Short stories

The great thing about short stories is you can write them in shorter amounts of time. They can be as short as you want. It can be funny, it can be sad, it can be whatever you want.

Describe your day – creatively

You could start with what you did since you woke up, but told through someone else’s view. How might someone else have described the things you did? Make the dull more exciting. Anything can happen. You could even play ‘what if?’ if something almost happened but didn’t.

Writing Prompts

Ideas for writing prompts can be found everywhere.

We can have weird dreams at times. You could think about another way it could have ended.

You can find heaps of great writing prompts on the internet. Find one that sparks an idea and go with it. Here’s some great writing prompts. 

Write a letter to younger or future self

Writing a letter to your younger self, or to your future self can be a lot of fun. Think about the things you wish you knew back then, or the things you hope to have achieved in the future.

Find a picture and write about it

We see pictures everywhere. Find one or more and create a story. Who are the people and what might they be doing?

You will learn how to be a great writer with more practise.

At the end of the day, you are you, and nobody does it better. Improve your skills, but don’t lose your unique voice in the process.

Do you love to write? What things have you done to become a better writer?