How to Write Better

Get back to the basics. Read grammar books and tutorials. Read quality books/text. Join copy courses as well for a boost.

Constant-Content. Every article that you submit is hand reviewed, and if it doesn't meet their quality standards they tell you why. Not only is it a free critique, but when your content is finally published it can make you money (you set your prices).

It's free, so it can't hurt.

Start a website and start offering your writing services. Don't feel bad about not being accepted into About and Demand Studios. I've been denied from Demand Studios but guess what?... I still get prospective client leads inquiring about my marketing and writing services. And they pay great. Sign up to other freelance writing sites, and dont give up!

In order to write better you need to read a lot.

Also you must be good at making summaries! Which means you got to understand what it is you're reading!

I can write for hours about anything...if i dont know the subject..i need to read one, two articles about it and my mind kinda makes sense of what i've read and i can write like i know what i am talking about

Pick up a grammar book, study it. Read the rules of the language, then read some classic literature to see how the masters have harnessed it. Read a lot. Especially if English is not your first language. Look at articles in magazines and newspapers, take notes while you read them..

Although some people are naturally gifted writers, for most writers, it takes a lot of study and practice.

I agree with the suggestion of getting back to basics with grammar and throw some vocabulary improvement in the mix. We hire a lot of writers of different skills and being able to write in appropriate tone for a specific audience along with grammar and vocabulary are what makes the difference between a writer getting $5 an article and $50 an article.

Good luck!

Go back and read JaRyCu's post again. He offers some great critique there, and gives specific examples of what he's talking about.

Unfortunately, the best solution I've found to writing better content is to do it more often. I've posted in other forums (and possibly here) that I carry a notebook in my back pocket for jotting down any ideas for articles that pop into my head. I don't necessarily write an article about every topic that I list there, but when I'm hitting a creative roadblock it comes in very handy for breaking through it and finding a topic.

Reading is also a great way to learn to write more efficiently and creatively. I've been an avid reader since I was old enough to realize that letter sounds made words, and I normally have anywhere from one to three books going at a time. Jokes about ADD can be inserted here, I've already heard most of them By reading as much material as I can, I've expanded my vocabulary beyond the basic spoken words that most people use in everyday conversation and given myself the ability to use alternative words in my writing (i.e. however or therefore instead of so). Read everything you can, improve your written vocabulary, and use that enhanced vocabulary to your advantage when it comes to writing content.

I don't see it mentioned above, so I'll point you to a site that I normally recommend to new or developing writers, which is PaperRater. It is a free site that literally grades your paper for spelling, grammar, and vocabulary, as well as checking for originality. Run the next 10 articles you write through their system and pay attention to what it tells you. The report card will give you tips on improving your writing style and vocabulary skills, so note those down. Always try for the "A" rating, but if you can get a high "B" it should pass at most of the content sites.

There's the technical side of things, but on the other side is how readable is your article? As JaRyCu pointed out, you're writing tends to be a little dry. This isn't necessarily bad, since my writing can be dry as well depending on the subject, but remember to write for your audience. If you're writing technical papers, dry is a good thing. However, when writing for a blog audience you need to let your sense of humor show in your writing. The occasional joke made at your own expense will do wonders to help people connect with you as a person, rather than just as words on a website.

Get Strunk & White's Elements of Style. Very short but teaches you grammar.

Next find an author whose style you like and then read their writing and then try to copy it in your own words.

Do those 2 things you'll be writing like a pro in a few weeks.

I just have to say real quick that this is one of the most helpful threads I've read on the Warrior Forums. Most questions end up with at least one person posting a list of links to similar topics, but everyone here has done a great job of posting relevant, helpful information for the OP. Good job everyone.

I see many people have given you excellent tips! True indeed the best thing you can do is to simply KEEP ON WRITING! do not stop, the more you write the better you will become. At the same time make sure you READ and Read and read and make sure you are reading not instructional stuff on writing but to make it fun read motivational stuff.

You will be encouraged and inspired to read while at the same time be able to pick up on the style of writing of some excellent authors! Hope the helps and wish you the best on your journey!

-Will

Here are some tips you may find useful. In fact, they come from my own experiences.

1. Always spell check your work.
2. Don't rely on your spell checker. Read and reread yourself
3. Then read it backwards
4. Read it aloud. Makes it easier to catch errors.
5. Put it away for at least 24 hours and then read it again.
6. Have someone else read it for errors.

This sounds like a lot of work, but it is part of the process for turning out quality. Try it with just one piece of your work. You'll be surprised at the results you get.


Don't be too discouraged about Demand and About. Both are extremely competitive places to write for. Keep at it and keep trying.

Signing up to freelance sites as a contractor is a good start. At first, you may want to charge your customers as low as possible (if required work for free) and once you are hired a few times and get good reviews from customers you would have earned some credibility and some cash in the process too

I'm not one too big on grammar either, I understand in a professional market it's very important. It's much more fun writing like your talking to your best friend. I want to improve my formatting on my writing, like breaking up big chunks of copy for better readability

There is lots of free information about how to write well online! Use a search engine!

Also, if you just PRACTICE doggedly, then you will also become a better writer, most likely.

Try reading and listening to professional talkers, it'll only improve your writing once you immerse yourself

the title of this post should be ---"how to be a better writer" lol

Like anything else though, you need to practice consistently to get better-- if you have to, send your writing to a professional proofwriter to learn how to fix your mistakes-- eventually you will not need the proofreader, but you need to know what your doing wrong as well...

I use grammarly.com it is pretty good. . . . In my eyes.

Noticed that about every person recommended reading as a way to get better at writing...and they're all absolutely correct, of course. You must read, read, read. Regarding that, here's a good tip: don't read anything you think you're "supposed" to read. Don't like the classics? Leave them on the shelf, then. The converse of saying that is, read whatever it is you enjoy, even if it's GameInformer.

(Though that's NOT to say you shouldn't read the educational material that you ARE supposed to read in order to improve - enough people have mentioned Strunk&White already, for instance.)

It surprises me that no one's mentioned a freewriting routine, though. Google freewriting and learn the basics of that exercise. Commit to it daily for, well, for the rest of your life as a writer. All it is is 5-10 minutes of straight, non-stop writing, without any regard given to grammar, spelling, run-on sentences, etc. There are NO mistakes. You pretty much can't lose so long as you keep the word count going.

Why's this important? How's it help?

At the very least, it conditions your brain to forming sentences, to thinking in words. Think of it as the complement to your reading - tricks you pick up reading will show up in your freewriting sessions. Plus, when you're in the habit of continuously writing whenever you sit down to do so, your mind is much more free to let ideas flow. Creativity gets stunted when you're stopping your train of thought every few minutes to correct a spelling, or read what you wrote 6 lines ago.

Hemingway said that first drafts are always shit. If you want to be a better writer, I suggest you embrace that little axiom to the fullest. Let them be rough, full of misspellings and all. In your first drafts, focus on getting out all the material and ideas and points you want to include in the piece in as cohesive an order as you can. Freewrite enough, and eventually you'll find this easier to do.

THEN go back and edit cosmetically. NOW correct all the little hang-ups, NOW labor over how sentences flow together and how smoothly transitions work, NOW labor over word choice. All the reading you've done will inform you on what corrections to make...and Strunk & White will give you plenty to correct, believe me.

-Read as much as you can every day to pick up on grammar and style
-Freewrite every day to condition your brain to let the ideas flow
-And then edit, edit, edit your first drafts until they read as smoothly as you see in the reading you've been doing

It's a simple exercise routine, but if you're really in this to win this, you have to accept that to "be a better writer" is a lifelong pursuit. I know I don't speak for myself here when I say I've performed the above routine, or something similar to it, every day for years and years now. And I still mess up. You may have even noticed a mistake or two in my reply here.

Stick to it every day. Read a lot and write a lot. There are no shortcuts.

I am not native English and hard to learn better. And just frustrated to write
and go to other business

Good articles submission sites guidelines help you to write good and precious content. for example ezinearticles.

I won't repeat some of the great advice that's already been given except for this:

Write, write, and write some more. Learn by doing. Yes you need to do more reading and learning if you really want to become good but to really master your craft you must practice as much as possible.

You have received excellent advice thus far and I recommend the same things.

I do however, want to add just a bit to what Jason said regarding details. You never want to leave your readers with questions. You not only want them fully informed, but interested as well, when they are finished with your piece.

These two following things may be helpful for you.

1. Find someone to listen to your article asking them before hand to ask questions when they hear something they'd like to hear more about as you read it. This is an exercise we did in several of my writing courses to help us focus on bringing out all the details. It works wonders in finding things that we could expound on, but didn't think of at the time of writing.

2.) Always try to inject some personality into your piece so it doesn't read like an essay assignment. There are a variety of ways to do this whether it be humor, spoken in story form, using parables for comparison, etc. Anything to liven up the writing making it more memorable and not a chore to get through.

Of course, this will take practice. Remember the old adage, practice makes perfect? It still works today.

Terra

Several well-intended suggestions here say you should read grammar books. Ugh. That's the absolute worst thing you should do unless you want to end up HATING writing. Reading the rules out of context (normal usage) is likely to confuse you a lot more than help.

Reading is the key. Your mind will simply pick up proper usage doing this. Writing is a close second to reading. I discovered many years ago that when I read a bunch of books there came a time when my head was so charged with ideas I just had to write. And then I'd write and write and write until it was time to recharge. Then I went to reading mode again. I've been doing this for more than 20 years.

I've read from several professional writers I really respect (Stephen King being one) that reading grammar and vocabulary books is a waste of time without being able to assimilate that knowledge in its proper context. So what you want to do is read, read, read. And then read some more. Good luck.

My assistant is right now is someone from the Philippines. She's been teaching English for 7 years I think and I'd have to say that her writing skills are not bad. I read in an article once that you retain 90% of the things you teach, a much higher percentage than reading our studying something.

I'm not saying that you need to become a teacher to better your writing skills, I'm saying that there are probably other ways you can learn other than just hitting the grammar books. I agree with everybody that reading will make your mind juice percolate so get to it. And my VA, likes reading a lot so she probably picked up her creativity plus a significant boost in her writing skills from doing that.

Best of luck!

I think there are just so many articles on how to become a good writer you can search on Google. Just to give you an idea, a good article from my perspective as a reader is an article that is easy to understand and giving real benefits, knowledge, and inspiration for me : )