Hey friends! I wanted to share 7 easy tips that helped me become a better writer. I used to dread writing assignments back in school. I just felt like I sucked at it. But writing is a skill you can get better at, even if you think you totally lack talent (which isn't true!).
So let me walk you through what worked for me. Hopefully some of these ideas can help you too!
Know Your Audience
Before writing anything, ask yourself - who am I writing this for? Your teacher? Your mom? Strangers on the internet? The way you write will totally change based on your audience. If I'm writing for my grandma on Facebook, I'll use way simpler language than if I'm working on an essay for class. I'll also be more casual and bring up things I know my grandma will relate to, like her bridge club and love of soap operas. Gotta keep it relevant, ya know?
Make a Plan
Just putting random thoughts on paper without a plan never works well for me. I've learned I need some sort of outline, even if it's a simple one. Jot down your main points and figure out your beginning and end. No need to write paragraphs at this stage - I just make bullet points of ideas I want to cover. This keeps me focused while writing instead of going off on weird tangents (which I'm kinda prone to doing lol).
Use Examples
This makes your writing way more interesting! To support my points, I always try to incorporate examples from my own life or pop culture stuff most people will be familiar with. Like how I'm totally Drake when it comes to dancing - no rhythm at all. But maybe worse. See what I mean? It hooks people way more than just stating dry facts.
Vary Your Sentences
I used to write in the most boring, basic sentences ever. "John went to school. He ate lunch. Then he went to basketball practice." Ugh, that's awful! Now I make sure to mix short, punchy sentences with longer, more descriptive ones. And I throw some fragments (incomplete sentences) in too for emphasis! This creates better flow.
Read It Out Loud
Our brains can play tricks on us and make our writing seem way better in our heads than it actually is. I've caught all kinds of goofy mistakes by reading my work out loud, like run-on sentences I didn't notice before. You should give it a try! Hearing your own writing forces you to catch awkward stuff. I promise you’ll be glad you did it.
Get Feedback
Having a second set of eyes look at your writing is so helpful for catching mistakes and getting new ideas to improve it. I ask friends or my sister to read my blog posts sometimes. And I always check with my teacher about essays to see if my points make sense or if I should add/change something. Don't be shy to ask for feedback!
Revise and Edit
My first drafts pretty much always suck big time. I need to go back and revise to make my points clearer and punch up the language so it's more engaging. And editing several times is key for catching typos I missed earlier. It takes some effort to polish up writing, but it's worth it!
Whew, this got kinda long! But I hope you found these tips useful. Writing can feel intimidating, but getting better isn't as hard as you might think. Give some of these ideas a try and be patient with yourself as you work to improve. You got this!
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