How to Become a Better Writer

So you want to learn how to become a better writer. Welcome to the club, my friend.

When it comes to a freelance writing career, there’s no doubt that being a better writer means better profits. But even if you’re not a writer and have no desire to become one, I truly believe that everyone can benefit from becoming a better writer. In the digital age, we’re spending more time communicating via our words and less time face to face. Being adept at communicating via text is absolutely essential. We’ve all received incomprehensible emails from coworkers or texts riddled with idiotic typos from potential suitors. Like it or not, we judge people when they can’t communicate well with their words. Don’t be that person! Learn to express yourself clearly. 

Whether you’re a professional writer looking to take your writing game to the next level, or a non-native English writer who wants to become a freelance writer, here’s my best tips on how to become a better writer.

6 WAYS TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER

1. Read, Read, Read!

As Stephen King said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time – or the tools – to write.” If you want to write, you need to read. A lot. Reading helps to improve your vocabulary and knowledge of the craft. Musicians listen to music and directors watch films. So if you want to write, you need to read. 

And here’s the thing: reading anything makes you a better writer. In general though, you should focus on reading the type of material you would like to write. For example, if you want to learn how to write better blog posts, read more high quality blog posts. 

I personally try to read at least one marketing or business book every month just to keep learning, but I also believe in reading about a wide variety of subjects. “The more you know”, right? I’m currently juggling a book on content marketing, a book about spirituality, and a young adult novel. I also like to save blog posts and articles on my phone using Pocket and read them whenever I have downtime. 

Struggling to make reading a part of your routine? Here’s a few ideas:

• Read first thing in the morning. I read 10-20 pages of non-fiction every single morning while I drink my coffee. I prefer inspirational books that get me jazzed up for my day, but you can read whatever you want.

• Listen to audiobooks. I personally don’t really like listening to audiobooks, but if you’re too busy to pick up a physical book, this might be your best option. Listen while you’re driving, while you’re exercising, or while you’re doing chores.

• Swap out your social media for a book. Get yourself a Kindle and put it in your bag. Then any time you’re tempted to look at your phone to kill some time, read a book instead. Even if you’re just reading a page here and there, it really adds up over time.

• Read before bed. Reading almost always knocks me out in the evening. Books don’t emit that sleep-disrupting blue light that screens do, and there’s just something so soothing about reading yourself to sleep. I also read in the middle of the night because I have insomnia (in fact, that’s probably when I get most of my reading done!).

It doesn’t matter what you read, as along as you are reading.

2. Copy from the Greats

When he was honing his chops, Hunter S. Thompson typed up F. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby word for word. While Fitzgerald wrote fiction and Thompson ended up focusing on non-fiction, he claimed to learn a lot about writing just from experiencing what it felt like to write well. 

You don’t necessarily need to type up an entire novel, but I really do think this is a good tip, especially if you’re not a native speaker of English. Find a writer whose work you admire and start typing! You might be surprised by how much more you learn from actually rewriting the words rather than just reading them. 

Get a feel for great writing by copying it word for word.

3. Write Every Single Day

Writing is a skill, and as with any skill, practice makes perfect. That’s why it’s so important to write every goddamn day of your life. Even if you’re already a professional writer, you’ve gotta keep your hand in the game! Set aside some time each and every day to write. 

I keep pretty busy writing content for clients, but I also try to write for myself for at least 15 minutes every day. I write in my diary while I’m having my coffee (right after I read for a bit), even on the weekends. 

If you’re having a hard time remembering, try the “Jerry Seinfeld Method”. Get a big calendar and make an “X” on every day that you practice writing. After a few days, you’ll have a chain. Then just don’t break the chain! 

Use the Jerry Seinfeld method to get into the habit of daily writing.

4. Check Your Work

Do yourself a favor and read through everything you write before you send it off. Correct typos or grammar errors and ask yourself, “Does this make sense from an outside perspective?” Sometimes the words we write make sense to us, but they’re confusing to our readers. 

If you’re writing professionally, I’d recommend hiring someone to do this for you. I had to learn this lesson the hard way after losing a client thanks to a couple of typos. No matter how many times I reread my work, I still miss certain things. What can I say? I’m a creative type. Luckily, I was able to hire a proofreader to check through all my work and I have never had this issue again. I had to raise my rates a bit to afford to pay her, but she is worth every penny for that peace of mind. 

Avoid embarrassing mistakes by reading over your work (or paying someone to do so).

5. Create a Writing Routine

We all know about Pavlov’s dogs, right? Basically, Ivan Pavlov was a physiologist who experimented with different forms of conditioning. In his most famous experiment, he rang a bell every time he fed his dogs. Over time, the dogs associated the bell ring with eating. Eventually, whenever he rang the bell, the dogs would drool in anticipation of food even if there was no food in sight. 

If you think this doesn’t work on humans, consider this example: growing up, I would watch Seinfeld every day while my parents made dinner. To this day, the bass line of the Seinfeld theme makes me hungry. 

You can condition yourself to focus and write by following the same writing routine every day. Over time, this will signal to your brain that it’s time to start typing and get those words on paper. For example, I like to work in my home office while sipping tea and listening to music. It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you’re consistent. 

Following the same ritual every time you write will help you to get into the zone more quickly.

6. Don’t Write and Edit at the Same Time

Do you spend precious minutes rewriting the same sentence over and over again? You need to stop. That’s called self-editing, and it’s a major barrier to writing. In fact, I believe that this is how people get “writer’s block”. 

The solution? Just let it all out, all loosey-goosey. You can go back and fix it later. Trust me when I say that nobody gets it right the first time. As Ernest Hemingway said, “The first draft of everything is shit.”

Even if you’re a professional writer, I still think that you can benefit from following these tips. Hell, I have been writing almost every day since, like, 1996 and I’m still working to improve my writing skills. It’s a long journey, but it’s worth it. Keep plugging away and working on your craft and you’ll definitely become a better writer. 

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