30 tips to improve your writing skills

1. Understand Your Audience

One of the first issues for people who have a tough time writing is that they don’t grasp what the appropriate nature or style for what they’re writing should be. Emails are dense and confusing, reports are formatted poorly, and the content is just a drag to read through.

Thus, by understanding what the writing is for, you can focus on how it should be presented. An email to a customer or client should strictly adhere to certain writing guidelines such as clarity, courtesy, and conciseness while firing off an email to a colleague can be informal and brief. So make your audience your compass, knowing that what a reader expects is how you should shape your writing.

Also, pay close attention to the tone and style you use; not just to come across appropriately to your audience, but to also develop flexibility in your writing in order to successfully communicate with various types of audiences. Being able to demonstrate empathy through your writing is key to connecting with your readers and using the correct style and tone will allow you to communicate on their wavelength.

2. Do Your Research

Aside from plagiarizing someone else’s work, nothing will undermine your credibility faster than failing to do your homework.

In their eagerness to be done with a blog post (or even major newspaper article), many writers try to take shortcuts with the facts. This can range from accidentally fudging a statistic out of haste to being lazy when it comes to sourcing or attribution. Not only can this land you in big trouble with your editor/content marketing manager/other boss-type person, it also makes you look like an amateur.

Everybody makes mistakes, and you don’t need to spend weeks cross-referencing every last statistic (see the next tip), but common sense should prevail here – don’t rely exclusively on sites like Wikipedia, and use current, primary sources whenever possible.

3. Grammar checking tool:

Yes, Grammar checking tool is one of the best ways to improve your grammar.

Grammarly is the number one grammar checking tool right now, it is completely free. Grammarly is rated 4.6 * / 5 by 34,000+ by Chrome users.

You can easily fix your spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes and other punctuation mistakes like the apostrophe, comma splice etc. by using this amazing tool.

You can upload your copy to their online platform to get proofreading done and also with their free browser extension you can proofread your social posts, emails etc. in no time.

4. Freelance Writing Jobs

You may not need the money, but freelance jobs will help you improve your writing skills and get more feedbacks from your customers. This is a great opportunity for you to know what you need to improve.

I found the following website you can get paid up to $ 50 per article, get paid up to $ 500- $ 1,000 for short ebooks, you can get more details at:

FreelanceWriter88.Info/2015/09/freelance-writing-jobs.html

5. Proofreading

It’s essential you proofread your work, everything, even little emails. Read your writing slowly back to yourself, and check for spelling, grammar, punctuation and typos. This is good for little words you’ve missed (to, it, a, an, etc.), and checking that sentences make sense.

In many cases, you will never find a bug in your article, even if you read it dozens of times.

Hiring an editing service is the best way to improve the quality of your article. You can rent the editing service on Fiverr for only $ 5.

6. Learn grammar

Grammar decides the quality of post. If you are making too much grammar mistakes in your articles then no one wants to read it. You would also get lots of unpleasant comments for our mistakes. So learn grammar to avoid any typos. You can learn grammar from your old high school grammar book. I personally feel my Grammar is not that good and I often mistake. Even I spend lots of time learning grammar every day.

Related post: WritingTips365.blogspot.com/2018/09/20-tips-to-improve-your-grammar.html

7. Know Your Facts

You will lose credibility quickly if the information you communicate isn’t accurate. So don’t rely on any old source to give you the information you need. Many websites quote incomplete or incorrect information, and some even purposefully spread untruths. Focus on official institutional sites, like those run by government agencies, educational organizations, or well-established businesses. If your source cites another study or report, find the original and interpret the data yourself. Don’t trust a stat just because it’s reported by a news outlet. Do your own fact checking.

8. Use Online Tools

It’s always worth getting help with your writing, and plenty of online tools offer help. Give these a try:

• Easy Word Counter: Use this tool to check the length of your writing.

• State Of Writing: This site is full of helpful writing guides.

• Grammarly: This browser extension helps you with grammar and spelling in everything from WordPress to email. It also sends you a weekly report of your progress.

• Cite It In: Use this tool to cite your sources correctly.

9. Read, read, read

There’s really no way around it—you cannot become a better writer without being a keen reader. So pay attention to different writing materials. And when you read, it’s smart to diversify. Pick up genres that you normally wouldn’t and give them a try. Read Tolstoy as well as lighter blog posts. You don’t have to fall in love with a sci-fi novel if you’re usually an English literature fan, but it’s healthy for your writer brain to have a varied diet of writing genres and styles.

If you have time, join a book club to force yourself to read analytically again. Be an avid reader of fiction and non-fiction of all lengths, and you’ll see your writing style, whether that’s creative writing or technical writing, magically improve.

10. Take an online class

Learning by doing is great, but sometimes, you want a straightforward explanation of concepts and best practices. Enter: free or low-cost online writing courses.

Anyone looking for a “back to basics” refresher should check out Arizona State University’s English Composition course, a free eight-week program requiring 18 hours of work per week.

Meanwhile, Stanford offers more than 20 online creative writing courses ranging from 5 to 10 weeks. They’re pricey (from roughly $150 to $1,000), but you’re guaranteed to get some top-notch writing instruction.

Looking for something a little more budget—or schedule—friendly? Mediabistro offers a variety of online writing courses covering everything from basic grammar to advanced copywriting techniques and business writing.

11. Write every day

To improve your writing you need to practice, just like any other skill. It’s that simple. Do you have 5 free minutes every day? Yes, you do. In those 5 free precious minutes, whip out that hipster notebook you’ve been wondering what to do with, open a new document (or an ongoing journal document so you don’t have to stare at a blank space) on your laptop, open up that basic notepad app on your phone–and write something, anything. If you experience writer’s block, try again the next day. The best writers don’t get it on the first time.

12. Set Up a Schedule

Writing is actually pretty similar to working out. The first couple times you do it, you struggle to even finish. But keep practicing, and before you know it, the things that used to feel impossible are now simple.

Everyone has different amounts of free time, but try to shoot for at least 30 minutes of writing practice every day. (If you can fit in more, even better.) Like exercising, it’s helpful to pick one time and stick to it. Most writers opt for early in the morning or late at night, depending on when their creativity and energy peaks—but go with whatever works for you!

13. Rewrite Old Pieces

Reading your old work should make you cringe: It shows you’re improving. To simultaneously benchmark your progress and hone your skills, pick up an old piece and make it better.

You can either make light edits or do a total rewrite, depending on the quality of the piece. Take note of what you’re changing. Is your tone different? Are there structural errors? Do you need more or less explanation?

Once you go back to your current work, try to stay conscious of the mistakes you found so you don’t repeat them.

14. Always Edit and Proofread

You’d be surprised at how many professionals skip this step — at a cost. No matter what you’re writing, ensure that it’s properly proofread and edited before it’s sent. Even a single letter in the wrong place in the wrong word can lead to embarrassment later. Spell check won’t catch everything, so make sure you read your writing carefully.

15. Get new perspective

Whether you meet in person or you exchange writing feedback online, having more eyes on your work is a surefire way to grow your writing skills. You always need an outside perspective. If you’ve got the budget for it, hire an editor or another experienced writer to give you detailed feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask a friend to read your work for clarity before you submit it. More likely than not, he or she will have some good advice.

16. Random sentence building

This is one of the most effective exercises when it comes to improving your writing. Open a book at look at a sentence. Use that sentence as the beginning of a story of your own. With this exercise, you use the sentence and build upon it. Your story can go anywhere when you already have a start. It does not have to be the same or close to the story you took the sentence from. In this way, you are not only practicing your actual writing, but you are also required to become creative.

17. Keep it brief

Brevity is important in professional communication. Respect your colleagues’ time by knowing exactly what you need to communicate before you begin writing so you can keep your message concise.

18. Don’t neglect context.

Does the person you’re communicating with have the same information and frame of reference you do? If not, make sure you provide context. You don’t have to give the entire backstory, just fill in the missing pieces so your message will be clear.

19. Write like you talk. Within reason.

Your writing should sound natural and fluid. Unless you’re communicating in a more formal context, write as though you’re talking to a friend.

20 Don’t ramble.

We just said “Write like you talk”, but there’s a caveat—don’t ramble. Avoid winding twists and turns, and don’t use filler words such as like, really, and you know. Good writing should get to the point and avoid fluff.

21. Empathize with the reader.

Empathy can improve all kinds of writing, from fiction to content marketing to email outreach. Take the time put yourself in your reader’s place. Are you preaching to her, or are you engaging her by showing that you relate to her feelings and experiences?

22 Be fascinated in order to be fascinating.

The more interested you are about the subject you’re writing about, the more intrigued your readers will be with what you’ve written.

23. Let your writing rest for a while and edit fresh.

Whenever possible, don’t edit just after you’ve finished writing. Come back after a break and review with fresh eyes. Even stepping away for a quick walk or a cup of coffee can help you shift gears from writer to editor.

24. Get rid of filler words and phrases.

When you edit, it’s time to cut the fluff. Every word needs a job, and those that aren’t pulling their weight have to go. Here’s our list of words and phrases you can eliminate right now.

25. Dump adverbs.

Get rid of most adverbs and use stronger verb choices instead. When you do, ran swiftly becomes darted and cried pitifully becomes wailed. Remember what Stephen King said: “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs.”

26. Develop your comma mojo.

The comma is a misunderstood punctuation mark. There are a number of rules for proper comma usage, but if you study them, they’ll become second nature. Here’s a quick guide. And here’s another that lists the most common comma struggles and how to solve them.

27. Let your writing rest for a while and edit fresh.

Whenever possible, don’t edit just after you’ve finished writing. Come back after a break and review with fresh eyes. Even stepping away for a quick walk or a cup of coffee can help you shift gears from writer to editor.

28. Get rid of filler words and phrases.

When you edit, it’s time to cut the fluff. Every word needs a job, and those that aren’t pulling their weight have to go. Here’s our list of words and phrases you can eliminate right now.

29. Dump adverbs.

Get rid of most adverbs and use stronger verb choices instead. When you do, ran swiftly becomes darted and cried pitifully becomes wailed. Remember what Stephen King said: “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs.”

30. Develop your comma mojo.

The comma is a misunderstood punctuation mark. There are a number of rules for proper comma usage, but if you study them, they’ll become second nature. Here’s a quick guide. And here’s another that lists the most common comma struggles and how to solve them.