How do you polish and refine your writing?

I have written everyday for the past 11 years. And I can say that your writing has loose ends you can only discover with sound, not text. One time, I was discussing a technical subject that required me to use the most simple yet complicated delivery. While editing tools helped me spot minor errors, reading aloud solved my biggest error of not connecting with my audience. Reading aloud helps you know if your thoughts flow logically or if you simply have a hodgepodge of disjointed ideas, transitions and bland anecdotes. It reveals the true rhythm of your writing. It is like conducting a leakage test for a new water tank. Fill it with water so you can detect and clog any leakages. Your writing has loose ends sounds can help you spot.

Always Brainstorm!!! Writing is a laborious task and it is helpful to have a clear insight about what we would want to include in our writing. This step in my experience helps eliminate repetitions, wordy sentences and digression.

Hemingway wrote that all first drafts are sh!t. He was right. The first draft of anything is almost never going to come out in its finest form. But to get to the best version of a piece, we must get through the first draft. You can’t polish an idea. With that in mind, here are 5 tips: 1. Get the first draft out as quickly as possible. 2. Don’t edit in real time. That comes later. 3. To get the best version, give yourself time between when you start and when you ship. 4. Don’t rush to the finish line. Check your grammar and spelling. 5. But also don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. At some point, it’s time to let it rip. Follow those steps, and you’ve got a shot at a shiny piece. Thanks for reading.

Take a step away from your work. When you've been working on a piece of writing and looking at the same pages and same words over and over again, you can easily miss the forest for the trees. When you're done with your first draft, step away from it. Giving yourself a break from your work before going in for editing means you can look at your writing with fresh eyes. It will also be easier for you to be more objective with your editing and subsequent drafts: you will do a better job at identifying what elements of your work are out of place, what needs to be completely removed and what needs sections could use a re-write.

Reading your own writing out loud is one of my main go-to tools as a writer. Unfortunately, we can get so accustomed to what we meant to say that we can insert words that are not really in the text. To fool this part of your brain, start at the last sentence of the text instead of the first sentence. Read each sentence but go backwards through your document. Another piece of advice is not environmentally friendly but scores of my students swear by it. When you read online, your brain has to work differently than when you read on paper. Some people find that printing out a digital copy of their work and then editing on paper gives them a new perspective on their writing. The print copy helps them to catch errors they missed on the screen.

My favorite... Plagiarism checker: Small SEO Tools Grammar checker: Grammarly Readability analyzer: Hemingway App or Readable AI detection checker: ZeroGPT Writing enhancement tool: Wordtune Ask-for-feedback tool: ChatGPT Plus

ChatGPT and Google's Bard can offer valuable insights on the sentence and word levels. I often use both and compare their answers, taking from both. I don't bother with Microsoft's Bing.

Based on my personal experience, I have tried numerous AI content generation tools, including Jenni AI, Copy AI, and others. At times, one can uncover thoughtful concepts, yet over time, it becomes evident that there is a lack of originality or uniqueness in the generated content. I sincerely hope that writers continue crafting material from their own distinctive viewpoint rather than relying solely on AI-produced insights. While AI can assist in developing ideas, it cannot replace the creativity and ingenuity of the human mind. I urge fellow writers to stay true to their own voice and not cede their gifts to artificial means. Our unique insights remain our most valuable asset.

I sometimes hear advice like the best way to improve your writing is to keep writing, sort of like a practice makes perfect scenario. But that's not true; if you really want to get better at writing, you have to 1) write 2) get feedback 3) apply and learn from the feedback. A lot of times, once we learn about a mistake we're making, we don't make that mistake again. Of course, we can't always hire an editor to go through every single email, article, and book we write. So that's where using tools like ProWriting Aid, Grammarly, or AutoCrit come in handy. These tools do more than the basic spell-checkers built into word processors, they show the reasons behind the corrections and link out to places where you can learn more.

2 tools I use daily: 1. AuthoredUp for formatting. If the post doesn't look nice then people most likely won't read it. The message it's important but can stay hidden behind poor formatting. 2. Grammarly to avoid typos.

Your first draft is your worst draft. Never settle for it. 1. Revise before you edit. Ask questions like - have I said what needs to be said? Is the structure and the flow right? 2. While editing, put every word to trial. Shorten sentences. Use active voice. Justify every word. Eliminate unnecessary words (gunman will do instead of armed gunman). 3. Read out loud - if it isn't sounding right, it isn't right. If you catch your breath midway through a sentence, it's too long. 4. Revisit text with fresh eyes the next day or ask someone else to read it. 5. Vary sentence length. This will bring a ring to the text and make it musical. You end up 'composing text' and not 'writing' it.

In the case of a story, this is how I do it: The first 20% is about writing raw. Let it flow out of you freely. Forget about: - Grammar - Spelling errors - Clarity of writing Once you feel like your tank of thoughts is empty. Close your laptop & go do other things. Come back & move to the 80% phase. - Flow of text - Good opener - Strong ending - Cutting garbage - Adding metaphors - Playing with analogies - Turning it into ''about them'' - Sentences for a mental image No story templates. Just pure feelings turned into words. If you feel goosebumps & butterflies in your stomach when writing it, there's a high chance it'll work.

Editing often takes longer than the writing itself. Why? Writing often occurs at moments of peak inspiration. The writer attains a flow state, and sails along the current of mental energy. Editing and refinement are more intentional. You must read for nuance. You must question word choice and ensure that the desired voice is supported by each phrase.

Thoroughly reviewing and making edits is pivotal in adding polish to your writing. However, be careful not to over analyze your writing and be too critical of yourself. We are our own worst critic, and nothing will ever be perfect, so be mindful of your time. Once your writing is clear, to the point, and free of errors, the revision process is done and it is time to move forward.

I've heard people refer to the first draft as the "zero draft," and I like that. You're getting it on paper and telling the story to yourself. Books can surprise you, and you may not know what yours wants to be until you write it; the first draft (or "zero draft") is necessary, though far from the book's final destination.

Getting feedback from editors is good. But getting it from someone who represents your ideal reader (reader's persona) is better. As a journalist, I regularly engaged with readers on social media and email to know what resonated with them. Accordingly, I made changes to suit their taste. You may rely on friends/peers you trust with constructive feedback. But taking feedback from too many people, and incorporating it into your text, can do more harm than good. You may lose your own voice.

Quantity is the name of the game Your audience is your teacher. Your job is to publish all your ideas; do not self-judge. The audience will decide which of those ideas are good. Metrics can teach you a lot about what the audience wants to read.

Reaching out to fellow editors is undoubtedly valuable, but occasionally, a non-academic person from your social group may provide invaluable assistance. A unique perspective may breathe fresh life into your content, leading to novel enhancements. I find this really helpful. A friend of mine is a programmer (boring, ik) but whenever I show her my rough drafts, she almost always has something interesting to add to it.

Getting feedback from a fresh pair of eyes or ears will help refine your writing. There may be areas you might not see and others might quickly detect. Read aloud to friends and ask for their perspective or their point of view.

In 2017, I sat down one morning and started typing out Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art. 9 hours later, I’d finished. I got the idea from Hunter Thompson, who said he typed out The Great Gatsby early in his career because he wanted to know what it felt like to write a great novel. I wanted to know what it felt like to write a book that can change lives. The War of Art had indeed changed my life. It changed how I thought about my creative struggle and how Resistance prevented me from reaching my potential. I started winning my daily battle against Resistance. And 1 year ago, I published In The Creative Arena, my first book. It’s an homage to Pressfield and my best impression of the book I had typed out 5 years earlier.

I have a weird take on it. Writing, as an art, is so much a lone form of art. So how do you learn from other writers? Read their books! Consume their articles. Look at their website (every writer has one). And subconsciously, their ways of thinking would go into yours.

I have a running document titled "Odds and ends," where I track phrases, sentences, food for thought and lines of poetry that resonate with me as a writer. Some on my list right now are "Where does joy live?" and "I don't want to put too many eggs in a basket, only for the bottom to fall out." When I hit writer's block, I return to it and draw inspiration from something that resonates with me in that moment - oftentimes, it sparks a new idea!

Writing advice is like eating at a buffet: take what you need and don't sneeze on the rest. What works for one writer doesn't always work for other writers. But the problem is that new writers don't know what work at all yet. They often start writing with a picture in their head of what a writer should be doing or how a writer should be writing, and they follow that picture blindly. Check out what other writers are doing, learn about the different routines and strategies, and experiment with them a bit. See what parts work for you, and adjust or tweak as needed until you've built a routine and strategy that works best for you.

Engage with writing communities for feedback and insights. They'll help you understand what can be better and also provide direction to how you can apply the suggested changes.

Consider your audience and why you are writing. Not everything you write needs to be made public. You might develop your writing habit via personal journals, jotting your impressions and observations. Some of this may make for a great story to share. Be intentional about whether you share what you've written, and with whom. Could be with a trusted person or people for their feedback, or more widely to have potential impact on others. Either way, keep observing, reading, writing, thinking, and rewriting!

Ask yourself first why you are writing. Do you want to express yourself, impress your audience, or influence them. Select your style according to your motive. And of course you do. The more you refine your talent in this, the more focused you can be in picking the right words, an appealing style, and compelling structure. What’s your goal?

There's nothing scarier than a blank page. It taunts you. Mocks you. Belittles you. There are a million reasons to delay writing and keep planning or thinking first. But ultimately, the best writers are those who write the *most*. Think of it like the gym. Watching form videos and creating a meal plan - super useful. But your body won't change until you get in that gym and put the work in yourself. Writing is no different. Show that blank page the middle finger.

When you're unmotivated, read your writing from a year ago. If you kept writing consistently, you will notice the difference.

Read every day to increase your vocabulary. Reading not only takes you on great adventures and acquaints you with new characters, but it’s also a great way to learn new words. It allows you to explore the use of words in different tones and contexts. With continuous reading, you can improve your use of grammar and pick up on the use of punctuation.

Write, even if you wouldn′t have any ideas or inspiration. This is taken from music industry professionals, who write music 8 or so hours a day. Waiting for inspiration is for amateurs. Take one idea, few words or ready made sentence, and start creating and weaving text and content around it. When you realise, that you are free from inspiration to create something, you are on a jedi level in writing.

For non-native English speakers, your writing can benefit greatly from a blog on the side where you write about your passions and gradually up your game without the high pressure of professional writing. It allows you to test out new writing techniques, polish grammar, and increase your vocabulary.

Structuring thoughts can be an easy way to improve your writing. Argumentative pieces do well with assertions and logic neatly organised. It is always helpful to use (properly) synonyms for certain words to make your sentences richer. Dividing your sentences into shorter, more concise statements can make the writing crisp.

Write one idea per sentence. When you couple multiple ideas in one sentence, it makes it harder for readers to process the message. It is even harder for them to retain all that information at once. Don't make the readers use a lot of brain space while reading. The goal of your content should always be to make their lives easier, including your content delivery and readability.

I usually write my first draft in longhand. It's much more leisurely than typing and I can see where the story or character or dialogue is going. I then type it over while I fiddle and correct. Then print and proofread, give it to one or two outsiders, and so on. As Balzac said, "What is written without effort is usually read without pleasure."