How can you develop your writing skills for the future?

Write like nobody's watching. Do it every day. Set aside time for it, set a timer, and get words out on paper. If you only have time to write for 5 minutes, do it. If you only have time to scratch out a paragraph between meetings, do that. Don't worry if the writing isn't good enough. Don't think about it too hard--just write. Chances are it's not as bad as you think when you look at it later and revise. And do revise, revise, and revise. But soon you'll find that you don't have to revise as much. Just like any other skill, you'll get better at writing with practice.

I help coaches sharpen their brand messaging. But I almost never learn from copywriters or content marketers. I study standup comedy. I look at the details needed to convey relevance, surprise, insights, and even the vulnerability behind what the comic is sharing. These people are brilliant writers and don't have the luxury of shielding criticism; it is there in their face when their ideas bomb. That is why I love studying comedians.

I think it's really important to pay attention to the tone and voice of the text. It tells a lot about the author's way of thinking. Even in Scientific writing, despite writing in the Academic Sciences being very structured and stoic, it's easy to pick how interested or enthusiastic the author themselves are in their own writing or how frustrated. I feel writing is such a focused creative process one must enjoy and not think of it as a chore. The premise of the story and the need to fill a gap in the knowledge while engaging the reader is truly an art.

Enhancing your writing skills comes from improving your vocabulary, which can be achieved through reading and continuous self-education. More importantly, being open to exploring new topics and reading a variety of content will allow you to benefit most from this method.

Writing is closely linked to your ability to be a good if not a voracious reader. To hold your idea in focus, shape and string words cohesively and deliver a thought making or thought breaking conclusion is the key. While writing for self though, it is wise to pause reading as it can lead to ideas overlapping. Write across various ideas and keep experimenting with formats and timelines. The goal is to be able to generate word play quickly for an idea, so writing regularly and consistently is the key.

One thing I've found helpful is reading, writing, and editing every day. One session per activity. I read books in print (easier on my eyes), so I can annotate 'em. I pay attention to sentence structure, word choice, and punctuation. I might employ something I liked from other writers. That helped me shape my style a lot. I spend time editing my own writing for clarity. Can I use less words? Should I reorder parts of sentences? I also edit the writing of others (resume, cover letter, blog post, etc.). I find it useful to debate options and approaches. Lastly, I read articles and books on writing. I'm fascinated by the writing process of others. Especially from authors I enjoy, like Hemingway and King.

Writing is like a muscle; the more you do it, the stronger your writing will get. But producing "good writing" also requires the ability to do some self-editing. Can you clearly communicate the central message or theme of your work? Are there opportunities to tighten or clarify your words? Reading your writing aloud is a great test of flow — chances are good you'll catch awkward phrasing, missing words, or opportunities to polish if you take that extra step.

keep going - never stop - try different styles until you find your way of confidence. I have 2 "faces" on LinkedIn - the posting face - which I love writing my own stories inspired by other friends (learn how applications work) and the other one is the newsletter face - there I am trying to find myself in a way of being a newspaper with more formal words, which is not 100% my skill and style but still interesting. So, never stop writing and thinking!

Writing is the best way to become a better writer. You can’t read yourself to be a better writer. You can’t think yourself to be a better writer. They both help. But you can write yourself to be a better writer.

Diversifying your skillset is so important here. I started out as a journalist, specialising in long-form stories. But as I expanded into writing for other channels like social media, newsletters, websites and mobile apps, I noticed an improvement in my editorial skills. Email writing, for instance, taught me how to write headlines that convert. Social media taught me the art of concise writing. And it doesn’t hurt that having diverse skills makes you a lot more employable. ??

Online courses are another great way to build skills. Whether through structured lessons or at your own pace, they offer flexibility not found in traditional classrooms. Courses allow access to expert instructors, peers, and interactive exercises to practice and apply techniques. By sharing writing on platforms like Substack, Medium, and Quora, you can connect with readers and fellow authors. The collaborative nature of these communities allows for constructive criticism, encouragement, and inspiration.

Google offers a FREE online Technical Writing course. You can take it at your own pace, and it will teach you the fundamentals. I completed it, and found this course to be highly beneficial.

Grammarly's free Google Chrome extension is incredibly helpful because it provides writing tips while you write your texts on virtually any website using the browser. For example, if you're writing a LinkedIn post and make a grammar mistake, Grammarly will let you know.

Ride the wave. That's the only way out. With so many tools at hand, it would be unwise to not use them optimally. Strengthen your writeups through AI. ??

You become a good writer by becoming a good reader. Read your favorite people. Writing is mimetic. You will mimic writing that has resonated with you. We must not think we are above Tweets, Subtack articles, and other blogging and microblogging content. Today’s Nietzsche is probably on Twitter (X). Your style and authority will come from consuming content in the places the best writers are putting it.

One of my favourite hacks is to take a email or blog I LOVED reading and asking chatGPT to strip it back to it's elements - templating the piece of writing and then writing a piece with the same format. It's made me a better writer, and explore new ways of writing I'd not tried before.

Who said reality ruined our lives? I would take it from real life to my paper immediately. Real-life is rich with talking/ideas and much more. Happy writing!

Vous devez...vous devez...que d'injonctions... Restez vous-même, trouvez votre style, lisez ce que vous ne lisiez pas d'habitude, cherchez des angles innovants, structurez votre pensée, lisez encore et encore, faites-vous confiance. Osez aller à contre courant. écrivez à la main. Relisez à haute voix. Allez à l'essentiel. Faites des phrases courtes. Vulgarisez votre discours. Apprenez de votre cible. Soyez humble. Sourire.

While following a trend is good, it is also advisable to not blindly fall for something. Follow a trend that aligns with your goals, values, strategies, etc

Maybe you shouldn't follow trends. The best ideas come up over and over again. More than two thousand years ago, Aristotle was writing about how democratic procedures are best at exploiting the underlying cognitive diversity of large groups to solve collective problems. More than three hundred years ago, Hobbes was arguing politicians wouldn't have real incentives to solve political problems, and would just appeal to policy that sounds good without much reflection. Make sure your writing will hold up in a year, a decade, or a century. What is trendy changes with the wind.

Feedback helps shed light on both your strengths and weaknesses. You can learn what techniques and style choices are working well in your writing, and what needs more refinement. Having a skilled editor, mentor, or writing group review your work provides an outside perspective that can highlight areas you may not have noticed yourself. Feedback helps pinpoint specific issues to address, like improving paragraph transitions, strengthening word choice, or avoiding repetition. Though hearing criticism of your writing can feel uncomfortable at first, it forces you to grow. Set goals based on the feedback you receive, and actively work on those skills. Track your progress to see how you steadily improve in those areas over time.

Find someone who can challenge you.?? Find someone who will make you see things in a different way.??? If you are writing for your company, or about your industry, ask feedback from someone of another sector.

The best people to seek feedback from are your target audience. If you’re writing an ad for a business, ask a potential customer if the ad resonates with them. If you’re writing an email headline, ask your recipients if they’d open the email. Speaking of email headlines, my favourite trick is to send them to myself. When I see the email pop up, I’ll be able to react to it as a regular user and determine which headline I’m more likely to interact with.

Feedback is sooo important...only talking people can be helped (if that is real english). Try actively to ask for it in private message to your network, and maybe influencers you have such good connection to see if they would like it or not.

Find a writing mentor. It doesn't matter if they are a part of your organization or outside of it, find a person whose writing you consistently admire and invite them to edit one of your pieces. A strong editor will not only point out areas to improve, but also help you understand why they need improving and how to go about it. As a writer, you will receive feedback from many different parties, but most of it will not actually improve your writing. Be sure to give your client/boss what they want, but turn to your mentor to grow as a writer.

Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing.

SIMPLIFY! The best writing leans into simplicity and clarity. Consider if a 4th grader could read your work and understand it. If not, might be time to go back and edit down (unless it is highly technical). Being able to write about a topic in a short and clear way demonstrates mastery of the subject matter and brings your audience along for the ride. Avoid lots of jargon or unnecessary words. Review every line and ask “Does this add anything? Do I lose anything by removing it?” Simplicity and clarity are the foundation for connection. With less words and more intention you can gently pull your reader along…exactly where you want them to go.

One way to becoming a great writer is to also be a good proofreader. Editors appreciate when you provide quality grammar and punctuation along with great content. Online text is full of elementary school mistakes (there vs. their vs. they're, then vs. than, etc.). Get familiar with one of the popular style guides (AP, Chicago, E.B. White) and continually refer to it when in doubt.

A couple of thoughts on this. First - proofread, proofread, proofread! And get someone else to do the same to pick up errors and awkward language that you haven't spotted. Second - I almost never publish/post immediately after I've written something. I can almost always improve it if I let it "cook" for a while and revisit it a little later.

In a keynote speech for a Writing for Change Conference in San Francisco, the author Susan Griffin said, "The hallmark of a writer is interest in your own thoughts. Take interest in your thoughts and the language will come." The most important thing anyone can do as writer is to discover a unique perspective and articulate it. The world is full of vapid well-written content.