5 Skills Every Writer Should Have

I realized #writing and being a #writer are different things.

When just writing, I need to express what I feel. But being a writer is different. I expect the reader to have a valuable takeaway after reading my writing.

I was so embarrassed while I re-read my content at the beginning of last year.

However, there’s one particular skill that every writer should possess to succeed in their craft. That is to deliver information in an engaging way.

However, writing is a skill that can be honed over time with practice, dedication, and the right set of skills.

While there are many skills that a writer needs to master, there’s one essential skill that stands out above the rest: the ability to communicate effectively.

But of course, the practice is more challenging than saying. To know more about this, let’s dive in to take your writing to the next level!

Brainstorm and Outline

Before entering this phase, you need to have a bank topic. Last year, I started writing while still having a full-time job.

And you know what? I start to think about what I will write today every morning. So, to find a fresh idea, I surf social media. Seeing what trend, look specific issues I was interested in after choosing one idea to craft.

Well, it is not wrong, but I lost dozens of hours to find one exciting idea. I finally decided to start getting used to surfing this idea only on weekends. And yes, it is much more effective than before.

If the content bank has been formed, you can start to collect relevant sources that can be good resources for your writing. I use Trello to collect idea banks.

Now let’s jump to the brainstorming phase. Start with

• Choose 1–2 ideas you want to focus on
• Collecting interesting resource
• Determine the main idea so your content does not expand into irrelevant things. This also influences how you craft your headline later.
• Start dividing the idea into some sub-sections to make it easier to understand.
• Determine the hook and how you want to close it at the end.

Crafting headline

One most significant mistakes in the past was taking it too easy for the headline. However, the headline is the first thing readers will see, and it should grab their attention and entice them to read more.

How could anyone read it if they weren’t interested in opening it?

So, make more effort while crafting headlines. I used to do it in the final after my draft was ready. I want my headline to look attractive but keep representing my content.

• Avoid clickbait and overpromising headlines.
• Give attention to capital case ( I use headline capitalization)
• Avoid both too-short and too-long headlines.
• Scoring your headline ( I use Headline Share through)

Research

Research is a crucial aspect of writing that can help you add depth and credibility to your work by supporting your claims with solid facts and evidence.

Here’s what needs to be included in your research

• Relevant topics that occupy the top 3 rankings in Google search.
• Scientific support data to strengthen your argument.
• The tendency of the trend in specific demographics.
• The most popular relevant trend.
• Different style of writing by a fellow writer. This one is most often forgotten.

Remember, you must have a record of every credible source you take to embed as a backlink in your writing.

The good news is that you can use GPT chats to make your research easier. I recently used it to help conclude a journal. So I can read only the most relevant ones by myself.

All you have to do is copy the journal link and give the prompt “Summarize this.” Read more about how to use it properly here.

Editing and proofreading

The minor mistake seems trivial, but It can affect your career more because it shows you aren’t professional.

But editing isn’t just about fixing typos and grammar errors. More than that, you need

• Using active voice as majority format.
• Phrase some inappropriate words and sentences.
• Linked specific keywords with your relevant older post.
• Add image credit and Alt+text behind the image.
• Mark citations with the quotation format.

One habit that can help you to edit better is reading out loud. You can do it, or if you write here, all you have to do is copy the draft link, open it in a new tab, and then select the play feature. The boots will help to read them for you.

Anyway, I’ve written several apps that are very helpful in editing. You can check here.

Find the best time to edit and proofread that works for you. I can write and immediately edit because I need time to rest my writing, so I change my brain mode from writer to reader.

So, if I write a night, I’ll edit in the morning, and vice versa.

Understand what Google wants.

If you plan to publish your article online, it’s essential to understand what Google and other search engines look for in online content. Yes, SEO matters.

This includes using relevant keywords, including high-quality images and videos, and formatting your article in a way accessible for readers to scan and digest.

I’m still learning about this myself. But so far, I’ve added relevant keywords in the kicker and hashtags. I use several keywords deliberately several times in one article without a phrase.

Lastly

Getting better at writing takes practice, just like anything else. Your first few attempts might not be great, but that’s normal.

You should write at least 100 posts before taking a break to see what you need to work on.

The point of writing those 100 posts is to help you see how your writing is improving over time and what areas you need to focus on. You may need to work on your grammar, your style, or how you structure your writing. Once you’ve figured that out, you can improve in those areas.

It’s essential to remember that writing is a process. Nobody becomes a great writer overnight. You have to keep practicing and trying to get better. Even if you mess up or your writing isn’t perfect initially, that’s okay!

Eventually, you’ll become an excellent writer who can get your ideas across clearly and grab people’s attention.