Want to Write Better? Here's How.
We all know good writing when we see it. It’s logically organized, flows well, and makes sense. It’s focused, coherent, and imbued with a distinct, relatable voice that speaks to the reader. At its best, it’s interesting, expressive, imaginative, and doesn’t call excessive attention to the writer. But how does the author make that happen?
First, by understanding what writing is not.
Writing is not typing fully formed ideas as they tumble from your brain. It involves the hard work of developing your thoughts and turning them into something readable using only the alphabet, space key, and punctuation. And it happens in stages.
Pre-writing: The most crucial step.
Did you know that even when you’re not writing, you’re writing? The not writing part is key, because it’s where you organize your thoughts.
Create your first draft.
Some folks love this part. I am not one of them. In her book, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott articulates this liberating concept: “For me and most other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts.”
Yes, your first draft is never that good. Accept it, revel in it, and don’t let it hold you back. There’s a reason they are called DRAFTS. Here’s where you can play, frolic, sweat, grunt, groan, and somehow get a semi-coherent blob of something written down. Thankfully, no one is going to read it.
Time to revise!
Start with the big stuff. Edit for ideas, flow, structure, format, gaps in your research or logic.
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After making major changes, focus on the nitty gritty.
Read your piece out loud to reveal words you repeat too much, missing words, typos, and repetitive sentence structure.
Let it sit for at least an hour, preferable longer.
Get feedback and ask your test reader questions.
Fact check and proofread.
Send it out into the world!
By incorporating these tools and tips, your writing should improve immediately. And with a bit of practice, humility, and a whole lot of self-effacing humor, you may even begin to enjoy the process. If not, you can always hire freelancers like me.
Happy writing!
This article is a synopsis of How to Write Better. Here's How. from the human i newsletter. Full article is available at https://thehumani.substack.com/p/want-to-write-better-heres-how