Education How To Write Well - Read Everything

I don't believe good writers are born. I believe they are made. I also believe that just about anyone can become a really good writer by following some simple tips and also by reading everything you can get your hands on! Friends, colleagues and clients have asked me how they can improve their writing skills. There are many ways to become an effective writer. Some of the best tips are: Write the way you speak - pretend you're talking to your mom or your best friend. This will make your writing conversational which is almost always informative and interesting for your readers. Keep your readers in mind. Make some quick bullet points about who your readers are, how they think and/or talk, and ultimately what you want them to do. I use sticky notes for this and I have them stuck to my computer screen so they are always right there in front of me. Keep sentences short. Not too short, and there's really no long and fast rule to the maximum number of words a sentence should have, but when you read your writing back, you'll know if a sentence is just too long. Remember, keep it conversational. In the last tip I mentioned "reading your writing back." This is key. Once you've written something, read it back to yourself out loud. It also helps to get someone else to read it out loud to you. When you hear something out loud, you'll quickly see where any problems in your writing are. Editing! For some reason people don't like to edit what they've written. But this also is a very important part of writing well. So you've written a piece, you've read it back and/or had it read back to you. Now, edit. ALL writing can use editing - even if you think what you have down is pretty darn good - it can always be better - and shorter! Time constraints permitting, I usually wait at least a day before I edit what I've written. I put it away for a day and come back to it fresh. You'll be amazed at how well your writing improves with thoughtful editing. If you take these writing tips to heart, I think you'll find that you can become a really good writer pretty quickly. But there is one more tip that is of supreme importance to writers: READ. Read especially the media you want to write for - for instance, read web copy if you want to write web copy. Read articles if you want to write articles - newspaper articles are quite different from magazine articles, so keep that in mind. Read sales letters if you want to write sales letters. Now, not all you read will be good - keep that in mind too. When you read, analyze - what do you think about the author's choice of words? Are you moved by the piece? Do you think it accomplishes its goal? Hold onto the samples you find most effective and refer back to them when you need to. In addition to reading the genre you want to write, read everything else too! Reading non-fiction as well as fiction is invaluable to enhancing your vocabulary. I love to read new business books by successful people - I always learn new words, new uses for old words and what the current buzz words are for a particular field. Reading teaches you about flow - and different ways that information can flow. Again, read critically - note what you believe is good writing and what is not so good. Read pieces recommended by people you respect. Its not hard to become a good writer, but it does take practice and research. Remember the tips above when diving into your next writing project, and if you aren't already an avid reader...become one now! Good luck! professional resume service