A Quick Guide to Improving Your Writing Skills

In 2019, I was a beginner writer. I had just rediscovered my love for writing and desperately wanted to improve my writing skills. The only problem was, I had no idea where to start. So, I did what anyone would do: I went on Google and looked up: How To Improve Writing Skills, but was met with the usual uninspiring advice: Write at least 1,500 words a day, read 5 books a month, and yeah, you get the point. It was exhausting even thinking about how I’d accomplish the things some articles said I should do. But I tried them anyway, which frustrated me sooner than later. After many months of trial and error, I found the things that worked for me, and my writing skills improved immensely since then. If you are a beginner writer and want to start writing seriously, you will need to ask yourself this question: What do I want to write about? The quicker you come up with an answer, the earlier you can start to make progress. Do you want to start writing fiction or non-fiction? Poetry or personal essays? Explore different genres and work from there. This will help you overcome the mental torment of staring at a blank page with no idea what to write about. “Writers write. Dreamers talk about it.” — Jerry B Jenkins. It took me a while to accept that I had spent many years being a dreamer. I would spend more time reading about how to become a better writer than actually writing. If you want to learn how to swim, you enter a swimming pool and keep practising until you gain some skills. The same goes for writing. “Reading without purpose is sauntering not exercise.” — Edward Bulwer-Lytton Once you have an idea, however vague it is, about what genre(s) you want to start writing about, begin reading in these areas. When I started taking writing seriously, I fell into the trap of reading things I found boring for the sake of improving my writing skills. I quickly lost interest and was back to square one. Later on, I realised that you don’t have to read a wide range of topics to get better at writing. It’s easier, and much more fun, to hone in on the genres you find interesting. Don’t force yourself to read things you couldn’t care less about. Only read the things that captivate you — and the more you read, the more you unconsciously learn how to construct sentences and punctuate properly. Read from the best authors in your chosen genre. Observe their writing styles Take notes In my opinion, you don’t have to write every day to become a better writer. You need to write more consistently. If your goal was to become a better writer as soon as possible, then writing every day would be a reasonable target. Even when you’ve had a long day, or don’t feel like it, I encourage you to write a few sentences, because little progress is better than no progress at all. Start small. Some suggestions: 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week, every weekend. The ball is in your court, so you’re free to choose how it plays out. The best piece of advice I can give beginner writers is to be patient. With time comes progress. Don’t rush for the sake of maximum achievement. Take small consistent steps, and give your writing skills time to develop. Before you know it, months and years will go by, and you will be proud of how far you’ve come. Happy writing, Tomi