10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Everyone needs to improve their writing skills. You know why? Because everyone is always going to write.

From job applications to leave applications, gig pitches and update communication, plus there are now social media accounts that constantly require you to write. So you see, you can’t run away from writing now, can you?

Now that it’s clear that we all need to improve our writing, here are 10 easy ways to do just that:

1. Write every day

Do you know what writing and weight loss have in common? To get the desired results in both scenarios, you need to exercise consistently.

You don’t become a better writer by wishing it; it’s not one of those things you pray for. Instead, you go for it. And there is no better way to go for improving your writing skills than doing the writing.

Also Read: How to Take Stock and Monetize Your Skills

You need to practice writing to become a better writer constantly; there are no two ways about it.

There are some ways to do this. You can have a blog for yourself where you share contents on topics that interest you.

And if blogging is not an easy place to start, use your social media accounts for microblogging. Endeavour to post contents daily about a variety of topics, from personal interests to trending stories.

Gradually, you will notice that the more you do this, the more comfortable you’d become with writing. And the fact that you are becoming more comfortable at it means you are becoming a better writer.

Confidence matters in writing, you know. Because it’s when you’re confident that you’d know when to ditch some of the grammar rules you learnt in school (more on this shortly).

2. Create an outline before you write

Did you really think I just started writing this post without first having an online? I think not.

An outline is like the skeleton for your work, and you all have to do afterwards is flesh it up.

It makes life easier for you as a writer and helps you flow better. Even your reader will enjoy reading your work as the structure will be visible to the blind.

Depending on what you are writing on, an outline can be just a list of subtopics or a bit more detailed. In the latter, you may have to include notes on what you intend to cover under the subtopics and your main points.

If you are new to outline writing, you can begin with just listing the subtopics and then flesh it up with your content.

Example of an outline

• Introduction

A quick overview of the topic

• What is a Digital Product

Definition of the key term. Try to explain what a digital product is and is not.

• Why Create a Digital Product

Provide reasons why it’s better to create a digital product over other product types.

• Profitable Digital Product Ideas

List and explain various profitable digital product ideas that can be tried out in 2021

• 7 Steps to Creating Your Profitable Digital Product

List and explain 7 steps to creating a profitable digital product.

The example above is my outline for the topic How to Create a Digital Product that Generates at least a Million Naira Monthly. You can check it out later to see how I developed this outline into a detailed, comprehensive content.

3. Make sure you understand the concept you’re writing on

“You can’t give what you don’t have” should sound familiar. But Albert Estein even said it better –  “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.” 

Also Read: How to Write a Business Plan That is Truly a Plan

Before you start writing, try to see if you can explain the idea to that imaginary six-year-old in your head. If there is a goal you want to achieve with a writing, make sure you understand what that goal is from the start and can easily explain it to anyone.

For instance, this article aims to arm you with tips and ideas to help improve your writing skill. I knew it from the start, and it’s been my number one compass throughout the writing process.

And to do this, you will have to do some thorough research on the topic.

4. Read it out loud

This was one of the earliest lessons I learnt about writing. Today, my writing is not done until I’ve read it out loud to myself. This is something you should also be doing because it does improve your writing.

When you read out your work, you can easily tell if it flows smoothly. If it doesn’t, then it means you still have some fixing to do.

For instance, if you found some parts that took your breath away while reading out loud, then it’s clear you may have cases of long or difficult to read sentences. So, go make those sentences short.

5. Don’t be too conscious of grammar

Our English teachers meant well when they taught us those different grammar rules in school. But today, if you want to write easy-to-read contents, you may have to do away with some of those rules.

For instance, you are allowed to start a sentence with And and But (see, I did it in the last sentence, and nothing happened). This is because people use them like that when speaking and one of the most popular writing tips is to write the way you speak.

6. Read!

I can’t even start talking about how important this is. If you must improve your writing, then you must read – widely.

Read everything you can lay your hands on. Read the billboards, newspapers, magazines, blog posts, books… read everything.

The more you read, the easier it would be for you to develop an eye for what makes an effective piece and the mistakes to avoid.

Some of the best writers you know are also keen readers, and reading regularly is a quick way to develop your writing skills. 

When you read, pay close attention to the choice of words, sentence structure, and how well the content flows. You will need all the information when you’re creating your content.

7. Let’s see your personality in your writing

This is one of the factors that stand distinguish writers. Sometimes, without seeing the writer’s name, you can tell a Neil Patel’s content from Seth Godin’s. The two have different personalities, and it shows in their writing.

There is no better way to develop your writing style than this. Use the slangs and phrases you use in your everyday conversation in your writing (don’t over-do it, though).

Also Read: How to Write a Proposal as a Small Business

When applicable, drop some relevant personal stories to buttress points. It makes your writing more original and trustworthy.

8. Invest in writing tools

Grammarly comes to mind first here. Shoutout to Alex Shevchenko and Max Lytvyn for coming through with this important writing tool that has saved every writer.

Grammarly is free to an extent, but if you want to get the best out of the tool, you should check out the premium version.

One of the benefits of tools like this is they help keep your piece free of errors and make some other cool recommendations that would make your writings easy to read.

Hemingway editor is another fantastic (not-so-popular) writing you should try out too.

9. Imitate writers you admire

By the way, plagiarism and imitation and two completely different things. I hope we are clear on that? Good.

The same way you most likely have some blogs you enjoy reading, so should you have writers whose contents you enjoy. Now, identify what you like about these writers and see if you can implement them in your writing too.

Do they have lots of humour in their work and that’s something you like? Then, maybe you should try it too.

Do they use lots of analogies to make their work relatable? Try that too.

They use pop culture references to keep readers engaged? Go ahead and do likewise.

Over time, you’d see yourself mastering these different writing skills, and before you know it, you’d have come up with your unique style.

10. Always keep it simple

There is often that temptation to impress. Often, people confuse ambiguity with smartness.

You may think you sound smarter if you use complex words, but that’s not always true.

There’s no point in writing a blog post like it’s some undergraduate or post-graduate thesis. Your readers are everyday people, not some university professors.

So, what you should do is ditch those big words and go for simple terms that effectively communicate your intention instead.

In Conclusion

It’s not that hard, is it? You just need to set your mind to it. 

While everyone can use the tips, they are handy to those whose jobs require them to always write (content writers, content marketers, marketers, influencers, social media managers, communication executives, among others).

Is there anything else you have been doing to improve your writing? Share in the comments.