How To Get Good At Writing
How to get good at writing, that’s what we’re all here for right? We’re all looking to be the best writers that we can be so that we can write our literary masterpieces. Well, how to get good at writing isn’t as simple as one quick trick like those scammy YouTube videos advertise. There’s no surefire way to guarantee you’re going to get good at writing but there are a few general tips that we had to advance your writing skills:
1. Write Often
This shouldn’t really need to be said but it does. If you want to get better at writing, you have to actually write. Writing is a muscle and it’s only going to get stronger if you exercise it. That’s not to say that you have to write thousands of words each day. You’re not Brandon Sanderson. You just need to make sure that you’re doing some writing on a regular basis. According to Neil Gaiman, he wrote one of his books 50 words at a time.
Can you manage 50 words in a sitting? I bet you can. If you want to get better at writing, it’s a great place to start.
2. Read as much as you write
Read books that are both in and out of the genre you want to write in. Don’t just read the classics either since you want to write something new and different. Find the hidden gems, the ones off the beaten path, and even the really bad ones. If you want to get good at writing, you need to learn what you don’t like about the genre as much as what you do like. We’ve discussed it before but reading a bad book can be inspiring as well because you can do better than that, right?
3. Get feedback from others
If the first time you’re getting feedback is when you send your manuscript to a publisher, you’re going to be in for a rude awakening. You should always seek out feedback on what you’re working on to understand if you’re resonating with your audience and if your latest draft is better than the one before. Who you get feedback from is important too. If you’re comfortable enough to share your work with your parents, partner, and close family, they’re probably going to want to be as supportive as possible which might mean sugarcoating some things. You can’t get good at writing if you aren’t getting true, honest feedback.
For that, consider joining a Writer’s Circle on StoryForge. You can handpick the circle you join to make sure it’s people who are looking to read the kind of story you’re writing. You can ask them for feedback in the forums and then they can leave it directly on your story. It’s a great way to find out where you stand with real readers and then have a built-in fanbase when you do publish.
4. Check your spelling and grammar
If you’ve ever been in an argument online, you know that the second you misspell a word or use poor grammar, your argument has become invalid. Those are the rules of the internet, unfortunately. It’s a different kind of severe when your spelling and grammar aren’t done properly in a story. It can take people out of the moment, confuse them, or turn them off to the story completely. Consider a free browser extension that can help you with spelling and grammar. It will help you be a better writer just by giving you helpful suggestions and corrections.
5. The linear path isn't always the best path
It seems intuitive, but there’s no rule that says you have to start writing at the beginning of your story. If what gets you motivated is a key scene in the fourth act of your story, write that our first and then work your way backward and forward. Like we said before, to get good at writing you have to actually write. So write the parts you want to first and then weave them together.
6. Don't be afraid to pivot an idea
Just because it was your first idea doesn’t mean it’s your best idea. If you want to get good at writing, you can’t be afraid of moving away from your original ideas. Maybe characters that you wanted to be lovers turn out to work better as friends. And unless they were your main characters in a romance novel, that’s ok! Two characters might become one and one character might become two. Don’t be afraid of deviating from your original plan if it works better.
7. Find your own voice
There’s only one Stephen King. Only one Leigh Bardugo. Only one Ursula K. Le Guin. And that’s ok because you’re not them. You’re you. You’re not going to sound like them because you’re you and not them. To get good at writing, you’re going to have to find your own voice instead of trying to emulate one of your literary heroes. You might want to be excessively detailed like Tolkien but it just might not work for you so try something else. To truly be good at writing, you’ve got to find what your writing actually sounds like.
It’s a long journey to get good at writing and an even longer journey to complete your story. We at StoryForge wish you the best of luck and will be here to support you the entire way on our platform!
