What Weird 14 Ideas Can Help You Improve Your Writing Skills?
That got your attention, right?
The basic thing is making eye catchy title, a headline. One that will attract you to read an article. The headline is the most important element of the story. You are making a promise to your readers, through the headline and then the promise is delivered with the content.
“On average, 5 times as many people read the headline as read the body copy.” – David Ogilvy
Another valuable skill you need to master: Storytelling.
The most fundamental story used in marketing:
- A HERO
- Has a PROBLEM
- And meets a GUIDE
- Who gives them a PLAN
- That calls the hero to ACTION
- And helps them avoid FAILURE
- And ultimately ends in SUCCESS
The rest of this storytelling framework can be read in the SB7 Storytelling Framework by Donald Miller.
This is the list of 14 to help you organize and express your thoughts
1. Headlines
If your headline fails to grab attention, the rest of your post is so irrelevant. Draft many headlines, as much as possible.
You know the type, that makes you think – WTF? Even though you never normally read those magazines and you know you’re being manipulated. You can’t stop yourself taking a quick peek inside.
Learn how to bring that shocking power of outrageousness to your own blog.
Knowing this, you take your headlines seriously. Thinking about your title or trying a few ideas before you start writing is just the beginning.
Study some proven headline formulas and you will realize that all of them have special ingredients or spices.
That one special sauce, an eye-grabbing description which pulls you to start reading (power word, sensor word, number, emotional state, awkward word, sexual connotation or something else).
Discover it for yourself and let me know what you find.
2. Read
Every writer can get better. There is no writer who is perfect. Read a lot. Make sure you do adequate research on your topic. Just read, read, read. As much as possible.
Read your favorite writers.
Pay close attention to style and mechanics in addition to content. What is the thing you like? Is it the rhythm of the sentence, specific style or something else, and what effective writing looks like?
Take time to analyze the writing you admire. Imitate writers you admire.
3. Write
Write every day, or a few times a day if possible. The more you write, the better you’ll get. Outline your writing.
That is a skill and needs practice like any other skill, the more you practice it gets better. Write stuff for yourself, write your journal, write for a blog, and write for other publications.
Write just to write, and have a blast doing it. Write about anything.
It gets easier after a while if you practice a lot. Keep a little notebook handy and write down ideas for stories. Write down ideas, all the time.
4. Ritual
Create a writing ritual. Find a certain time of day when you can write without interruptions, and make it a routine. Write for at least 30 minutes, but an hour is even better. Make a daily habit.
Start typing, it doesn’t matter what you write and get the fingers moving. Once you get going, you get in the flow of things, and it gets easier. Clear away distractions so you can work without interruption.
5. Plan
Plan, then write. Make your weekly and monthly plans for writing. Plan what you will do every day. I’ll think about it during my daily walk. A bit brainstorm, then write things down and do an outline if necessary.
Try out new things and new words. Experiment with your style, your voice, your mechanics, and your themes. Invent new words.
6. Your Voice
Pour your personality into your writing. Letting your personality shine through is the best way to develop a writing style.
Be yourself when you write. There is only one you. Unique you. Your hopes, thoughts, and dreams are unique.
When you sit down to write, tap into that what makes you, you. When it’s appropriate tell some of your stories, a relevant personal anecdote. Develop your writing style.
7. Edit
Edit your writing. Accept that first drafts are often bad and need revision. If you want to be a good writer, you need to learn to revise. Because revision is where good writing really is.
It separates the average from the great. Go back over everything.
Don’t look only for grammar and spelling mistakes, but for unnecessary words and awkward structures and confusing sentences. Aim for clarity, for strength, for freshness.
Edit every sentence and paragraph and remove everything but the essential. Be concise.
A short sentence is preferred over a longer one and a clear word. Try to find your flow.
8. Be Creative
Discover the time of day when you are most creative and use that for your benefit. Use powerful sentences.
Aim for shorter sentences with strong verbs. Try different styles, humour, sarcasm and learn to be conversational.
Express your thoughts, feelings, senses, dreams, ideas, beliefs and mindset. Start and end strong.
Break some rules, sometimes.
9. Feedback
Get feedback. Get someone to read your stuff. Someone who reads a lot, and can give you honest and intelligent feedback.
Try to understand the criticism and accept it and use it to improve. Putting your writing out in the public can be tense and it can be painful, but it is a crucial part of every writer’s growth. Just do it.
10. Be conversational
It’s not an easy task at first, but it’s something to strive for. Try to write as you talk. And that brings up another point.
It’s better to break the rules of grammar in order to sound conversational (as I did in some sentences) than to sound stilted just so you can follow the proper rules.
You can break some conjunction rules and that will not sound bad. It will look more personal and show the way you express your thoughts. Share an unpopular opinion and inspire the new ideas.
11. Transcribing
Try transcribing yourself. Record yourself talking. You can learn a lot about conversational writing using this one trick.
Transcribe a couple of minutes of the conversation word-for-word.
Then, fix or remove any false starts and remove filler words. The process of transcribing and editing will help you learn what to do and what not to.
Keep your sentences simple. Read it out loud.
Speaking of flow, reading your writing aloud can help you determine whether it flows smoothly or not. If you find yourself stumbling over parts, probably some complex sentences need rewriting.
12. Focus
Focusing isn’t just about willpower, it’s also about setting up the right writing environment and finding ways to remind yourself to stay on task.
Your job is to take thoughts, emotions and ideas and turn them into words. Practice choosing the right words and outline your main points. Schedule time to write.
13. Practice
Practice, practice, practice. The more you write, edit, and proofread, the better you get at it.
You will learn what works, and what doesn’t. Get serious, write every day even 15 min is worth doing.
It made a dramatic difference. To be a serious writer, you have to write.
14. Learning
Read something interesting if you feel stuck. Learn about some new things and topics that will help you to broaden your horizons and see things differently. Research fascinating topics.
Study other authors and make notes. Look for fresh angles. Entertain your readers and motivate them to share your content. Monitor how people react.
Conclusion
Most of this practice has to become routine. I’d strive to do it every day. Some days are better than others and I filled my assigned quota for that day. One of my favourite motivations is celebrating the small successes you do every day. Celebrate yourself.
After all that has to be fun. I reward myself with some good treats like a great cup of coffee and ice cream, a piece of cake and fresh fruits, some facial masks (Korean are the best), a daily walk, and hanging out at the beach with my kid.
“You should do whatever it is you want to do just as much as the things you don’t want to do.”- Rieul, The Sound of Magic.
Here is the best Stephen King’s tip for learning writing:
“You don’t need writing classes or seminars any more than you need this or any other book on writing…You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and the most valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself.” – Stephen King
Stay disciplined stay beautiful.
