What are you looking for? How to improve your writing skills?

Guess what; you are already a writer! Oh yes, believe me, you are. Don’t you write those long and never-ending texts to your loved ones? Or don’t you email your colleagues or your boss if you have one? Don’t you share your stories or updates on social media? Of course, you do and that is exactly what makes you a writer. Consider yourself a writer and that’s the beginning of learning writing skills.

Well now, when you are already practising writing, all you need is just to synchronize and structure your thoughts to present them in a way that is more appealing and conscious yet lucid and conversational. When you pen down your thoughts, it is absolutely fine to write in a stream of consciousness, but when you have to deliver your thoughts, you got to structure your thoughts as well as words finely.

Let’s see how we can nourish our English writing skills–

Vocabulary; learn as many new words as you can. Great vocabulary adds a lot of dimension to your thoughts and makes them more appealing. Learning new vocabulary doesn’t really mean learning only words but learning those words with complete sentences. This will provide a clear sense and vision to your vocabulary and hence will allow you to use it correctly.

English spellings; irrespective of extraordinary vocabulary, you need to master English spellings as well. For example, ‘brake’ and ‘break’ sounds similarly but ‘brake’ means ‘slow down a vehicle’ and ‘break’ means interruption or separation. If you write these kinds of words incorrectly, there are chances of misinterpretation by the audience and the whole idea of it’ll be lost.

Grammar; grammar is a very effective tool to enhance the quality of what you are writing. Ill grammar can make your thought like past, a perception or future, a dream. Stick to any tense past, present, future, and change only when it is needed. The use of punctuation plays a vital role in presenting your viewpoint more precise and clear.

• With more and more readings; it is said that, in order to master your writing skills, reading is the most effective way. Pick your favourite book, magazine, or any article, and start reading. The more you read, the more you’ll be able to quality-proof your writings. Explore different books, so that you can get a glimpse of different writings, vocabularies, styles, and spellings.
• Clear your concepts before writing; if the concept is complex, first, try to be clear about it and make notes to avoid any hustle. Albert Einstein rightly said, “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself”. Consider yourself a six-year-old and try to explain it in a very lucid manner, if you did, you are all set to pen it down. Your purpose should be clear either way.
• Avoid over-explanation; to avoid this, you need to structure your thoughts. This step could be preventive if you have planned your thoughts previously. Everyone is short of time now, the more precise you serve and the more you value their time. Ranting over a particular thought will definitely bore the reader. So don’t over exaggerate. Also, be precise on prepositions as well.
• Eliminate weasel words; avoid including weasel words while writing, rather it’ll show you less confident and uncertain about your thought. Weasel words like maybe, really, almost, and others.
• Avoid using weak words with an adverb; the words ending with –ly. Instead of writing “really beautiful”, try using words like “gorgeous” or “lush”. This will enhance your quality of writing for sure. Also, repeatedly using weak words with adverbs will rather question your vocabulary.
• Choose simple words; there are simple words, complex words, and then the most complex words that are scarcely known to anyone. Try choosing simple yet strong words that are known to everyone. Employing such scarcely known words won’t make your writing effective but only a matter of showing off unless you are being dramatically poetic.
• Form simple sentences; for a beginner, simple sentences will work fine. Although, the length of writing should differ over time to keep a check on your progress.
• Recheck by reading out loud; always read out your writings after completion. Your speaking flow will let you know the flaws in your writings. If you find any unwanted break or crumble in a sentence, it needs to be rewritten. Again read it out loud to prevent any complexity in the served thought.
• Be yourself while writing; your words and style of writing will describe your personality. Let your words embrace who you are. Of course, you got to choose words more precise and professional according to what you have opted to write. Your writings will give a glimpse of your psyche to the reader automatically.
• Practice; it doesn’t matter if you are a professional writer or just a beginner; you need to practice regularly for improving over a certain period of time. If not spending another hour of practice, try to inculcate the above-mentioned ways in your daily lifestyle, be it a job or schooling. This will help you learn a lot as it would become a conversational method of learning.