Improve Your Writing In 2 Easy Steps
Writing is hard. And a thankless job at that. Being a creative, specifically a wordsmith is not the most lucrative of professions, but people in the industry still thrive and keep the art alive and kicking. Many theorized that writing for print media will decline in the next decade, but the industry kicked back with using technology to gain the upper hand.
The Internet has helped in the resurgence of writing jobs all around the world. With Google being the household name for Internet searches and hailing content asking on their rankings, it paved the way for many writers to be employed. It also upped the ante for most marketers, as blog posting became a mainstay in digital marketing.
For most content writers, they can source all the needed information to form a content intended for the Internet out in the Internet itself. Regurgitation is present across all digital content, and it’s widely accepted. It’s foolish to assume that all information presented in an article is original. We have established as most of a long time ago.
Save for new developments, of course. Articles across the health industry, for example, are always updated to conform to the latest developments of the specific study in question. Advancements in technology happen every six months, and pundits heavily report on this for engagement.
Writing-wise, style is very important. People always flock to a writer that has his voice, his point of view and a specific and individual way of presenting his ideas. While writing is a skill that can be learned, some of us are given the natural ability to create stories and copies better than most average people do.
So if you’re looking to improve your writing, there are things that you can do to seamlessly achieve it. Whether you’re a marketer, writing his first sales copy, an engineer writing a paper for online publishing, or the struggling Youtuber getting his name out there, here is a fail-proof 2-step way in making sure you’re writing great content:
Step 1. Emulate
Gather the writing sources that you find especially gripping an article, a news clipping, and a blog post, it doesn’t matter collate them and read them to yourself, and while reading, assess why you like the piece and how it made you feel. Notice and note how the writer started his piece by timed his pacing and used the right words to reel you in.
Repetition is the mother of all learning so don’t be afraid to emulate. Be inspired, but don’t copy word for word. Most online word count tool and plagiarism checkers will ping you, anyway. Apply the sentence construction to your article and then try to imbibe the pace from your inspiration.
For you to find your writing voice, you need to lend yourself a few first. So dig in, don’t be afraid to highlight and start pushing those letters on the keyboard. Review your piece by paragraph to assess if there are things to improve upon.
Step 2. Create an outline
Any great writer knows that for a great article to come into fruition, it needs to have complexity and completeness. Whether you’re doing a short piece or an essay, a structure or framework needs to be meted out before anything else. Having a structure guides you on what to write next, and paces your article nicely.
Consider an outline like gameplay. It’s your plan for winning. You adjust depending on what your mind and heart are telling you to write, and you stick to it when some things are not quite right. A good outline should include a title, subheadings, and a conclusion. Pro tip: you can pepper in some anecdotes and adages in there to liven up your piece.
Takeaway
Writing shouldn’t be so hard. With these two steps, you’re already ahead of most people. Remember to write what you need to put out there and consider the piece you are writing a direct representation of yourself. This way, you won’t put out anything other than stellar.
