by Kate Johns

Created on: January 01, 2009

Becoming a better writer really boils down to how much you really want it. Like everything else in life, becoming a better writer requires working hard to attain your goals. Becoming a better writer is all up to you. Writing is not only a career choice, but also a life's calling.

WRITE EVERY DAY

There are no weekends off for writers. When you have the determination, drive and that overwhelming feeling that you want to become a better writer then you need to make time everyday to write. The more time you devote to learning your craft, the better off you will be. Schedule several hours every day of the week and the weekend to better your writing.

Becoming a better writer is very much like training for a marathon, you have to work every day to get into shape. When you first start out it may take several hours or even several days to write an article. When you make the time to write everyday you will find that it becomes easier to put those thoughts on paper.

When I first started writing every day it would take many hours to write a 500-word article. It actually felt like I was running up a hill and I would have a hard time reaching the top of the hill. I would have to leave the article the way it was and move on to write or read something else.

LEARN FROM MISTAKES

After a day or two when I would go back to re-read my article, I would discover that the article was not as well written as I originally thought. Sentences didn't make sense. There were many spelling and grammatical errors. I would become so upset, that I didn't want to write anymore. I kept writing because I felt that this is what I really wanted to do with my life.

When I started writing I would have my husband read over each article I wrote. It seemed like an eternity, as he would read over my work. Often he would take out a highlighter and a red pen. He would cross out words, sentences, and even entire paragraphs. I would have to leave the room for fear that my entire article would be marked with red pen.

After arguing with him as to why every sentence and word was needed, I realized that I had a live in editor. I saw that a lot of what he was crossing out and writing in the margins was right. That's when I realized he was teaching me how to be a better writer. Soon I started taking his direction and suggestions without fear.

GET SOME DIRECTION

Join a writer's group. Ask your life partner, husband, wife, or best friend to read your articles before sending your work to an Internet site or for submission to

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