Channel Button

There are 31 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #10 by Helium's members.

Arts & Humanities   >

Thoughts on Writing

Get a Widget for this title

Becoming a better writer

If you spend any amount of writing, whether you are writing on the internet or whether you are writing off-line, chances are good that you want to learn about becoming a better writer. The good news is that becoming a better writer doesn't require a huge degree of innate talent. Rather, if you want to make improvements to your writing, you need have to understand the rules of the language, develop your own writing style and, finally, you need to practice.




The first key to becoming a better writer is to understand the rules of the language. If you expect to write good material you have to be able to spell and you have to be able to follow grammatical rules. Writing that is full of spelling and grammatical errors is not good writing. It is also not writing that is going to be able to prove useful for you or for anyone else. If you would like to try and make your living by writing, it is particularly important that you be able to master the language.




Another key to becoming a better writer is developing a good writing style. This has quite a bit to do to with understanding the particular medium for which you are writing. If you are writing for magazines, for example, you are writing in a very different style than if you are writing for newspapers. If you are writing for an informational website, you'll be writing in a very different style than if you are writing for a blog. If you are writing material for a client's newsletter, you are likely to use a different writing style than if you are writing an entry for Wikipedia. Understanding different writing styles and developing a mastery of those writing styles is very important to becoming a better writer.




Finally, the most important aspect to becoming a better writer is practice. If you want to get at good at writing, you've got to do it over and over again. In addition to practicing, you have got to be able to go back and review that writing. Learning to identify your own weaknesses and editing your own work is a necessary skill for success. In some ways, putting your writing online and putting it out there for other people to see, to critique and to view can very much help you become a better writer because you are able to receive feedback from others. You are able to thereby learn from others.




While these things won't guarantee that you'll become a better writer, most people, if they follow these suggestions, will find that their writing improves drastically over time.

Learn more about this author, John W. Paulus.
Contact this writer Click here to send this author comments or questions.


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Becoming a better writer

  • 1 of 31

    by Kate Johns

    Becoming a better writer really boils down to how much you really want it. Like everything else in life, becoming a better

    read more

  • 2 of 31

    by Elton Gahr

    Writing is a competitive environment, more so when you are trying to make money, but in the end the best writers aren't the

    read more

  • 3 of 31

    by Dawn Hawkins

    When you have a passion for writing, you will go the extra mile to improve on your skills. It is not difficult to learn how

    read more

  • 4 of 31

    by Joan Inong

    Becoming a better writer begins with the writer's desire to become better. Though this logic may seem circular at first glance,

    read more

  • 5 of 31

    by Emmanuel Osondu

    Understand this basic fact from the very beginning of this article. Good writers are not born that way. People become good

    read more

View All Articles on:
Becoming a better writer

Add your voice

Know something about Becoming a better writer?
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

Helium Debate

Cast your vote!

Does role playing provide value to literature?

Click for your side.

91914

Featured Partner

Northwoods Wildlife Center

Northwoods Wildlife Center has partnered with Helium, giving you the chance to write for a cause. Browse Northwo...more

What is Helium? | Buy Web Content | Contact Us | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA | User Tools | Help | Community | Helium’s Official Blog | Link to Helium

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA