Five ways to become a better writer, #3 might be the most surprising to you.
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I've been writing professionally for nearly 30 years, the past 24 years writing full-time for this Maine newspaper. So, it's time I shared my knowledge with you.
Read All The Things to Write Better
Read everything, it doesn't matter what it is--comic strips, pulp fiction, your local newspaper, an Agatha Christie mystery or thriller.
I daresay reading is the most important activity to improve your writing.
Don't tell me you don't have time to read. Everyone has time.
The only person who gets a pass is the single mom of four working a full-time job outside the home.
And even single mom could probably spare ten minutes of her lunch time to escape into.a book.
This post is 5 ways to become a better writer. That's for anyone and everyone.
But, if you have aspirations towards being Serious Writer OR Professional Writer, I have more work for you.
You need to really dig in and read a lot.
Read books about writing. The best to start with is Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird.
Read biographies of writers.
Also read autobiographies of writers and others who have done things.
Write Daily
Write daily or almost daily if you can.
The only way you get better at anything is to practice.
If you want to be a better writer, then write, it doesn't matter what.
You absolutely do not need to be inspired to write. In fact, it's really better if you aren't.
Writing is a trade. Pick up the pencil or pen and put words on a page.
Use your computer if you must but it's good for your brain and your writing to do it old school at least part of the time.
Set a timer and go.
And if you don't know what to write, then write you don't know what to write over and over and I'm fairly certain your mind will move along and give you something to say.
Walk
Walking ranks number 3 only behind reading and writing in the great list of how to be a better writer.
When you walk, you're raising your chi or your energy, you're releasing endorphins.
Bonus points if you can walk in nature or at least somewhere with a lot of trees. But it really doesn't matter. You'll get the same benefits walking down a busy street. Just do it.
I recommend at least a 20 minute stroll. But 30 or 45 minutes is even better.
All the famous writers walk. Consider mega publishing superstar Stephen King. King walks all the time. He got hit by a car while walking but he hasn't let that stop him.
Rearrange Your Paragraphs
Don't be afraid to move things around the page.
Organizing your thoughts into a coherence can be tricky for even the most experienced among us.
Maybe you've said everything you want to say but it's not coming out right because it needs to be re-ordered.
Try putting your last paragraph as your first just to see what happens.
Swap out the middle and put it at the end.
It might make more sense.
If it doesn't, who cares? Put it back the way you had it.
Give Your Work a Break
Unless you're going to miss a deadline, only good can come from letting what you've written sit untouched for a block of time, four hours fine, a whole 24 hours is even better.
No cheating, don't look at it, don't read it. Just let it rest, undisturbed.
I'm certain that when you return to your piece, you'll immediately see ways to improve what you've written.
If nothing else, your typos will stand out more than if you had spent hours laboring over your piece.
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