Writing skills are important both in school and in the business world. Unfortunately, not everyone is born a great writer.

Thankfully, anyone can learn how to write better. Nevertheless, you have to be determined and patient when working on improving your writing skills.

This article shares 20 easy ways to improve your writing skills.

Even if you’re a gifted writer, you also need to improve your writing skills regularly to survive the ever-changing writing world.

So, here are practical steps toward becoming a great writer.

Make Writing Your Daily Habit

There is no better way to improve your writing skills than practicing, and when it comes to practice, you need to write every day.

Don’t mind about what you’re writing; just write what comes to your mind.

Once you make writing your daily habit, you will be able to understand the flaws and how to overcome them, so just write when you feel like writing and when you don’t feel like.

Read What You’re Writing About

If you want to become a great novelist, read as many novels as you can. The same applies if you want to improve your report writing skills.

When you read what you’re writing about, you will be able to understand how other people are doing it, how they are using certain words, and the way they are presenting their ideas.

Outline Before Writing

What sets apart the best writers from the mediocre ones is how they present their points.

Before you start writing, create a good outline so you know the major points to address to make your piece of writing top-notch and well-organized.

Creating an outline is especially important when it comes to writing complex pieces. So, always create an outline of your work.

Keep Your Writing Simple

The best writers aren’t those who use complicated words in their pieces of writing. Besides, using complex words when writing may end up making it difficult for you to communicate your message to your target readers.

Aim to make it easy for your readers to understand your message, so keep things as simple and straightforward as possible.

Cut the Fluff

Fluff includes words and phrases you use repeatedly when writing, yet they don’t add any meaning. In other words, these are words that even when removed, your message can be understood by your readers.

Well, of course, some fluff may be colorful or may even be meaningful; however, sometimes they make your writing look cluttered.

Use Simple Sentences

If you can, use one sentence in each paragraph of your writing. But to avoid too many white spaces in your pieces of writing, try to use at least two to three sentences in each paragraph. This is especially important for business writing. People have short attention spans. No one reads everything; they scan. So, if you write blocks of content, no one will read.

Besides, short sentences and paragraphs are easy on the eyes and the brain.

Use Editing Tools

The internet is awash with online editing tools, free and premium. Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Hemingway editor, just to mention a few, are some well-known editing tools to use to improve your writing skills.

Of course, you need to proofread your writing yourself but having an editing tool without you could make your writing top-notch.

Edit Once Done Writing

Some people can edit as they write but to improve your writing skills, it’s better to write first, then edit later.

Writing and editing at the same time can suppress creativity. Focus on writing first then polish your piece once done. You may also ask someone to edit for you.

Support Your Claims

Back up your writing with concrete evidence. This is especially important when it comes to schoolwork writing. In fact, it helps to avoid plagiarism.

When you make an assertion, make sure you support it with evidence. This will make people trust that you know what you’re writing, so they can decide whether to accept your claim or not.

Avoid Clichés

A cliché is a word, phrase, or saying that people have used to the extent that it doesn’t have any impact on your writing.

In a nutshell, they don’t leave a good impression on your reader, so you need to avoid them to make your writing stand out.

Choose a Good Writing Location

Does your creativity ooze when writing in the dining room? Does writing in the bedroom give you endless ideas?

Just choose a good writing location where your creativity doesn’t suffer when writing.

Join Writing Workshops

Another better way to improve your writing skills is to get feedback on your writing. Join local or online writing groups where you can talk with other people and read their work to improve your writing skills.

Feedback whether positive or negative could help you tweak your writing accordingly.

Write Distraction-Free

Distractions can kill the flow of ideas. Keep off distractors when writing. If you can, switch off your mobile phone, TV, and any other potential distractor so you can focus on writing.

Put Yourself in Your Audiences Perspective

Put on your readers’ shoes when writing. This helps to keep your writing suited to your readers.

For instance, if you’re writing a business proposal to obtain funding, understand your target readers. Think about their level of education and many other factors so you can tailor your writing accordingly.

Use Better Verbs

Verbs are simply words that show actions. Using better verbs in place of plain words like have, was, etc. could grab your readers’ attention and make them interested to keep reading your piece of writing.

Vary Your Sentence Structure

Short sentences are sweet on the eyes but sometimes they can make the meaning incomplete. On the other hand, long sentences can drive the point home fully, but they are boring to read.

To make your writing stand out, mix long and short sentences.

Write in the Active Voice

Writing in the active voice helps to make your writing conventional.

Good writing is when you write ‘the car hit the bumps several times before it veered off the road’ instead of ‘the bumps were hit by the car several times before it veered off the road.

Of course, it’s good to mix a passive and active voice but you should always limit your use of the passive voice when writing.

Read Your Work Aloud

You can still spot errors in your writing by reading by heart but reading it out aloud could help to spot the hidden errors. It also helps you to get the tone of your writing from the readers’ angle.

Transcribe Your Conversation

If possible, record yourself while having a conversation with other people then try transcribing the whole or a couple of minutes of the conversation.

Once done transcribing, try to edit your writing, removing filler words until your writing is conversational.

Read, Read, Read

Yes, you heard that right. To improve your writing skills, you have to be an avid reader. Read when free or when traveling, and read before you sleep or before you head to work. Just read magazines, novels, newspapers, online articles, or everything readable. As you continue practicing writing, you will establish your writing tone.

It’s That Easy

Have you read anything complicated in our list of ways to improve your writing skills?

It’s easy to become a great writer but you have to be committed, determined, patient, and consistent in all the steps shared above.

Good luck!

Author Bio

Charles Syensson is a freelance writer and blogger. Charles’ most favorite topics are education, marketing, self-growth, and social media. Excellent adaptability of skills to reach diverse audiences.