5 Ways To Take Your Writing To The Next Level

No matter what the purpose of your writing you need to think of yourself as a writer. Whether you are writing for your own personal blog or penning articles you expect to publish you need to consider yourself as a professional in order to reach the ultimate level. Here are a five ways you can improve your writing skills.
Write Consistently
There is no doubt that the more time you spend writing the easier it will become, and the better you will become. It’s not a matter of forcing yourself to write everyday, it’s a case of simply finding the time to write regularly. Maintain a consistency in your efforts and you will find the process comes easier as the weeks pass.
If you are struggling to find time, the greatest of all writers issues, try to schedule your writing time in advance. It may even take a change of environment, so try taking some time out and head down to the local cafe. Grab a coffee and let the juices flow. Allow the surroundings to stimulate your writing and see what eventuates.
Research Writing
Once again scheduling your time plays an important part in improving your writing. Book yourself a few hours a week to simply research writing skills. There are hundreds of books on the subject of writing or blogging in which you are sure to find something that you can put into practice.
There are also a number of excellent sources online to research writing skills.
Seek Some Feedback
One thing you should always do is ask for comments from your readers, but don’t always expect positive feedback. Be prepared for some constructive criticism and learn from it. If you are posting on a blog simply ask your readers to express their opinions in the comments section at the bottom of your posts.
Try connecting with other bloggers or writers to find out what is working in your writing and what isn’t. This works both ways and you can always offer to do the same for anyone prepared to offer you some feedback on your writing.
If you hold a membership with a forum or writers network you can try posting a draft of your article and request some feedback. In most cases other members will be happy to provide some comment and help improve your writing.
Always Edit Your Writing
Every time you finish writing an article or blog post make sure you spend time in the editing phase. As tempting as it may be to hit the “publish” button, it will always pay to spend an extra few minutes re-reading your work. It doesn’t take too long and could make a huge difference to your finished work. Unedited work looks unprofessional and will detract from your standing and credibility.
If you are prepared to be patient, walk away form your article for a day or two before you edit it. It’s surprising how easy it is to pick up errors after some time has passed. Keep an eye out for spelling errors and typo’s but also consider the flow and balance of the work. Consider re-working your introduction or moving some paragraphs around and see if the article reads any better.
Try A Writing Course
If you really want to improve your writing skills, think about taking a course or even a class or two. There are online options as well as local technical colleges. For best results the syllabus or course material should cover the type of writing you intend to focus on. There is also plenty to learn from creative writing courses.
The true benefit from taking a course is the feedback you receive from your tutor. They will focus directly on the areas in which you need to most improve, if any!
Think about what you might be able to do to take your writing to the next level. If you have any ideas we haven’t included above let us know in the comments section below.