10 Tips to Improve Your Writing
Writing is an art, therefore there is no set formula to follow. I don’t want to make rules, only to share my knowledge about writing.
I love writing. Writing is a skill to be developed, a process of constant learning. That’s why I always put myself in a position of apprentice. This way I can always learn and improve my writing.
I decided to put together some writing tips that I have learned over my three years writing for Medium.
Writing is an art, so there is no formula to be followed. I don’t want to make any rules, only advice to improve your writing.
I don’t believe that knowledge is an individual’s capital, but something to be shared. Pick up what is useful, discard what is useless, and I will be happy to help you.
1. Use a Story as a Draft
Create a story as a draft with two things: a list of texts you will write, and random ideas about anything. It is only a draft, which will never be published, but it serves to guide you, so you won’t forget the ideas that come to mind. Always write down your ideas, so you don’t forget them.
2. Don’t Plan to Write a Text for a Long Time
If you ask me at what point one should start a new text, I would say: think of an idea, but start soon. My article on Aleister Crowley took a few months to write because I kept thinking: “Whenever I feel ready, I’ll start writing it. After months, it hadn’t even started, because I never felt ready.
Then I realized that I never felt entirely ready for anything I did, so I decided to start the article anyway. To my surprise, on the same day, I wrote half of the article.
3. You Need to Know What You Are Going to Write About, but You Don’t Need to Know How It Will End
When I start writing a text, I have the subject in mind, but I have no idea how it will look like when it is finished. Many ideas come to me along the way. That is why I write the title and subtitle last, as they are what summarize the entire text.
4. Writing is Not Always Pleasant
I don’t always enjoy writing. It is often a difficult task, and I cannot explain why. It’s just the way it is. It’s a struggle with words. Some days are productive, others not so much. However, it is rewarding to see my work done, and done well.
5. The Writer’s Discipline is More Important than Inspiration
Knowing that writing is not always enjoyable, and that there are many unproductive days, I learned that a writer’s discipline is more important than his inspiration. When I wrote my master’s thesis, I wasn’t always in the mood or inspired. But I forced myself to do the work daily, and always at the same time. When I least expected it, the job was done.
In fact, I believe that inspiration is romanticized these days. Inspiration is creativity, and a writer can only develop creativity with the daily practice of reading and writing.
6. Find Your Primary Motivation for Writing
Finding your primary motivation is fundamental. When I created my Medium account back in February 2019, I thought, “I want to write texts that I will read in the future and be proud of”. That is my main motivation.
And two best feelings happen when I work with determination and discipline: When I open my work folder on my laptop and see the list of all the texts I’ve written, I feel “Damn! I really did it!”. The second magic moment is when I read your comments.
7. Write Texts that Interest You, but Adapt them to What the Platform Demands
Stephen King used to say, “Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open”. He realized that the writer starts by writing something for himself, but after finishing his first draft, the text must be read and revised by others.
In the case of my texts for Medium, I try to write texts that I would read if I found them on the Internet, but I always think of the reader, because he is the ultimate goal of the work. Without readers to appreciate and evaluate my texts, the work of writing would be meaningless. That is why I revise the texts by cutting out unnecessary words, read the Publication guidelines, and try to keep the text into the simplest language possible.
8. Writing is Research
When I researched Aleister Crowley on the internet, I came across several articles reporting only two pieces of information: that he was a Satanist, and that he appeared on the cover of the Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. So I thought: why did he appear on this album? What was his cultural significance?
It is questions like these that justify the existence of my texts: to advance knowledge a little.
My texts take a long time to be finished because they are the fruit of research work. And it is research that sustains the veracity of my texts and brings quality content to the reader.
Engage on research when writing, even in opinionated texts, and you will build trust with your reader.
9. Welcome Praise, but Pay More Attention to Criticism
One of the best feelings of writing for Medium is reading readers’ comments. I love it. But I try not to believe too much in the compliments that I get, because it might hinder my learning process in writing.
I love receiving compliments, they are great for my self-esteem. But I don’t feel superior to anyone else, and as I am always willing to learn, especially from constructive criticism, I feel I can write better, and writing is a constant learning process.
10. You Have No Control Over the Results of Your Work, but You Can Control its Quality
No matter how well written your text looks, there’s no guarantee that it will be successful. When I wrote my article on Aleister Crowley, I thought I had written an excellent article. However, it got very few views. Even so, I was proud of this text, because it entailed a lot of research and reading. And I advanced my knowledge a little on the Internet. This does not prevent me from learning from my mistakes, and I still make many of them. What I try to do is not to repeat mistakes from the past.
I can’t control whether people will like my work or not. But I can do the best job possible. And who knows, maybe your text will be a hit after some time? Perhaps people will recognize your work after a few years? All you can control is the here and now.
Well, I said at the beginning of the text that I did not want to make rules. But I changed my mind.
Write every text as if it were your last. And with passionately.
