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This is another installment post in our series on how to write an article that gets read. But this time, we’re looking at how a beginner can become a better writer.

I hope you’ll share your vast experience improving your writing skills through the comment box below.

As of when I started this blog – actually, this is my first baby. I never had any practical experience with blogging; apart from that, writing wasn’t part of me. I don’t write anywhere, either offline or online.

Maybe a couple of letters to my girlfriend when I was a bachelor. Does that make me a writer?

I don’t think so…

So you can imagine such a rookie I was when setting this blog up. Complete novice, zero, nothing. No clue about what internet marketing is about.

I was searching for a post here when I came across some of those early posts I had published.

Warning! Please don’t get scared when you read them. I valued those posts more than whatever I write now.

Why?

They remind me of who I was and how I improved my writing skills.

And it gives me hope that each blog post I publish can better my previous standard. Sure, if I continue to learn, practice, remain focused, and be determined to achieve my goals.

There is one thing I like most about striving to better your previous standard. Each blog post you published today will seem like a draft or rough sheet tomorrow.

An article you published today, and you said to yourself, great! This is a stellar post.

When you review it six months later, I bet it will be, oh! Gosh, I need to edit this post to make it better.

No matter your writing standard or creative ability, there is always room for improvement. Just keep at it; sooner, especially when events start unfolding in your blogging career, you’ll see that it’s easier to write than you ever imagine.

How to Improve Your Writing Skills

If you’re struggling to write a better blog post, but you’re ready to learn the art of it. Here is a list of what I did ( I still do them) when I was in that situation, and hopefully, they work for you if you work on them long enough to see the rewards.

Note* I am not claiming my writing is anywhere that good.

I still learn, practice, and hope to improve my current standard. But if you’re in that stage I was some years back, here is a list to help you get on the right track.

1. Accept That Your Writing is Bad.

Yes, the first thing I did was accept that my writing was bad. I don’t need anyone to tell me that. After reading a few blogs and seeing what they published, I realized how bad my writing was.

If you fail to accept it when you’re guilty of something, you’re not open to greatness. On top of that, you’ll cause more harm to yourself.

2. Read Top Blogs.

You’re what you read.

If you want to be a top writer, read top blogs—especially those in your industry and those dealing with copywriting.

Reading alone with two naked eyes will not significantly improve your writing skill. But reading with your brain thinking and your mind open to suggestions will improve the quality of your writing.

While reading other people’s works, take note of certain things:

The use of “I, “You, “We, “and “Us. “These words can easily make or break your content. Learn how to make use of them to better your writing skill.

man pointing one finger

Please take note of content structures that make it easier to read.

Tone at which they speak.

Know when to use “do not” and “don’t, “one sounds robotic, while the other looks more humane. Using capital letters at the beginning and within a sentence, i.e., “I.”

See how they engage readers with their content. If you’re a good reader and observer, you will have many takeaways after reading through.

3. Practice Every Day.

This one is logical.

In a previous blog post, I argued that three posts per week are enough to build a successful blog if you really know and understand what you’re doing.

And here I am, telling you to write every day.

Wait for a moment…

What I mean by writing every day is not publishing a post on your blog every day. You should engage yourself in constant practice either as a way of writing and saving it as a draft, or you could tend to devote just 30 minutes a day to writing a never-to-be-published eBook.

I used the latter very well.

I have many never-to-be-published books sitting on my hard disk. I constantly practice this way, which helps me learn how to become a better writer.

I mostly pick a topic, research it online from different sources, and start putting words in the text editor.

This strategy could help you in the future when you start writing your very own ebooks.

Some never-to-be-published ebooks may become your best-selling products after mastering what you do.

4. Write The Way You Speak.

One of the best ways to write an article that cuts deep into your reader’s mind is to imagine or visualize it. Think your audience sitting in the same room with you, and he asked this question – the topic you’re writing about.

two sisters having a discussion

Imagine every point, lesson, case study, and illustration you’re giving in your article being directly delivered to your audience in the same room. He is right there in front of you while you speak to him.

Think about how you used to have those regular conversations with someone.

Then write exactly the way you talk. Put down everything that comes to mind as a draft and see how to weed out unwanted words. And edit to make it interesting, informative, and educational.

This is how you write an article that resonates with your readers. An article that speaks directly to an audience.

5. Like What you’re doing.

This is supposed to come first on my list but anyway, still on the list. It doesn’t matter what comes first or last.

If you don’t like writing, you don’t like sitting down for hours crafting words on paper – I don’t think you will master the art of creative writing.

Writing takes greater effort on the part of the writer. And to really craft something good for your readers to enjoy, you have to think through, meditate, brainstorm, be creative, entertain, and educate them on the subject.

I don’t think you can achieve all these qualities without falling in love with what you’re doing.

6. Read Books.

If there is one powerful method of becoming a better writer, I would say it is reading great books written by great authors.

woman reading book

There is logic to why this has been proven to be working:

  1. It prepared someone for what to write.
  2. Getting ideas on what to write becomes easier.
  3. It serves as a weapon of motivation.
  4. It inspires you to give out the best to have your name written among these authors.
  5. It shapes your mind in the right direction.
  6. Your level of reasoning becomes different from others, and you start acting differently.
  7. You’re exposed to a different style of writing and tones.
  8. The benefits are just endless.

And good to know that the internet and smartphones have made it easier to read unlimited books on the go. Now you can have your favorite books read wherever and wherever you want them.

Just install the app and bam! Hundreds of books are just right there on your palm.

7. Keep a Journal Always.

Ideas don’t give notice.

They strike in a flash of seconds, and when they do, if you don’t quickly tie them down somewhere either on your mobile phone or in a Word doc, or better if you always keep a journal with you, that’s it… It’s gone forever.

Please don’t trust your brain to hold on to something for as long as needed.

Man's brain

We’re humans, not a robot.

8. Don’t force it.

Sometimes ideas will spring in, and you want to start writing immediately, and what’s more?

You discover you lack points or supporting information to make up your great idea.

If you try to force everything at a go, you may not have all the necessary points that the content deserves. Leave it for a while or days, and have other ideas jump in and jot them down.

This makes it easier to have your post written quickly and allows touching every necessary point that needs to be touched.

9. Create Your Rules.

It is straightforward to get thousands of advice on how to become a better writer. Advice is the cheapest commodity.

But I tell you the truth – there is no one-size-fits-all as far as blogging is concerned. There is never any universal approach to mastering your writing skills.

Some great authors will tell you to write daily; others will tell you something else. It is up to you to discover what works and what doesn’t work for you.

I have found out that trying to publish blog posts every day doesn’t work for me, but it works perfectly for some bloggers.

So when taking advice, make them a starting point to find your own creativity and style and not the basis of your article template.

Conclusion…

More than before, writing a great piece of content that impacts your readers’ lives is now important.

With millions of posts competing for attention daily, it is now a race of quality over quantity. As user demand for quality content is rising, you must take advantage of publishing super useful content to beat your competitors.

If you practice daily the writing tips shared in this article, your writing skills will improve for the better.

Please subscribe to the weekly newsletter on the sidebar if you enjoy this post and wish not to miss any part.

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60 Comments

  1. These are actionable points man and one that works well is practice. The more you write, the more you know to write.

    Initially, like you, I was a nobe but with practice (though still learning), I’m able to write a 3000 word engaging blog post 😉

    Thanks for the practical tips bro and do have a wonderful week.

    1. Thanks for coming Muki,

      Whatever one is doing and aim to do it right; it will be best if he can practice it almost every day. I appreciate your coming and love to see more of you in days ahead.

      Thanks for your visit and hope you enjoy your stay.

  2. Continuous writing and reading make you a good writer for sure. Even I was not able to write 100 words when I started blogging 3 years back but I can now easily write more than 1000 words article which readers like.

    Good pointers here Sham.

    1. Hi Atish,
      Welcome to my blog and I hope you do find some useful content around here.

      Yes, at the beginning of most blogger’s career, writing could be a doubting task; Constant writing and reading will help in no small measure to help us become a better writer.

      Thanks for coming and good to have you here.

  3. Hi Shamsudeen,
    You just nailed the most important points about being a better writer. These can work for any level a writer is.

    Being open to corrections and practicing daily are key tips that have helped me to improve in writing.

    Nevertheless, reading books and top blogs have also helped my writings come out naturally.

    Your experience of sieving through your very first blog posts and wondering if you actually wrote them happens to the best of us.

    Your piece is great and its worth sharing!

    I have shared this comment in kingged.com, where I found this content shared, syndicated, and bookmarked for Internet marketers.

    Sunday – kingged.com contributor

    1. Thanks, Sunday, am very grateful for your kind support and constant visit. I hope to have better dealings with you in the very near future. Thanks for always being there and my regards to the kingged like a community.

  4. Hi Shamsudeen,

    Found this link submitted on Kingged. And being the content writer that I’m, I was curious to know about the writing tips you offered. You see, I never forget to tap a resource that can improve my writing skills!

    And after reading your article, I must say that I’ve learned something new. Especially I loved #9th point- creating one’s own rules!

    We are so busy learning from others that we forget to invest in ourselves! That’s the biggest mistake, now I realize. Will work upon my style and come up with my own rules now!

    Thanks man, for this good write up!

    Arun

  5. One of my favorite quotes is … “If you wish to be a writer, write.” – Epictetus

    To become a better writer, you simply need to sit down and write consistently – always work at your craft.

    1. Thanks, James,
      You can’t be called a football player by watching it on the TV, you have to get on the pitch and kick the ball around.
      Thanks for coming and do have a nice week ahead.

  6. Being dyslexic has made it a much bigger challenge to write then it is for most. All of these things you talked about resonated with me.

    As you mentioned, the more you do it, the better you get at the craft. Knowing what others are doing by reading other blogs really helps to see how they are able to communicate in the written word.

    I also have a friend now who will proof my posts before I publish them to give me some ideas of what would be good to change

    1. Hi Susan,
      That (dyslexia)is a great challenge to writing and reading, I must admit, and good you have someone around to proofread and check for other things before the post went live.

      In whatever we’re doing and hope to get better at it, it is important we do it as often as it deserves. Thanks for coming and do extend my profound greeting to the best community of bloggers – Bloggers Helping Bloggers on LinkedIn.

  7. author comments Nosa Ero Nosa says:

    Hi Adeshokan,

    Let me quickly say that I learned something very quick and that is you are married. So I had to read carefully since I reading from a married blogger, unlike us who are still single.. Hahaha!

    The truth of the whole situation is that we are what we think and I always tell friends, I can’t help anyone who has built the constitution of his mind on being a terrible writer. I believe no body can help such persons, the first step would be to have a change of mental state and believe becoming a better is completely realizable.

    Like you said, when I visit my older posts, I hide in shame.. LOL, I ask myself; did I write those lines of c*ap? This point is this, everyone started as a terrible writer, but we can’t be better if we don’t start and then practice! practice!!! practice!!!

    I am still a victim of not having a journal, but I have lots of paper piece, often times I get an idea, I put them down on paper but I still miss out a lot because at times I can’t find a paper but I’m thinking everything would get better once I become smart on mobile again. The ideas should fit into the memo pad.

    The point I love most from all the point raised here is “Write The Way You Speak.” I have always seen blogging as an extension of one’s voice. We surely don’t have to force it, we just need to be ourselves and people will love us.

    Lovely tips and do have a nice day.. 🙂

    1. Thanks my brother from another mother, Nosa – haaahaaaaa!

      Yes, I am married, so does that make me a “Married Blogger”? Just kidding.

      Good to hear you admit of not keeping a journal, but in reality, I believe the whole idea of keeping a journal is a thing of choice and individual convenience. Why?

      Whatever comes to mind anywhere, anytime, I put it down as a draft on my blog right away through the help of the WordPress android app on my smartphone, and later see to it.

      You see, it’s easier to blog now than it used to be.

      And am so pleased you find some useful pointers in this, “Write the way speak” has been my best way to write a post and I have found the most post I write just as if am talking to a friend or counseling him the ones that generate most comments and shares.

      Thanks for coming Nosa and I do wish to see more of you.

  8. Reading and writing daily journal works for me way back high school days, I loose my pastime hobbies during college, actually, it was an ON and OFF hobby, because of the hectic schedule a student has.

    After reading the post, I have to confess to myself that I do not build my own rules. I thoroughly agree too that “there is no one size fit all”. Reading advices should be a key for you to WORK. Not just taking the weight off your feet and do nothing at all.

    If I wanted to become a better writer, I should practice and write daily, so that progress will be seen soon.

    I have shared this comment in the content syndication and social bookmarking and networking website for Internet marketers – kingged.com where this post was found.

    1. Hi Metz,

      Combining other activities/hobbies together with schooling is not an easy thing to manage, and most especially “blogging”.
      Thanks for going with my views on not setting ones to rule and how advice should be seen as a starting point and not a complete hand-out to duplicate.

      And one more thing, I do appreciate you leave comments on both my blog and kingged; thanks a million.

  9. Very good and achievable points. The ones that I like the best are write the way you speak and like what you are doing. Thanks for the tips

    1. Hi Jay,

      Good you find some useful points in this write-up and one more thing, I don’t know or should I say can’t understand if your other comments are meant for this post?

      Well, thanks for coming and do have a lovely day.

  10. great tips on how to improve your writing and i will definitely use some of the tips on improving my writing

    1. Thanks, Michael, I hope you do enjoy your stay here; thanks for coming.

    1. Absolutely Jacqueline; the more you read the better you get at crafting great words on paper.
      Thanks for always being there.

  11. Hello; the fact that you shared so much of your own experiences with blogging made a ordinary post about writing into something special that made me want to subscribe to your future posts. I am an almost totally blind blogger who followed you here from the bloggers helping bloggers group. I generally write long posts, so its also nice to connect with someone else who has a similar style. thanks for sharing and take care, Max

    1. Oh! Max, I am short of words….and….. I just don’t know what to say but… thank you.

      And thanks again for that piece you wrote about Pinterest, is really an eye-opener for me and come to think of it; an almost totally blind blogger using Pinterest to an extent of teaching others how to use the platform?

      Max, you’re indeed a genius.

      Thanks for coming and from the bottom of my heart, I say “thank you”

      1. now you are making me blush. but I am glad I can educate and inspire. And you are right the funny thing about that post is the number of sighted people who told me they learned a lot from it. We were all new at this stuff at one time.

        I’m just doing my best to pay back the kind people who helped me along the way. You wrote a fine post, so don’t be surprised when people say so. smile and if you liked my Pinterest post check out my experience with google hangouts.

        Or check out my you tube page and see what I’ve been able to do with the resources available to me. thank me by continuing to write solid posts. take care, max

        1. I read people’s comments on that Pinterest post and was amazed too; looking at numbers of sighted people who loved what you did but Google hangouts?

          I would certainly love to check it out. Thanks for your response and you’re always welcome here.

          1. its always good to feel appreciated. Thanks, and I enjoy hearing from you too. please help spread the word about next week.

            10 edt 9 cdt google hangout on air with the blind blogger and amusement equipment reseller/broker. very little is off limits, and it gives people a chance to get comfortable with doing video.

            This could be their first step towards recording their own youtube videos or starting their own hangouts. and I need the practice too, so hope anyone here that has a regular hangout will invite me. thanks again and take care, max

          2. Sure, Max, I will do that and while I was walking with a friend yesterday, something just strikes within me and I don’t know if you’ll be interested in having an interview here on my blog?

            Though, not in quick time but not long either.

            What do you think of this, Max?

  12. author comments Haley Gray says:

    You make some great points. I think that working on becoming a better writer is a definite challenge. Being more engaging, and interesting, and a better blogger is yet another challenge, especially since you have to write at a certain level to be able to read by most people who speak English (About 5th grade level). If you write at a higher level, you risk being completely unintelligible to everyone else.

  13. author comments Johnny Bravo says:

    Excellent tips. I know I’ve looked back at some of my older posts, which at the time I thought were great, and been horrified by what I found. But like you I get better every day using many of the suggestions you made. Especially reading top blogs in my industry, reading books (I love to read), and writing every day. I try to do all three every day.

    1. Hi Johnny Bravo,

      Honestly, your name sounds to me like you’re one movie actor – Haaahaaa!

      Reading top blogs, writing every day, and reading good books have also helped me a lot to be here today and I hope they will take me as far as I could never imagine – positively.

      Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you do enjoy your stay here.

  14. author comments Amit Kumar says:

    Hiii shamsudeen,

    What’s an amazing post Bro. You covered all the necessary points that are much important for becoming a better writer. your first points of this post attracted me a lot – “Accept That Your Writing is Bad”.

    yehhh,, you are right. there is no any wrong impression will appeared if anybody say that my writing is not so good. Who will write with passion and interest they will get sure success.

    The best line of this article for me is “Without falling in love with what you’re doing, I don’t think you can achieve all these qualities.” thanks Bro for this great post.

    I got this post on kingged.com and become forced to read complete post. I really enjoyed this post. 🙂

    1. First, I have to say a big thank you Amit, for taking the pain to comment on my blog where this post was originally published and on kingged where it was syndicated to drive free targeted traffic back to my blog.

      The first line was not written unintentionally; it was the first thing I had to deal with when I took it upon myself to better my writing skill. So, it obvious why I have to make it come first on the list and am glad it caught your attention.

      Without in love with whatever one is doing, be it in any industry, undertakings, adventures, goals, desires, etc. Achieving success might not be possible, there is a strong need to love what you’re doing at the moment, while you keep searching for what you don’t have.

      As at the time, I don’t have good writing skill, but I did love what I was doing despite it was bad and I accept it that way but I never stop looking for ways, strategies, tactics and relevant materials that will teach me how to become a better writer.

      Those materials, strategies, tactics, ways, etc. I still used them, learn from them, and keep finding more better ones to better my current standard. Thanks, Amit, is nice meeting you and hope you do have a wonderful day.

  15. Better writing lies beyond better reading. We are all one body as mankind. We should know the other parts.

  16. I am here to admit that my writing is bad , it has a lot of grammatical and many other mistakes , But I am trying to learn , I am reading a lot of stuff for improvement , I was never good in grammar in my high school and still suffering. I have registered some online courses to improve my grammar , I hope it will help some day.
    I am reading different blog daily but I can not try to write everyday as you said.
    I have to make up my mind and then I can write anything.
    This is best advice that try to write in a way we speak.
    Post is very informative I will try to practice as much I can. Thank you for a nice share.

    1. Hi Andleeb,

      You’ve done a great job by recognizing and admitting your weakness; that’s just the first step towards moving from point “A” to point “B”. Once we can figure out our lapses, it’s now time to seek help that will provide positive effects. And to this regard, you’re doing pretty well according to your statements above – keeping working at it, every one of us started from somewhere far below what we’re today.

      I wish you could see some of the old stuff I wrote way back when I launched this blog. That would have given you a relief that you can be better at anything you do if your passion and belief to achieve success in it is greater than your fear of failing.

      keep practicing every day, and as you rightly said; read lots of stuff related to your quest, and hopefully with time, everything you’ll need to start falling in their rightful position.

      Thanks, Andleeb, and you’re always welcome.

  17. Thank you for your tips. I never accept that my writing is bad. I was proud then after i read your post my opinion changed. I accepted that i am a bad writer. Then every thing changed i trying my best to become a good writer.

  18. Hello; thanks so much for the kind offer. sure i would love to do an interview. I should mention that Lorraine Reguly at wording well has one coming out with me on Tuesday, and Ashley faults of mad lemmings will b interviewing me via Skype on Monday. don’t know win that one will b posted, but you will b able to check out both of those and then see what else you want to ask or if there is something they asked that you want to go more in depth with. I am very open. Maybe that is part of why people see me as an inspiration my willingness to share my challenges and how i am overcoming them. Sometimes its with techniques or methods but most of the time it has a lot to do with having good friends like you who will encourage and support and even step into help win i have to ask for it. we can do the interview through email or skype whatever is easier for you. my email is [email protected] and my phone is 979-215-1770. it talks enough for me to read and reply to texts, although I’ve been told i’m awe full at texting. smile and before i go you really need to help me understand how to say your name. Friends should really call each other by name. thanks and take care, max

    1. Thanks, Max, I think those two coming up will make things much easier for me, and besides, I know Ashley quite well. An email will do for me at the moment.

      Just call me “Sampson”, this will do and I think it is the Western equivalent of my name. Thanks, Max, is been wonderful knowing you.

      1. that sounds good Sampson. nice getting to know you. just did my second YouTube show video Friday and wrote the blog post about it yesterday. am hoping to soon be able to go do a video show in person. thanks again and take care, Max

        1. You’re always welcome, Max. And I will get back to you after reading through your interview on both blogs. Till then.

  19. Writing has now become a good profession. You can create blogs or opt as a freelancer. There are so many courses and jobs online about writing. Reading this article was quite interesting. Keep up the good work.

  20. Hello Shamsudeen, I’m currently struggling with sentence construction when I write. The ideas pop up, I jot down some points, but problem arises when it comes to creating the article. Reading your article was the eye opener I needed and I’m happy to say I’ve learned from it, Thank you sir.

    1. Hi, Ceempire,

      Thanks for reading through, I’m glad you find it helpful. If you need any help further, don’t hesitate to reach out.

  21. Shamsudeen I read you article and got some useful points in this writeup. I liked point number #3 & #9 Practicing and create a rules. Great informative and Knowledge article Shamsudeen! Thank you for sharing and keep posting such kind of Knowledge able article.

    1. Thanks, Saayed,

      I’m glad you find some useful tips for reading through. Thanks.

  22. author comments Meghan Core says:

    Hi !
    This Post is Awesome i like it and i recommend my friends if anybody want to become a writer please read this post.

  23. Hey SHAMSUDEEN ,

    Great post with good information. Thanks for highlighting this topic and sharing your knowledge.

    You have mentioned key tips to become a better writing and to improve the writing skills. Going through the top blogs will helps a lot and will also improve the writing skills. As we know that practice makes a man perfect, hence Doing practice on regular basis will helps a lot and will improve the writing skills. By doing regular practice the writing skill will become more better, hence it is really
    essential to do regular practice to become a better writer. Writing in same a way as we speak is really a good tip. Adopting and using these tip s will be helpful and will also improve and polish the writing skills.

    As this post will help several readers, people and bloggers to improve their writing skills so that they could become a better writer.

    Truly informative post and thanks for sharing.

  24. Hi SHAMSUDEEN,

    It has been a while that I had read such a wonderful blog. Thank you for sharing.

    Also, post this type for blogs it’s very helpful for beginners.

    Keep Posting

  25. Its a very great content and very informative, to reach more foreign content you need to translate your content and localize your content to your target audience.

    1. Thanks, Kumar,

      Glad you like it and happy to read your valuable input.

  26. author comments Wilson Oliver says:

    Writing is good thing. Those who like writing they should start blogging.

    1. Thanks, Wilson,

      Glad you like it…sure writing is good for the writer.

  27. Thanks for providing such informative content to us. It is really very helpful to become a better writer.

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