How do you improve your writing skills?

Philippines
June 23, 2012 12:09am CST
There's a style of writing for every medium. Most print publications may have space for lengthy articles. TV copy writing requires brevity. Most online sites require succinct and compelling content. Being a writer has given me opportunities to write for print publications, tv, and online sites. Writing in a natural way is a must for blogs. You also need to know the people who may form your audience. Reading all sorts of books from novels to business books to simple ones with quotations in them has helped me write better. I also browse lots of magazines, both print and online. How about you? How do you polish your writing skills to make content more engaging and fun to read?
2 people like this
11 responses
@else22 (4317)
• India
23 Jun 12
Exactly.Reading is certainly the most effective way of honing your writing skills in any language.My mother tongue is Hindi and I have written many articles in Hindi.English is my second language.Earlier I was unable to write anything in English.One day in the students' common room in my college I chanced to read a renowned English magazine.That day on I devoted myself to reading English magazines and books.Later on I read books by Kenneth Anderson.The books were on wild life and they helped me develop my writing skills.Reading is the best way to develop writing skills.
@else22 (4317)
• India
2 Jul 12
I agree with you.Reading is the best way to improve your knowledge of any language.
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
Reading books opens new worlds to explore and ideas accumulate. Books, magazines, online journals or feature articles posted in websites all contribute to learnign and help enhance vocabulary.
@cttolledo (5462)
• Legaspi, Philippines
24 Jun 12
Thanks for sharing your experiences and advices.
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
There were, indeed, many useful insights presented here. Keep writing, reading & sharing!
@GemmaR (8517)
23 Jun 12
When I was first thinking about being a writer, the thing that I tried to do was just write literally all of the time whenever I could do it. You should write a diary and blog, and make sure that you discuss issues on online forums, as it will help for you to sort out your writing style so that you can get some practice. Don't always expect your writing to be popular from the beginning, because you need to be able to refine your technique before you would be able to do this. Practice makes perfect, and only time will tell whether you would be able to be a great writer or not.
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
I got into blog writing only in recent years, but I've been writing academic papers for online use and media releases for local print publications for a decade or so. There are many techniques writers can use to polish their writing. Using a spontaneous style that will appeal to young & old alike is, I think, best for blog-style writing.
@hestylim (1210)
• Indonesia
23 Jun 12
I think, you can polish your writing skill by write, write and write. Do a lot of reading to improve your vocabulary, get inspired and all those. I watch movies, read books, read articles online to get inspired and to know what I will write in my columns. :) There are a lot ways to learn from our surrounding.. :)
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
I used to think reading lots of materials is the one sure way to improve writing, but lately, watching movies while unwinding also offers many new ideas. Even not doing anything -- just observing people & noting their comments in social networking sites -- can generate lots of ideas to write about.
23 Jun 12
You are quite right, it is all essentially about knowing your audience. You need to adopt a style and tone applicable to the situation, whether a news article, a blog or a creative piece. At the same time you do need to find your own style which can still shine through regardless of the medium. What you have to remember is there are some situations when you need to rain your style in more - such as articles - and opportunities when you can let yourself go such as in creative writing.
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
I guess we just gotta keep writing (and reading, too) to rein in or develop our unique style depending on the requirements at hand/
@sdsuresh (16)
• Malaysia
23 Jun 12
We must use vocabularies in the right place and also we should make sure that we understand their meaning also we need to consider the connotations of the words and know the significance of good word choice. Writing must be well organised, readers may not understand a poorly organised writing. Suppose when we are writing a paragraph to paragraph, we need to keep in mind the cohesion. And the important thing is we have to organise the paragraph in a logical order.
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
Using the right elements of style and appropriate words, and writing in an organized, coherent manner are all important. Reading well-written articles featured online, and magazines & books we can get hold of, can help improve our writing.
@celticeagle (157593)
• Boise, Idaho
23 Jun 12
I write. I write in a journal, on here, articles, on my books, short stories. And I read. The authors that I really like in the genres I want to write in. I talk to other writers and respond to discussions like this. And we must remember the basics like write what we know.
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
Practice definitely makes perfect... or near perfect. I guess it all starts with the passion to write as well... and then polishing the writing skill by reading & actually writing -- for different audiences, and in different styles. Touching base with other writers helps, too, and using our wealth of experiences (plus research) as springboard for inspiration.
@haopee (493)
• Philippines
23 Jun 12
I guess it will always start with writing about something you love most. I love reading books and I used to write about my own fairy tales. Sure, it may not sound as original or compelling as the ones made by the Hans Christian Andersen but it's a start, right? It also helps to practice speaking in the language you prefer writing on. A dictionary, if not the internet should be accessible to search for words that would sound appropriate in the theme you are writing about. Lastly, researching about the topic certainly helps in making the article more informative.
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
That's nice. Creative writing may seem like a breeze, but when you get down to it, it's even harder than writing a news story, in my opinion. As for the use of words, I think the choice of words must support the idea, rather than the idea being made to adjust to certain words the writer wants to use. Oh, and yes, good research materials certainly help substantiate an article, and proper attribution must be made.
• India
23 Jun 12
I think repeated practice can increase the skill of a person. And so I believe that same thing will be observed in writing too. There is nothing to be impossible for man if he worked hard.
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
Man reaps what he sows. I believe in that. Hard work is necessary, for writers and practically other professions. A hardworking individual who makes the effort to continually improve his work benefits from the experience and improves his craft a great deal/
@GajaGamini (1065)
• India
24 Jun 12
yes, there are many styles of writing it changes according where/why/for whom we are writing and other things like medium, urgency etc. we can earn by articles as well I am not into it but I want to give it a try because i want to know , Am I losing a good earning way? if we want to give a output we should have input and if we want to write then we should read first and that is why I am also reading my communication skill book and web articles about how to be good writer etc. I am giving importance to my vocabulary as well because it is very important to have good information and substitute for words because we do not want to be repetitive in words and and sentences that is why we should focus on vocabulary as well. I am reading and increasing my vocabulary these are two things which I am doing now to improve my writing skill, can you suggest me anything? I am very poor in writing and I have faults like repetitive sentences and words, not being concise or precise etc.
@yani99 (9)
• Indonesia
23 Jun 12
I personally may think, it all depends on the advantages and advantages of each hand - one hidden in their self - each.
• Philippines
30 Jun 12
Indeed, there are many ways for self-improvement and it's up to each person to uncover what works best for him/her.