Becoming a Better Writer

 

Today's photo has nothing to do with the topic. It's just a nice auutmn photo. 

I'm in the process of reading a book by a writer friend. It's his/her second novel, and I'm very impressed by the growth I see in the writing. He/she writes tighter and stronger, gives a good sense of place, and has some lovely descriptions. The first novel was not a bad book, not by any means, but the second one is better. So, how did he/she accomplish this feat?

I can't be certain about this individual, but I do know what helps all writers to improve the way they write. 

A. Reading about writing. There's no "Well, I'm done with that." It's a continuous process. We don't stop learning. As we read more about our craft, we can't help but benefit. 

B. Read novels others have written. Writers read with a writer's eye. Seeing how others write can be helpful to us. Not that we want to copy the way another person writes. But, we do see some good techniques that we can apply to our own writing.

C. Joining a writers' group of some kind. Critique groups are most helpful. It's always good to have objective eyes on our work. If we don't bristle at criticism, and take it as a learning process, we can be helped a great deal. 

D. Write! Yes, writing on a regular basis helps us be better writers, The occasionl or sometime writer doesn't give themselves an opportunity to grow. 

E. Take a class on some aspect of writing. You can't help but absorb some good information when someone knowlegable in the field feeds it to you.

These are five simple steps to becoming a stronger writer. Some writers will say they don't have time for all those thngs, they want time to write. Taking time to work on the above will only help, not hinder your writing journey.