Top tips on how to practice writing like a pro.
Without clickbait headlines. A friend told me about them. Before we start, tip Zero: easy on the emojis.
– Make a reading habit. This piece is part of a 365 day blog writing challenge. Clearly I am not an expert on 365 things, just a participant. Taking part and practising is job 1. Every day. So I write these pieces before doing anything else. It becomes automatic and puts me in an impressive frame of mind. I read a lot too. Being exposed to different styles and topics and formats exposes me to lots of new ideas and often triggers a new quick project to experiment on a particular style, genre, or techniques of writing. Go Learn from the best! Expand your vocabulary and knowledge.
– Write first, edit later. Go with the flow.
– Write regularly and deliberately. Set aside some time every day or week to practice writing. Choose a specific aspect of writing to focus on, such as grammar, structure, voice, or genre. Use writing prompts, exercises, or challenges to stimulate your creativity and challenge yourself.
– Get feedback and edit your work. Publish, publish, publish! No one cares! It is so liberating to realise this. Once you feel more comfortable sharing your work, seek feedback from colleagues who are actively involved in the same work as you. Feedback can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. You can ask for feedback from other writers, editors, or readers. Be open to constructive criticism and use it to improve your writing. Edit your work carefully and ruthlessly, removing any errors, redundancies, or clichés. Do you really need that word?
– Use AI writing assistants. I have no fear about AI – it makes a blank page disappear. They can offer suggestions, corrections, or alternatives to improve your writing quality, clarity, and originality. You can use AI writing assistants to check your grammar, spelling, punctuation, tone, style, and readability.
– Stay away from any kind of prompt engineering, unless you already have a deep knowledge and passion for a particular topic. Prompt engineering only helps to grow a false impression. Stay away. Seriously. Ahem, a friend taught me this, the hard way.
– Use visual elements to make your writing more engaging, informative, and appealing. In fact, appeal to all the senses. This is a great exercise and helps you to differentiate yourself from others. No one else in the world processes senses as you do. Lean into that!
– Write clearly and concisely. First be clear, then be clever – I learned this from a post by Derek Murphy over at https://www.creativindie.com/ . Clarity and conciseness are essential for effective writing. Write in a way your audience can understand. Avoid jargon, or obscure words. Use simple sentences that convey your meaning.
– Mix your rhythms. Rhythm is the flow and pace of your writing. Create rhythm by varying the length, structure, and sound of your sentences. Use short sentences to create tension, urgency, or emphasis. Long sentences to create complexity, depth, or suspense. Parallelism, repetition, or rhyme to create harmony, coherence, or emphasis.
– Ditch the modifiers, let the verbs do the work. While modifiers can add detail or nuance to your writing, they can weaken your writing if misused. Instead, use strong and precise verbs that show action, emotion, or impact. Verbs can make your writing more vivid, dynamic, and powerful.
– Use unexpected words to shock readers into understanding. They can make your writing more memorable, creative, or persuasive. You can use unexpected words to create contrast, irony, humor, or insight. You can also use unexpected words to hook your readers’ attention, spark their curiosity, or provoke their thoughts.
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– Jolt your readers into comprehension with startling words! They can electrify your writing with memorability, creativity, or persuasion. You can wield unexpected words to forge contrast, irony, humor, or insight. You can also harness unexpected words to snag your readers’ attention, ignite their curiosity, or stir their thoughts.
Ending a blog post is not just a matter of wrapping up your thoughts and adding a conclusion. It’s also an opportunity to engage your readers, encourage them to take action, and leave a lasting impression. A good blog post ending should not only summarize the main points of your post, but also provide value, relevance, and direction for your audience.
There are many ways to end a blog post, depending on your goals and the type of content you are writing. Some of the most common and effective methods are: writing a summary, asking a question, including a call-to-action, inspiring your audience, directing your readers to do something, providing links to another blog post, starting a discussion, producing a teaser, or answering who, what, where, when, why, and how. Whatever method you choose, make sure it aligns with your topic, tone, and purpose, and that it leaves your readers feeling satisfied, curious, or motivated.
I hope these tips help you practice writing and write like a pro. Happy writing!
