With so many excellent exponents of wordsmithery littered throughout the centuries and millennia, one would be forgiven for thinking a clear-cut hack to being a great writer had been figured out by now.
Piecing a bunch of words together has never really been the real issue. Having it stand out is the real deal. No matter how grand and vivid the mental images and message you'd like to pass across, the delivery will only be as good as your writing.
True, there's no universal cheat code to being a great writer. However, if you're looking for valuable tips not easily found everywhere, you can't go wrong with our time-honed core truths about writing:
Like every other endeavor in life, talent can only get you so far. It's not enough to be a natural writer. You've got to put in the hard yards, improving your craft with the choice of each word and sentence until every idea is penned with near-thoughtless accuracy and concision.
So, don't let the plaudits get into your head too much. Write without ceasing, and watch the quality of your pieces rise!
I personally do not believe that there is one way to write. There are tips, of course, by pros. But at the end of the day, it is by your hand (whether you're penning down old-school style or typing on some modern fancy device) that your literary doom or failure will be pronounced (quite literally, too).
Instead of trying hard to write like your favorite author, let your own unique style shine through. While the writing of any language always requires a level of adherence to structure to make any sense, you should remember that, like any aspect of culture, there's always creative license.
So, feel free to test the bounds of your writing, and don't be scared of making mistakes. We're all headed uphill. However, there's definitely more than one path to take.
Nothing could be further from the truth than the declaration that you don't have to read to be a writer. You might be able to manage it, but you'll undoubtedly hit a ceiling if you're serious about improving.
That's not all.
You can only write what you read. Your writing style will be a cumulation of what you've been exposed to as a reader. In other words, your writing style will reflect what you read.
Do you want to be a great writer? Read works by outstanding authors!
In the modern world, the biggest hindrance to creativity, particularly of the literary type, is the internet. Any serious writer must master the discipline required to put aside online distractions and better focus on the task of writing.
If you're addicted to the mindless thrill of endlessly scrolling through social media, you should be aware that you're channeling valuable hours of improvement into something that won't help you become a better writer.
Writing is like sport and other forms of art. You can't really hide quality or a lack of it. Your work will speak for you.
Except you hide your work (which is pointless anyway), you should understand that your writing will always show exactly how good you are (or not).
While putting your pieces out into the world for critiquing is indeed a brave thing to do, exposure is needed, as other eyes are needed to ascertain the level of quality of the writing.
Concision beats pointless verbiage any day. Why explain something in 50 words when you can do the same in 20 without omitting anything important?
Even if you can write tons, an economical approach to word usage is usually the best. It certainly makes your work more readable (in retrospect).
Still, this doesn't mean that you should completely avoid being verbose. In some genres like poetry, drama, and nonfiction, it's common to find lengthy chunks of flowery text. So, dish out the mix in small doses; a little bit of everything, all without dimming what you deem your writing strengths to be.
The extent of your command of vocabulary will always be reflected in your work. Feel free to flex the most creative and rare expressions in your literary arsenal. But always have your audience in mind.
If you write for young adult readers, your use of words should differ from when you're writing for full-grown recipients.
Regardless, using big words isn't necessarily a detractor if used creatively and aptly. Remember, the first rule of writing is that there aren't really any rules. Don't be unnecessarily restricted!
To think that writing was easy...
Writing is rather, rather difficult. Whether you're writing fiction or academic work, the fact remains that writing is mentally taxing. It can't really be learned anew, only be improved upon.
Only real writers ever find writing easy. You'll always be an amateur if it's not in you, even a tiny speck. And it will seem like a real chore.
As a writer, you should surround yourself with the right kind of people for the right kinds of encouragement. A good word or a tiny comment from someone can be all the ginger you need to pen down that elusive prologue.
Finally, stay sane.
This piece is for all the talented writers out there who have vast gold and diamond reserves in their head, untapped because they haven't found it within themselves to break the barrier.
Very helpful. Thank you