Skills required to become a writer

For every profession in the world, some skills are needed. Similarly, to be a writer you need some skills.

What skills you might ask me, skills that make you a better writer. Skills that make your words magic and make you the next best-selling writer.

First, let us see what skills you need.

Communication skills

What does a writer do? A writer writes, a writer communicates using words. A writer is a communicator. A writer's job is to express ideas and thoughts in a manner that can be understood by the people. 

To be a good writer you need to be good at communication. You need to have the ability to put your thoughts down on paper in a clear and concise manner. You as a writer should make sure that your readers understand every word you write. 

Thoughts-> Words on paper -> Reader reads -> Understands -> Takes action.

To be a successful and best-selling writer, you need to understand your audience and write in a way that can be understood by them.

What if you write an article, and nobody understands? What would you do then? You need to research your target audience and know them. Learn what their level of understanding and then write.

If you are good at communicating successfully, you can be a successful writer. 

Language skills

To be a good writer, you need to have excellent language skills. You need to master the language you want to write in.

Here are few language skills that you might need:

• Grammar
• Spelling
• Punctuation
• Syntax

To improve your grammar skills, you can follow the following tips.

• Read popular books, reading helps you understand the structure, grammar, and it also helps you improve your vocabulary.
• If you have forgotten grammar then you can refer Wren and Martin’s High School Grammar, it is one of the best grammar books available in the market.
• To improve your language skills speak with people who have good speaking skills or you can watch TED videos to understand how the best speakers talk.
• Talk in front of a mirror, I know this is one of the traditional tips, but it works.

Researching skills

As a writer, you will need to research on different topics to write. So researching skills are essential, and you must know how to research using the internet.

The best way to research is by reading a lot of books, articles, and essays related to your field of writing. Successful writers always keep learning new stuff to stay ahead and provide accurate information to their audience.

If you want to stay ahead in your field, then you can start reading research papers, case studies, and books. 

Other essential skills

Apart from these skills a writer needs to be creative, critical, imaginative, disciplined, passionate, patient, ambitious, and a good story teller. 

If you lack any of these skills, don’t worry you can improve your skills.

Follow me @imransoudagar to keep track of my progress.

If you find my posts interesting then do read my other posts too:

1. How to write and make huge money with Steemit? (Part 0)
2. Writing 101: Why and How I became a Writer (Part 1)
3. Writing 101: Who is a Writer? (Part 2)
4. Writing 101: Types of Writers (Part 3)
5. Writing 101: How to be a writer (Part 4)