Some thoughts/tips on writing

Writing is an art. It is not a science. There are very few absolutes in writing, and whether or not a particular piece of writing is good is subjective - largely depending on the person{s} reading said piece.. While there is much freedom in how one writes and what one says, there are some tried-and-true practices in which one can engage to improve writing ability.

Read

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If you want to become a great writer, read - and read a lot.

Reading and writing go hand in hand. You can't write unless you can read, and you really can't read unless you can write. Reading helps improve your vocabulary and critical thinking skills. Reading also exposes you to thoughts, ideas, and knowledge you might not have been exposed to otherwise, but when you read a variety of prose and poetry written by a lot of different authors, you are exposed to different writing styles. This is incredibly important when, as a writer, you are trying to figure out what your writing style is and what writing style(s) you like. If you don't know what's out there and what sounds good to you, read.

Read to emulate too! We all get inspired by the poets or authors that we like, and flattery is the highest form of praise. So emulate away. Eventually, you will develop a style and voice that is distinctly you.

Write

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The old saying goes that practice makes perfect, and there are few places where this is more true than with writing.

Writing can feel a little clunky at the beginning. The words don't sound quite like you want them to sound, and the sentences don't flow together in a smooth way. That's okay, because the more you write, the better those words and sentences will fit together. Writing is like any other skill; it takes time to hone and perfect. The more you do it, the more comfortable you will become with it, and before long, you might find yourself with more to say than time in which to say it all.

*Bonus - If you're posting on Steemit regularly, then you're already practicing. Go back and look at some of your early posts and reflect on how your writing has changed and evolved since the beginning.

Proofread

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This is one of the best things you can do to improve your writing ability quickly. After you've finished your rough draft, read over what you've written. You want to look specifically for spelling errors and grammatical errors, and with the aid of digital spell-checkers, this is easier than ever before.

Proofreading is not important only for you, but it is also important when writing something others will read. At work, I proofread every email I write before I hit the send button. It's important that I present a well-written email with few spelling or grammar errors so that whoever ends up reading that email will view me as a collected, professional individual. An email with a lot of mistakes might not be taken seriously and I might not receive a response. This holds true for other writing, such as blogs.

Proofreading aloud is another way you can help improve your writing skills and whatever piece you've just written. I encourage you to proofread anything you write aloud, because reading your work aloud brings all those awkward and confusing sentences to the surface. It's very easy to miss those when you quietly read over your work, but when you read aloud, they smack you in the face.

The importance of this largely lies in improving your ability to effectively communicate with your reader, i.e. the clarity of your work. If they can't comprehend what your words are supposed to mean or what point your trying to get across, they might miss the whole essence of what you've written. It's also possible they won't enjoy reading what you've put much time and effort in to write. Simply put, reading aloud gives you an insight into how what you've written will sound when others read it. If you don't like the way it sounds, change it.

I hope you find these tips useful. If you have, let me know. Also let me know other things about writing you're interested in!

Happy Steeming!