Hello Fam! A couple of days back I kinda stumbled on a fascinating article by Daniel Scocco, where he asked his readers to share some of their writing tips. The response was far beyond the initial expectations, and the virtue of the 35 tips received was overly amazing.

After reading through I decided to write this article based on the writing tips gotten from Scocco’s readers.

I can’t share all the tips I saw, so I’ve wisely chosen just 19 of the tips to share with you guys. The best of the best I call them.

To cut the long story short, below are the chosen tips, which I’m sure if religiously employed would make you a glorified writer!

1. Pay attention to punctuation, especially to the correct use of commas and periods. These two punctuation marks regulate the flow of your thoughts, and they can make your text confusing even if the words are clear.

2. Try not to edit while you’re creating your first draft. Creating and editing are two separate processes using different sides of the brain, and if you try doing both at once you’ll lose. Make a deal with your internal editor that it will get the chance to rip your piece to shreds; it will just need to wait some time.

3. Be a good reader first.

4. While spell-checking programs serve as a good tool, they should not be relied upon to detect all mistakes. Regardless of the length of the article, always read and review what you have written.

5. I know some of y’all might not appreciate this tip, but it sure has a golden status, so don’t overlook it. Learn to take criticism and seek it out at every opportunity. Don’t get upset even if you think the criticism is harsh, don’t be offended even if you think it’s wrong, and always thank those who take the time to offer it.

6. Always employ the use of a thesaurus and make the best use of your vocabulary.

7. After editing the work on screen or in print, I like to read the text aloud. Awkward sentences and errors that slipped through earlier edits show up readily when reading out loud.

8. Avoid wordiness. Professor Strunk puts it well: “a sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”

9. Write as if you’re on deadline and have 500 words to make your point. Then do it again. And again.

10. This tip might come off as being hilarious, but trust me it has proven to be helpful to a great many writers. “Sometimes I type in a large font to have the words and sentences bold before me.”

11. To be a good writer is to start writing everyday. As Mark Twain said, “the secret of getting ahead is getting started.” Try using new words. i.e avoid repeating words. this way we learn the usage of different words. Do edit your previous articles.

12. I set my writing aside and edit a day or two later with the aim of making it terse. It has trained me to be more conscious of brevity when writing for immediate distribution.

13. Read great writers for inspiration. If you read them enough, their excellent writing style will rub off onto your writing style.

14. One that works for me every time is to focus on the positive intention behind my writing. What is it that I want to communicate, express, convey? By focusing on that, by getting into the state that I’m trying to express, I find that I stop worrying about the words – just let them tumble out of their own accord.

It’s a great strategy for beating writer’s block, or overcoming anxiety about a particular piece of writing, whether that’s composing a formal business letter, writing a piece from the heart, or guest blogging somewhere ‘big’…

15. Use other writers sentences and paragraphs as models and then emulate the syntactic structure with your own content. I’ve learned more about grammar and punctuation that way.

16. Avoid long sentences.

17. Write often and to completion by following a realistic writing schedule.

18. Don’t shy away from adopting the good habits that other writers use.

Of course, the fewer words you use, the better, but don’t worry too much about the length of the article as long as it conveys the point.

19. Try to write in a simple way. Also learn to express your views with the most appropriate words.

Source:
http://colouredscribes.com/become-a-better-writer-today-with-these-tips

Quite helpful. I hope some nairalanders see this. It sure will help alot.

I think most writers hate reading their works, which makes me their king.

I thought I was alone till I stumbled upon a white group on Facebook, and discovered we had a huge population in our world.

I can't help it.

BiafranBushBoy:
I think most writers hate reading their works, which makes me their king.

I thought I was alone till I stumbled upon a white group on Facebook, and discovered we had a huge population in our world.

I can't help it.

We also in the same shoes

IAMMUIC:


We also in the same shoes

Welcome bro.

I use google translator most times. You know that woman in Google translator?

She does the reading, while I do the listening.

Lol.

BiafranBushBoy:

Welcome bro.
I use google translator most times. You know that woman in Google translator?
She does the reading, while I do the listening.
Lol.

ROTFL. I like your technique sha

Grammywinner:

ROTFL. I like your technique sha

Hahahaha... My white pal taught me oo...

Its been serious issue for me. Had to modify.