We are all good at something. Being able to explain your knowledge well in writing allows you to show your expertise with credibility and share your knowledge with the world.
If you don’t think of yourself as a good writer or if you simply don’t write often, look at the following on how to improve your writing and gain some benefits through writing every day.
Writing in a Private Journal has Many Benefits
Even if you don’t consider yourself a good writer, journaling for mental health is a satisfying activity. We all have issues that we need to solve. Friends and family do not always have the time – or the interest – to listen to our problems. Often they don’t give us good advice or belittle our personal challenges.
Often the first impression of the right thing to do is contradicted when we work through the problem on paper.
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However, when you are writing in a private journal, you are free to say whatever you want. Nobody is going to criticize or make light of the difficulties you’re expressing. There are no wrong entries. You are never graded. You are able to ramble to your heart’s content without fear of being chided by other people.
Frequently, these ramblings produce good fruit. Our subconscious often has the answers to our problems and these answers can reveal themselves as a result of writing out each aspect of our dilemmas.
Writing things down is better than mulling them over in our head. It is well known that listing the pros and cons of an issue can reveal in black and white the best direction to take. If it is a business decision, such as if you should move your company’s location or add extra employees, a pros/cons list will be very insightful. Often the first impression of the right thing to do is contradicted when we work through the problem on paper.
How to Become a Better Writer
[1] The best way to improve any skill is to practice it.
Write everyday in your journal. Strive to write complete thoughts and complete sentences. If a sentence becomes too long, divide it into two sentences.
[2] Observing those who are proficient is also a way to improve any skill.
In the same way that athletes study the form of better athletes, you can study the way good writers display their skill.
Find an article in your niche that you like. Analyze what you like about it:
- How does the author construct his sentences?
- Is the article divided into logical sections with sub-headings?
- Can you see a clear introduction section and a conclusion section, even though they have no sub-headings?
- Where does this author place commas? (Comma placement is a common problem for inexperienced writers.)
- Pay particular attention to long sentences. How are they constructed?
- Can you find a passage that is not as clear as it could be? As an exercise, rewrite that passage so that the meaning is clearer.
[3] Search engines can be a big help when wondering about the correct spelling of a word or a difficult grammatical rule.
For example, if you are having trouble with affect and effect, enter “when should I use affect and effect” into the search box. Several articles will be presented that will answer your question.
If you continually have trouble with a particular grammar rule, devote a page of your journal to hard to remember grammar and spelling tips.
[4] Use the help features that word processors, such as Microsoft Word, offer.
Have you noticed a squiggly line under a sentence or phrase? This indicates that Word suspects that there is a grammatical problem, such as a partial sentence or the use of an incorrect word.
Place your cursor on the area with the squiggly line and right-click. You will see a hint about what is wrong with that sentence or phrase. Try rewording that section until the squiggle goes away.
Also, use the thesaurus that comes with Microsoft Word or the word processor you are using. Put your cursor on a singular version of the word (example: lexicon not lexicons). Press shift and F7 at the same time. The thesaurus should appear, giving you other suggestions (synonyms) for that word. This can help make your writing more varied and assist you in finding the right word for the job.
Working on becoming a good writer is worth the effort. Writing with confidence will increase your self-esteem. Writing well for your business can increase your bottom line.
Self-Editing Your Work is One Way to Reflect
So you have your thoughts and ideas written down. Now is the time to ask yourself if you have done well or not.
- Can you take a point and dig deeper into that issue?
- Can you look at it from another angle?
- Can you be an antagonist and try to refute the concept?
- Were you able to explain your point clearly?
- If someone who knew nothing about the subject read your work, would he understand your point clearly?
It is commonly stated that a writer is not the best editor for his own writing but good authors always review their work – often several times – until it is the best they can do.
Self-editing, if taken slowly and methodically, will result in you becoming a better writer. When you are not sure of a grammatical point, look it up either in a grammar book or on the internet. For example, should you write “ABCs” or “ABC’s”? This may seem like a small matter but in order to improve your writing skills, it is an effort worth taking. Even excellent writers double-check grammatical rules when they are unsure of the proper way to write something.
If You Write Every Day for Your Website, It Will Improve Your Website’s SEO
Not everything you write in your journal is suitable for public viewing. However, your journal entries can often lead to interesting and popular articles for your website. If you are working out a problem using your journal musings, chances are good that other people are having the same problem.
For example, if you have a parenting blog that you are monetizing, a personal rant in your journal about the latest trial your teenage son has put you through may well lead to an idea about how other parents can cope with a similar situation.
Life goals and business goals are both important. By writing them down, you can compare them to see if they are in harmony or in conflict with each other.
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Google ranking is affected by how active your website is. If the Google crawlers detect that new information is being posted daily, this will help your SEO (search engine optimization) score and your website may rise in the search result ranks. The day’s addition does not have to be long. Just write something everyday.
If you do proper keyword research, you will find phrases for which there is very little first page competition. Writing an article focused on this keyword phrase would help your business website get more online exposure.
Writing Down Your Goals Will Improve Your Business
We get so busy with our day-to-day activities that we sometimes forget where we are headed.
Writing down your goals – both short term and long term – in your journal is a great way to get on track or determine if you are getting off track.
Life goals and business goals are both important. By writing them down, you can compare them to see if they are in harmony or in conflict with each other. By reviewing them periodically, you can decide if something has changed and your goals need to be tweaked. If so, write out the new goals and look at them often. This will help you stay on track with your business and reach your long-term goals.
Writing is an important part of our lives, both for personal and business purposes. If we communicate well in writing, we can be more successful. When we write out our thoughts in private, it’s like talking to a best friend. Feelings are clarified, goals are firmed up and answers are revealed. To get the most benefit, we should write every day. One of the best ways to improve your writing skills is to create an article a day for your website.
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Photo: Getty Images
Great post!