Habit #1: Write daily, even if it's just one line
Writing even a single line each day gets your creative juices flowing and encourages you to come up with new ideas and perspectives.
It's important to write every day, until it becomes a habit. Then it will get easier!
Daily writing boost yours confidence and makes you more comfortable with your writing abilities.
"Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere." – Anne Lamott
Habit #2: Read what you are writing
Read books that have won awards within your field of writing. Read books from authors who are highly regarded in your genre.
This will give you an idea of what kinds of writing styles and topics are being recognized as the best in your field.
Analyze their style, plot structure, and other elements to learn what makes their work successful.
"If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write. Simple as that." – Stephen King
Habit #3: Read your text out loud
Reading your writing out loud helps you catch mistakes more easily. If something doesn't sound right, it's likely not written correctly.
Additionally, reading aloud can help you to assess the flow of your text. Since the pacing of the written word is so different from the spoken word, it's important to hear your work to make sure it is easy to read.
Finally, you get a better sense of the tone and overall impact of your writing. Understand the feelings your words create and make sure you are saying what you mean.
Habit #4: Ask your friends and family for feedback
Let them provide constructive feedback about areas that could use improvement.
Ask for their opinion on organization, clarity, voice, and conciseness. Collect their questions and try to answer them in your text.
That way you also let close people know about and participate in your work: Free marketing. Yay!
Habit #5: Use plain language
Use everyday words and phrases to communicate clearly and effectively. This means avoiding jargon and technical terms and using simple, short sentences instead of complicated ones.
Avoid complicated sentence structures and use active voice instead of passive voice.
By following these tips, you will become a better writer and make your writing easier to understand.
- Use short, simple sentences
- Use familiar words
- Use active voice
- Avoid jargon
- Break up long paragraphs
- Show don't tell: avoid adverbs
Textbuddy is a free text editor that highlights possible flaws like these in your content. Read more about the benefits of text analyzers for a clear and concise message.
Habit #6: Use AI to improve your writing
Let AI simplify your text:
Before you start using AI like Textbuddy's AI assistant, create a writing sample of your own.
Use Textbuddy's "Improve & simplify" AI text simplifier to generate a simplified version of your content automatically. Compare both samples and keep the parts you like.
Use AI for inspiration:
Generate ideas for your content by asking the AI questions. Use it to brainstorm topics, develop outlines, create text templates and snippets, and improve upon them.Use AI as writing tool:
Use AI to write entire pieces of content. But always remember that AI, by design, only returns average text that is not fact-checked; that's your job. It's just a dumb statistical tool.
You are the writer. The AI is your tool.Habit #7: Use writing tools
Writing tools and text analyzers are a great way to improve your writing, because every tool has its own emphasis.
Find the tool that best fits your writing style and use it to assist you.
Here are three tools that help you improve your skills:
- Textbuddy: Our text editor highlights complex sentences, eliminates unnecessary words and improves your writing clarity. The AI assistant simplifies text into plain language, provides synonyms, and executes custom GPT prompts.
- Grammarly: This grammar and spelling checker spots errors and suggests ways to improve your writing.
- ProWritingAid: This tool identifies weaknesses in your text and provides suggestions on how to improve them. It also includes a plagiarism checker.
