20 tips for better writing
Not all people are born with a talent for writing. But practically anyone can develop habits to improve the quality and understanding of their writing.
As an entrepreneur, a good strategy to become an authority in your industry and to promote yourself (and your business) is to write posts for your blog or for any other medium in which you participate as a guest blogger & write essay today. Therefore, I share some simple tips that will help you quickly improve the way you express yourself with letters:
1. Think about what you will write before writing
Not doing it is a mistake that many make. Before sitting down to write make sure you have something to say and clearly define how you want to express it and . Do not focus your writing on the words, but on the ideas, you want to convey. Think: What is the purpose of this post? From this, he begins to build it.
2. Points, points, points
It was the first piece of advice my journalism teacher gave me. To provide fluent writing, you must correctly use punctuation. Avoid the eternal paragraphs of a single sentence. And whenever you’re tempted to write a comma, think about whether it can be replaced by a period.
3. Say goodbye to adjectives and adverbs
Descriptions are important to get a good narrative, but many people abuse adjectives and adverbs. Review your text and look at all the words you can remove (for example: very, really, perhaps, amazing, incredible, truly, fair). As the storyteller, Horacio Quiroga expressed “Useless will be how many color tails you adhere to a weak noun”.
4. Do not repeat words
The breadth of vocabulary, as well as the cultural level of a person, are noted in the excessive use of words. Find synonyms or concepts that could replace what you wrote. The first thing you should do is find your clutches (the words you constantly repeat), search for them in your text with the Word functionality of Ctrl + B and change them for others. The Spanish language is extremely broad; seize it.
5. Use subtitles or intermediate heads
When you make a text, especially if it is long, think about dividing it into subtopics and using intermediate heads. This helps to rest your eyes and make reading more fluid.
6. Don’t abuse punctuation marks or boldface
Most of the time you can omit punctuation marks such as parentheses and hyphens by adding periods or commas. In this way the writing looks cleaner. It also avoids the excess of bold and italic letters; Take a good look at what you need to highlight and do it only when it warrants.
7. Use Spell Checkers It
might sound obvious, but not everyone does. Although the Word tool is quite functional, keep in mind that it does not fix all errors, especially if they are diacritical accents. If you don’t know how a word is used, just don’t use it. The same is true when it comes to grammar.
8. Be authentic
In order to get your posts to gain traction it is essential that you define what your voice, tone and writing style will be. Don’t try to sound very different from how you speak, as the reader will notice, and don’t try to imitate someone else’s style or ideas. Be careful: never write about a topic you don’t know about.
9. Establish a structure
In Journalism, there are several ways to structure a text. The simplest (and that can help you when writing your entries) is the inverted pyramid, which consists of going from the most to the least important. It is also recommended that in the first paragraph you answer the main five questions: what ?, who ?, when ?, how? and where?
10. Have a strong beginning and end
As in a good play or movie, the beginning is basic to captivate the audience; while the outcome is what the viewer will remember the most in the long term. Try to start and finish your texts with force. A good idea is to start with a question and end with the answer.
11. Read a lot
To be a good writer you need to be a good reader. Books, articles, magazines and posts can give you lots of ideas on how to tell a story, as well as spelling and vocabulary clues. Read about different themes and authors; You can also use them as references in your texts.
12. Know your audience
Before writing, think about who your message is for. Imagine what your reader is like, what are their interests? What kind of language do you use? Where would I read your text? Keeping this in mind will help you choose your tone and themes.
13. Write daily
Make writing a habit. You do not need to write 10 pages, but have a journal or notebook where every day you write down some ideas or thoughts. Likewise, define and comply with the delivery or publication dates of your tickets.
14. Read it aloud
This exercise will help you notice if your fluency and pauses are correct. If reading a sentence makes you gasp, it’s time to add a point. If you notice that your words produce cacophony (repetition of sounds) replace them with others.
15. Ask someone else to read it
Before publishing a text ask someone you trust – but who is not a scholar on the subject – to give you their feedback and become your ‘editor’ if you do not have one. That way you will know where to delve, what to cut and if there are any confusing phrases.
16. Eliminate straw
As in everything, more is not better. Get rid of those repetitive phrases that add nothing. A good text is not measured by its length.
17. Take nothing for granted
What is completely understandable for us, for the reader it may not be. Do not skimp on the definition of concepts or think they are obvious to “everyone”. When you talk about a character add a description; do the same with institutions and companies.
18. Use numbers or bullets
This is another strategy to make a text easier and more understandable. Whenever possible, feel free to list your points or add a script to certain reflections or conclusions.
19. Don’t get distracted
Like many other activities in your business (such as budgeting), writing also requires focus and concentration. So before writing make sure you find yourself in a relaxing environment that invites inspiration & content writing service. If possible, turn off your cell phone, Skype alerts and any other element that could distract you.
20. Check Two or More Times
Most mistakes can be avoided, or at least decreased, with a review. Carefully read your text, check your spelling and the words you used. On the other hand, do not fall for perfectionism: you will always feel that your text can improve, so you must know when to let it go or, otherwise, you will never publish it.