1. Write a Novel
Head over to NaNoWriMo, the website that challenges you to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. This challenge will improve your writing and fuel your creative genius to epic proportions.
2. Read Daily
Read a diverse range of literature, and read for no less than 30 minutes a day. There isn’t a great writer on the planet who doesn’t read regularly.
3. Ask For Help
There is no shame in wanting to improve yourself, and certainly no shame in getting something wrong. So, ask for a critique of your work from people you know who are good writers.
4. Read Out Loud
When you have completed a piece of writing read it out loud. This will help highlight awkward sentences and poor word flow. As a loose rule, the bits that trip you up usually need changing.
5. Start Now
As Mark Twain said, “the secret of getting ahead is getting started.” So why wait any longer to pursue your goal? Get started today and stop procrastinating.
6. Experiment With New Words
It is easy to confine yourself to a limited vocabulary, writing within a safe circle of words you know. Try using new words and avoid repeating words. This is the only way to learn new usage and expand your writing potential.
7. Cut Out Wordiness
Analyze your sentences and see where you can make them sharper and more concise. You will often find that words are redundant and contribute to making the sentence too wordy.
8. Turn Off Your Internal Editor
Edit your work on completion not as you write. Analyzing and correcting work as you write hinders the creative process and will result in very slow progress.
9. Edit Old Work
Editing past articles and pieces will help you monitor your progress, allow you to refine your style, and help you avoid mistakes you used to make.
10. Get The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Read the book Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss. It will be the best thing you even do to further your writing career.
