Please know, I'm not a pro at writing (not
even close to it) but some of the tips I've learned in the past years have
immensely helped me improve my writing. I do they help you too :D
A few tips to improve your writing:
1. Punctuation - I cannot possibly
stress enough to explain how important it is to use the right punctuation as
the right place. It makes a HUGE difference. For example - "Let's eat grandma."
and "Let's eat, grandma." are two completely different sentences with different
meanings.
2. Proofread - With proofreading,
here is what I do - I write a story/chapter and I don't read back to it for
couple of days. After couple of days, I open the chapter and read it and I can
seriously point out of many typos/errors this way. If you try to proof-read
your work straight after you've written it, you won't be able to correct your
errors because the story is fresh in your mind, so you're tend to overlook the
mistakes. But like I said, it's so very important to always proofread your
work, at least once. You may want to ask someone else to proofread it for you.
You can get second opinion that way.
3. Please please please avoid
using slang in writing. I know there have been so many debates about this
issue, in for and against, between both the readers and writers. But please,
slang takes away the maturity of the writing. If your vocabulary is not very
broad, use simple English. You don't need to have a broad vocabulary to be a
writer. A writer's job is to deliver a story, in whichever manner they can. So
please, try and avoid slang.
4. Always plan your story. You can
use any method you're comfortable with, but always plan it out. If you think,
it's in your mind and you don't need to store it somewhere safe, you maybe
wrong. Planning and jotting down notes related to your story can be so helpful.
I use bullet points to plan my story/chapters because it's easier for me. You
can use spider diagram, mind map etc.
5. Synonymous option on word
document is a lifesaver. Trust me! It is so helpful I can't explain. It
broadens your vocabulary and also gives variety to your writing.
So yes, that's
about it. It is quite basic but trust me, it helps a lot :D
PS - If there
are any typos in the post, apologies :/ Writing this at 2am :P
Love, Zoah x
comment:
p_commentcount