Writers often describe the writing as an art, a medium to better express themselves and the world they see. It is gifted to some and others’ learning. We can all agree that to be a successful writer, you’ll need to observe certain conditions. In every field of life, there are success tips learned by our colleagues, forerunners and mentors, which can prove useful to us as writers.
History has adorned us with many good writers that lived in diverse timelines of socio-economic events, and conditions. Each one of these writers was popular for having a unique writing style, creating faithful followership for them. For the sake of posterity, many of these writers wrote on their stories, in other to pass on information for later generations. These stories all spell out truths they learned in their journeys to becoming good writers.
This write-up is all about the principles left behind by these famous writers to ease your” Journey of becoming”.
“Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you’re doomed.” – Ray Branbury
As the saying goes, “practice makes perfect”. Researchers estimate that it takes about 10,000 hours of performing a task to attain mastery. In other words, if you hope to become the best, then you’ll need to write more often. A writer who rewrite my resume is bound to be better than his peers who write sparingly.
Famous writers have also learned to leverage internet resources. By using such a speedy paper review that is online, they make due with time. These sites and materials reduce the time taken to draw up research material and to review their finished works.
“Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.” – Zadie smith
Writing is a creative art, which requires that you’re fully engaged using all senses to put together the paper. For writers to maintain this optimal work state, it is paramount that they find the zone they best operate in. Optimal work zones vary with people, requiring the writer to interact on different levels with the environment. For example, sociologists argue that introverted writers need an environment with a little more stimuli, perhaps a quiet one with low sounds or total silence. While extroverts, on the other hand, need a little more active environment such as an open area in a library.
Once you’ve found the perfect time and work enabling environment that brings out the best in you, prioritize it. This here is where many writers find a challenge. Inform colleagues and family members to allow you, giving you the breathing time and space to work.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci
“Brevity is the soul of the wit”. Sometimes the best way to pass across the intended message to the reader is by being overly simple in your word choice. Simplicity, in this context, also refers to how your sentences are constructed, showing how easy it is for a reader to follow your ideas chronologically. The magic in your write-up is brought to life through your ability to say much with very few words.
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time – or the tools – to write, simple as that.” – Stephen King
A writer’s style of writing is a reflection of his/her state of mind. The only way to keep this imaginative tool up and working is to exercise it regularly. The best exercise for the mind is reading. A poor reader will often make a poor writer. Reading provides an arsenal to the writer, comprising of different concepts, views, dictum, and vocabulary to pick from.
“Never use a long word where a short one will do.” – George Orwell
Practice using short and simple sentences to capture your ideas. Efforts to do so will force you to learn to use more appropriate words for different contexts. Whenever the urge rises to use a long word, instead look for a synonym that shares its contextual meaning and put it in place.
“If writing seems hard, it’s because it is hard. It’s one of the hardest things people do.”- William Zinsser
Before you delve into writing as a hobby or profession, it is important to have your expectations in check. Many fall victim to the effortlessness they think writers yield. Such writers begin their writing careers with high expectations for small efforts from the onset. They fail to understand that writing being a creative job makes consistency very challenging for all writers. Give yourself time to grow and learn the ropes of writing until your results are consistent.
“When you’re stuck, and sure you’ve written absolute garbage, force yourself to finish and then decide to fix or scrap it – or you will never know if you can.” – Jodi Picoult
Writing can be tiresome, especially when you’re not pleased with the progress made so far. Writers are tempted to start afresh in a bid to be perfectionists. This sadly doesn’t work for many writers. It is better to complete work started then deliberate on what to do while editing. Then you can decide if the finished work doesn’t meet your standards altogether.
“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” – E.B White
In writing, there’s never “The perfect time”. This is a misconception many newbies hold on to that drives their effort to no avail. The stars will never all align in your favor when it comes to sitting down and putting a paper together. The responsibility is on the writer to muster the discipline and courage needed to sit down and see the write-up until it is finished.
“I try to leave out the parts that people skip” – Elmore Leonard
It is common to stumble on a piece of information while writing a paper. This information may tend to have been skipped out intentionally by all other articles and papers on that subject. It is hence, natural for writers to be curious about the nature of such information. Remember, curiosity, although intriguing, can be dangerous to one’s career and livelihood. Experts advise that you avoid including excluded information without a full understanding of the information.
“If you are using dialogue – say it aloud as you write it, only then will it have the speech” – John Steinbeck
The best of written skills are those gotten from spoken skills. Since writing is a means of expression, it is natural that writing should speak to the reader as a spoken message not written. Marketers note that the more your write-up sounds like a speech, the less it tends to be generally accepted.
Applying these bits of advice to your work ethics is golden. With constant practice and an open mind to improve, the sky is your limit within the ambiance of writing.
