Hi guys,

Happy New Year to each one of you! Before I start, I want to thank each one of you for supporting me through my entire journey as an Author and Blogger. I hope you all had a great start to 2020 and I look forward to sharing more of my experiences with you on this blog.

How to improve writing skills is a question that has been asked of me a lot and there are two types of answers that I have heard and given.

The easy answer to this question is: to keep writing. I know it sounds absurd but the old saying, “practice makes perfect”, is sound. Here is why: when you write you are practicing expressing yourself, even if you are the only person that reads these, “vomit dumps”. When you read what you wrote again you start to see the mistakes you make. The process from conscious to unconscious takes time and the more you practice it the faster that it comes.

I know that it seems abstract and maybe a little vague, but let’s move on.

The second longer answer to the question of how to improve writing, falls into two parts 1) read and write 2) get a critique partner.

Step one is the same as the first answer – read the style of reading you want to master. If you want to become a novelist, like I suspect you do, then you need to read the genre of books that you want to write. The second part of step on is to write that genre and then compare the result to other people’s work in that field.

Step two is the difference, this comes in the form of a critique partner that can offer you feedback on your writing to help you improve. I am always looking for people to critique partner with me. It takes a lot of work, but it can be a very rewarding journey. I must thank Brandon Sanderson for the idea.

The reason I make this distinction is that there are different types of writing for different purposes. For example; I will use a different writing style for a letter or an email to my mother that I would if I was writing a book.

The above approaches follow the old method of attaining the needed ten thousand hours to become a master in the field. This is not the only way to do this. What you need to do is create a feedback loop in your learning. What this means is that you write, have someone critique it for you and then you go and rewrite it again. This intentional practice provides you with the most powerful impact to improve your writing. When it comes to writing it may still take quite a long time to achieve what you set out to accomplish but the goal is not quite so unattainable as it once seemed.

In summary to improve your writing follow these steps:

1) Read – The type of reading you want to produce.

2) Write – Have a go and give it your best shot.

3) Have someone critique your writing. – Find someone that is either at the same level as you or slightly better so that you can work together.

4) Intentionally practice what you lack – Rewrite your own work, with the advice from your critique partner in mind.

5) Reread your own work. – So that you can see how much progress you have made.

6) Repeat until successful.

If you want to know more check out ten-thousand hours.

Let me know if this helps you out!

Keep writing,

Peter