5 Ways to Not Suck at Writing
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Some new writers buy into the idea that, if they just sit down and start, inspiration will somehow lead to great writing. Wrong! That might happen one time out of every 100 attempts you make at writing, if you’re lucky. If you’re not lucky, inspired writing might happen one time out of every 1000 attempts. The “sit down and let inspiration lead” approach almost always ends with one thing: writing that sucks. Good writing, on the other hand, takes a combination of work and skills. Here are five ways for you not to suck at writing.
Organize Your Thoughts!
That idea you have for an essay, article or story isn’t enough. You need to take that idea and break it down into pieces. Spend some time and figure out what things you must talk about to make your final draft coherent. Some people favor outlines for this process and, for new writers in particular, this probably should be your approach. Outlining forces you to really look at how much effort and space you’ll need to complete your piece as you first envisioned it.
Pro tip: Your initial idea is almost always too big. Cutting the idea down lets you talk about specifics, which leads to better writing.
Don’t Fall in Love with Your First Idea
Your first idea is just that: your first idea. Unlike races, being the first idea doesn’t come with a prize. Ideas can be bad. They can be impossible to follow through on. They can be the wrong idea for what you need to write. Don’t quit on trying to come up with ideas after you get that first one. Think of the first idea as a trial run or a way to warm up your imagination before you get down to the serious business of generating ideas.
Pro tip: Looking at the way other people have handled a similar topic can help to spark your own thinking, but make sure you don’t unintentionally steal their idea.
Stop Editing While You Write Your First Draft
Writing your first draft has one, and only one, purpose. Its purpose is to get the big ideas down on paper. Editing while you write your first draft does nothing but tack on extra writing time. No matter how much editing you do while you write that first draft, you will always need to revise and edit it. You will. Accept it. No one gets it right the first time.
Pro tip: Stopping to revise also leads to stilted writing because it disrupts the flow of your thinking. Writing that flows well is better writing.
Stop Guessing about Grammar and Punctuation
Remember when that elementary or middle school teacher told you to put a comma into a sentence wherever you would pause? It was bad advice then and it’s bad advice now, because it means you’re guessing. If you don’t know when it’s appropriate to use a comma, or a colon, or you scratch your head every time people talk about subordinate and independent clauses, it’s time to learn. Get a style guide. They explain those rules, at great length and in sometimes excruciating detail. If you’re a student, go and talk to the English department staff. Ask questions. You can also make use of the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), which offers extremely comprehensive guidance on most things writing-related.
Pro tip: I write for a living and I still consult style guides and ask experts to clarify usages I’m not clear on. Knowing the rules makes your writing better. Period.
Don’t Use Blogs as Your Examples for Good Writing
Blog posts and, in point of fact, much of the writing you find on the Internet is writing that sucks. Blog posts, in particular, offer very poor examples because blog writing has its own conventions and some of those conventions violate the normal rules of good writing. Of course, some bloggers break those rules on purpose and with a goal in mind, like making the post easier to read on screen, and other bloggers never knew the rules of good writing in the first place. In either case, don’t look to blogs to show you how to write well.
Pro tip: You should read high quality newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times and The Atlantic, and high quality books, such as the ones found in this Salon.com “The Best Books of the Decade” article, to find your examples of good writing.
It’s easy to produce writing that sucks. People do it every day in online forums, comment sections and amateur articles. Good writing isn’t easy to produce. It takes time and effort. You need to be willing to organize your thoughts, reject bad ideas, and learn the basics of grammar and punctuation. If you are willing to put in the time, read good writing and accept the reality that you’ll need more than one draft, good writing is within your reach.
Note: This post may be used in educational settings without seeking permission, as long as it is properly attributed to me.
