Three Things That Will Help You Get Better at Writing
Writing, of all different forms of content creation, has always played a pivotal role in educating and marketing a product or service well to the masses.
I am sure you have come across a couple of social media posts and Youtube videos that speak about how lucrative writing as a career option can be. There is no denying that writing is nothing less of a joy than smoking weed!
The question, however, you should be asking yourself is ‘Am I equipped with the necessary prerequisites that would help me become a good writer?’
For me, it was a gradual transition from reading voraciously to scribbling short poems to ideating long-form content. What I learned from this whole process is writing is not rocket science BUT you need to be aware of some basic factors that should help you succeed in it.
..and the three key factors are as follows:
1) Comprehension: The most important thing in content consumption is comprehension. I am not saying you have to become a walking Thesaurus. As long as you can grasp the idea of what you are reading, you are good. As long as you can explain what you just read in a Hemingway manner, you are good.
Here’s an example that will tell you why comprehension is important. Two days back, I posted on a Facebook group that I was looking for a work opportunity in blog writing and voice-overs in English and German. Within 24 hours, I had five people reach me on Messenger asking things like “Sir, do you have a writing opportunity”, and “Shivin, I am a voice-over artist. Do you have any opportunity available for me?”
I should have thanked them for giving me the laughs but then I politely asked them to read my post again. 😊
2) Segregation: Now that you’re good at reading and comprehending any form of written content, it is fine to wear the Sherlock Holmes monocle and do some segregation. It means your ability to distinguish between information and misinformation that you are consuming as a reader. After all, a lot of irresponsible content creation is a direct consequence of irresponsible content consumption.
Any written content is a story that either involves true events or something purely fictional. If fictional, you would simply enjoy the read and shower praises on the author as she/he was successfully able to make you dance with the dinosaurs or walk on the moon in an imaginary world.
However, in the case of non-fiction writing, you might as well want to fact-check the claims made in that work. A classic example would be a Tai Lopez-y post that starts with “Hey, this is me and my garage and my bookshelf…If you wanna make your first million, here’s a link to my course”.
DO NOT buy such stories without reading deeper into them. The wise man says, ‘it’s a dangerous funnel’. It is always advisable to segregate the good from the bad and this alone would help you get much ahead with your craft.
3) Intention: The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, “I write for the same reason a cow gives milk”. If you come from the same school of thought, my friend, your intent to write is much beyond earning some moolah out of it.
The best writers and editors are the least worried about AI taking over the content writing space. Why? Simply because they know that AI wouldn’t surpass their creativity levels. After all, writing is storytelling. If you intended to become a good storyteller, you’d retain a certain original flavor in whatever you churn out, every single time.
With the aforementioned factors in place, you’re on the right course in enjoying your journey as a writer. In the words of Sir John Hammond, the immortal character from the novel Jurassic Park, “Creation is an act of sheer will”.
What other factors have helped you improve in your writing process? Do share in the comments.
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