Writing tips are useful only if you can use them. I know, that’s not very helpful, but neither is a lot of writing advice on the web. However, today that is all going to change, because this post is going to offer you 5 writing tips that will change your life. How can we be so sure? Because they are actually tangible, practical pieces of advice that you can put to use each day.
Writing Tip 1: Set a Schedule and Chunk it Out
The hardest part about writing is setting a schedule. It’s extremely difficult to sit down and just get to it, and there’s many reasons for this. Very few of them have to do with loving or hating writing. It’s a motivation issue. We know we can get to it, but we just aren’t going to do it right now. Here’s a game changer for you: set a writing schedule. When writing is truly effective is when it’s done in short bursts at maximum efficiency. When you are alert and capable.
Considering writing tips, this one involves setting a schedule for your project. If you are writing a novel, create a plan that involves you writing every day. Set the objective on the page with how much you are going to get done and what. Are you outlining? Did you start drafting a chapter? Are you writing character backgrounds? Write it out over the course of a week, a month, a year, but make sure it is clearly labeled and you know what your expectation is when you sit down. If you get done with a section early, don’t just ram yourself into the next section either. Consider taking a day off. You are “chunking” your writing. That means breaking it down into digestible chunks instead of running headfirst into it miserably.
You can use a PowerPoint or Google Slides doc to set up your schedule, or just use a good ole sheet of paper and a pencil. Whatever works for you. Here’s a tentative writing week set up with this idea in mind:
Five-Paragraph Essay: Argumentative
First Day: Research and find sources
Second Day: Draft 1/2 Essay
Third Day: Draft 1/2 Essay
Fourth Day: Revise for ideas and structure
Fifth Day: Edit for syntax
Sixth Day: Edit for Grammar
Seventh Day: Peer Review and/or Publish
Writing Tip 2: Find a Place to Write that Works for You
A writer’s room doesn’t have to have a million leatherbound books. Nor does it need to look fancy or have a giant desk. It just needs to be a place where a writer can write. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a room. As long as you have a comfortable place to write, that’s all that matters. When looking for more writing tips, get rid of the notion that you need a writerly attire and hipster glasses. You just need to sit down and get the work done. That can be done anywhere you feel comfortable. In bed? While you are sitting in your recliner? At the kitchen table with the radio on? If it works, it works. We need to find places that are conducive to writing, and we have to remember that this has nothing to do with the mythological idea of the writer persona.
Writing Tip 3: Use the Read Aloud Function
One often overlooked tool on most word processors is the Read Aloud function. Many authors and writers give the advice that you should read your text aloud to yourself to catch errors. That is sound advice. However, if you spend more time focused on your own voice than the errors, that could be a problem. As such, using the Read Aloud function on Microsoft Word (or any app really) can be extremely helpful. Play the text and sit back and listen to what you have written. It’s very good at catching wonky sentences and missing words. It may change how you approach editing overnight.
Writing Tip 4: Use Templates and Mentor Texts
Whether you are writing fiction or informational works, you should consider using a template. What is a template? A template is scaffold for a text that shows you the form and structure of a given piece. For instance, a template for an argumentative essay will have starter sentences for all five paragraphs and will show the layout of the essay. Google “Template” along with the type of essay, story, or text you are working on at the moment. You will find answers. Writing tips often employ vapid language about studying craft, but what does that mean? Here, that means to study a template to see the innerworkings of a text.
Moreover, one should consider using mentor texts to help guide them through the writing process. That is to say, if you are new to fiction, consider finding a story that fits the narrative you are trying to weave. Now, don’t steal the authors words and story, but you can consider their layout, investigate their moves. Very quickly, by paying attention to how they convey imagery and characteristics, you will be able to identify the text features that you need for your own work. Using mentor texts also helps in writing essays and informational works through the same process.
Writing Tip 5: Write Trash
Admit to yourself that your draft is going to be terrible. There is no way around it. It is not going to be very good, because that’s what drafts are after all. With that in mind, you need to sit down and start writing all of the trash that is on your mind. If you are writing and essay, just spit out all of the ideas as you move across the page. This could involve a template after you scheduled out this writing session. You need to get words on the page, which will also help motivate you to sit down and do the task, especially if you approach writing with less anxiety.
Writing is recursive, therefore you can come back to it when you want. That means you can clean it up when you want as well. Do not sit down and expect to spin gold–it will never happen. You must embrace writing trash in order to overcome those immediate deficits with writing–procrastination, imposter syndrome, anxiety, etc. In this way, writing trash will get you to the good stuff, which revealed through revision and editing.
Conclusion
A good writer does what they have to do to get the writing done. This involves sitting down regularly and pumping out words, texts, stories, and whatever else crosses their brain. Writers also utilize all of the resources afforded to them and are above no process until they have at least tried it once. Similarly, writers do not have to be in fancy rooms spinning gold. They just have to sit down and write it out to get the job done, which can be done anywhere that is comfortable for them. Simply put, a true writer is somebody who writes. They are not worried about whether they are considered a writer or not, whether they look like a writer, or whether they actually ever get to it or not. A true writer hones their skills and perfects their craft by any means necessary, and practical solutions always help.
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