You're a writer, a content creator. People expect yous to churn out really good, really engaging, and really crawly content.

What they don't realize is that information technology takes some serious effort to create great stuff. That commodity that is then easy for them to read is actually really difficult for you to write.

Thankfully, through the sheer power of habits, you can get to the point where creating crawly content comes naturally. Habits have the uncanny ability to stick with you lot. They're a pain to implement, but they catamenia effortlessly afterward that. In the interest of making your tough job a piffling bit easier, hither are a few daily habits that volition make your content much better.

Remember, these are daily habits. Skip the weekend if you desire, but exist sure to put these into do during the days that you're expected to produce content.

→ Download Now: 6 Free Blog Post Templates

1) Read something really well written.

The next few tips have to practise with reading. One of the all-time ways to become a better writer is to read what others have written. You're non going to get a solid professional author if you spend all mean solar day reading low-quality content. Only if you spend more than of your day reading professional-grade content, then you will meliorate.

The tough thing is, you have to be discerning to notice the really good stuff online. To start, hither'south a list of places where the content quality stays loftier:

  • Harvard Business concern Review
  • New York Times
  • Slate

Don't be agape to pay for height-tier content. In that location'south a reason it costs money, and information technology's often well worth it.

2) Read something funny.

Reading humor tin can help shake up your brain in means that loosen up the creative portions and assistance you produce improve content. If you demand to become your gear up of Buzzfeed or The Oatmeal, get ahead. Don't experience guilty well-nigh information technology.

Sometimes, the best few minutes of your solar day are spent laughing. You'll savour a lot of benefits likewise just the kick y'all got out of the hilarious content. Yous'll relish the benefit of writing amend content yourself. Your content may non be funny, merely it will be good.

3) Read something exterior of your niche.

If y'all want to get better, read broader.

Reading other stuff -- really unlike stuff -- has a way of cross-pollinating your own writing specialty. For case, perhaps you write nearly conversion rate optimization all day. If that'due south the case, and so take a few minutes to read a blog almost yoga.

Yoga?! Why? Because the style, approach, and nature of content that is outside your niche can aid you within your niche.

Good writing, regardless of what it's about, will help y'all go a amend writer.

iv) Read something you lot wrote in the by.

Great orators spend hours watching their speeches. Professional athletes analyze videos of their moves. Politicians watch themselves on Television.

You're a writer, and so you should read content that y'all wrote in the past. The goal of reading past content is not to edit it. It's likewise late for that. Instead, you want to learn from it.

  • What was skillful about it?
  • What things practice yous write all-time most?
  • What wasn't so good?
  • What sounds bad-mannered?

Ask yourself those questions and spend a few minutes getting a better understanding of how y'all're doing as a author.

5) Write for at least 30 minutes.

The most powerful tip in this whole list is correct here: Write for at least 30 minutes every workday. (Skip the weekends; you deserve the break.)

To get a better writer, you lot accept to write. A lot. Every solar day. There's no way to improve without actually doing it.

When yous get into the habit of writing on a daily basis, your brain begins to anticipate it and prepare for it. This is especially true if you write at the same time each day. Fashion before yous put hands to the keyboard, the brain'southward juices are flowing, allowing you lot to be more than creative, more precise, and more skillful during your writing time.

Every 30 minutes that you spend writing is 30 minutes that y'all're getting ameliorate. Progress may not exist huge, merely at to the lowest degree it'due south progress.

six) Strength yourself to talk to someone.

Talking is unlike from writing. But talking can help you become a improve writer, as well.

If you desire to write better, then talk better. Y'all can't improve your talking skills by staying silent all day.

If you work by yourself, call upwardly a friend. If y'all work in an function, shoot the cakewalk over dejeuner or java. Simply pick someone, and be conversational. Using your writing skills to some verbal interchange will actually assist your writing become meliorate.

7) Go for a walk.

Science has proven that taking a walk helps us call up ameliorate. Some even say that it makes us smarter.

Permit'due south confront information technology. Writing is a mental claiming. You must be in keen mental shape to be able to produce the kind of stuff that you're producing.

So, if y'all want to sharpen your mind, then go out of your chair, head for the door, and don't come up back for at least ten minutes. This isn't a brainstorming walk. You don't take to think about anything, let solitary your subject matter. Instead, you just move your body, and your mind will have care of the rest.

8) Write fast.

It may audio strange, but some of my best content is stuff that I wrote really fast.

Plainly, information technology had tons of typos and grammar errors, but overall, the content itself was pretty darn good.

I've recently discovered the reason for this. The mind tin can generate thoughts manner faster than the hands can type them. If, even so, you're able to blazon faster, y'all're able to transcribe more of those thoughts, along with extra nuance and clarity.

Your fingers will never be able to match the speed at which you think, only when you do produce content rapidly, information technology has a much better chance of aligning with what you lot're thinking.

I've met people who say "Oh I can't write. It simply comes so slow!" Actually, I bet they could write, if only they type it out faster.

You don't have to plow on your supersonic speed all the time, just it's helpful to get in the habit of writing fast.

Write fast. Edit deadening.

9) Google any grammar questions.

An of import part of writing is the mechanical stuff -- making sure you're non breaking whatever grammer laws or violating any rules.

(A few well-intentioned rule breaking is okay, simply if you're being sloppy, that's simply bad grade.)

If you come up up confronting a grammar issue while you're writing, do a quick Google search on it. It volition simply take a few minutes, merely you'll definitely learn something and possibly avert an embarrassing error. Get into the habit of double-checking your grammar, even if you're only slightly suspicious of your potential mistake.

Conclusion

Stay positive. Nobody becomes a meliorate writer automatically. It takes months, even years, to form habits. But one time those habits are in place, things can flow without any thought and hardly whatsoever effort. Earlier y'all know it, your writing is improving exponentially.

What things do you exercise to get a meliorate author?

blog post templates

Originally published Feb ten, 2015 6:00:00 AM, updated August 27 2017