What piece of advice helped you to become a better writer?

I am curious. What was your aha moment?

 

For me it was realising that reading more and continually writing helps me improve the standard of what I write - accepting that's not necessarily true for everyone. I think it's very difficult to be absolutely perfect, particularly in grammatical terms but THE piece of advice to remember is that every day is a school day, there's always something you can learn. Being a better writer is a continual process I believe.

 

I before E except after C

 

Don't fall in love with your own words. It can be damn difficult to edit when you think every word that you've written on a page is manna from heaven. Damn difficult.

 

Probably when I wrote my first classified ad at like 12 years old and got many people to respond.

Oh, I did take 3rd place in the nation in a writing contest in 6th grade, but whatever. Yeah, the prize was cool and all, but moving adults with my ad copy probably motivated me the most.

One moment that helped me become a very fast writer, which eventually led me to pursuing a Journalism degree, was when I started following one simple rule religiously: write now, edit later.

When I write, I let it all come out. I don't edit. At most, I'm willing to erase a couple words that I just typed. And when I'm doing an idea rundown for an ad or something, I don't ever edit while writing.

 

Nothing too serious but I became a better writer when I got others to edit my work. They always could find something I would look over without noticing.

 

I would like to remember my English teachers who contributed a lot in making me a better writer. It was their advice and sometimes choosing books for me to read that helped me a lot to polish my writing skills. Then it was the second prize in nationwide essay competition, when I was in eighth grade, which motivated me to pursue my passion as a career later.

Now it is the feedback I receive from my clients which helps me improve my skills. I believe learning is a never ending process, so there are still a lot of things I have to learn as far as writing is concerned. The best way is to read a lot of good books on a variety of topics.

 

Always read newspaper and try to do writing on any topic in doc file because it catch our grammatical mistakes. Just do that daily you will surely be a better writer.

 

I would DEFINITELY suggest reading every letter that Gary Halbert wrote to his list. You can find them by googling "Gary Halbert". (Sorry I am not allowed to post links yet)

He is considered the most profitable copywriter ever. He did the coat-of-arms letter that eventually mailed 600,000,000 letters! He eventually sold that business to ancestry.com I believe for $70 million...

 

Read F Scott Fitzgerald and try copying his writing instead of using a newspaper.

 

In my case it wasn't really advice but something that happened when I was working for the Navy.

At the time, I was doing the paperwork required for all low-level IT purchases. The techs had written a specification for a computer that called for a "full sized network card slot". When the equipment arrived, it did have the desired slot. Only problem was that the slot was partially covered by the fan and a network card could not be installed into the slot. Supply told us that the computer met the spec since the spec did not specifically state that the network slot had to be "functional".

That episode has greatly impacted everything I have written since - never assume and always clarify important points.

 

My 'moment' came when one of my teachers told me that the most important thing is to convey your message clearly and concisely. He said that good grammar and spelling are important because they aid clarity, but it's equally important to be clear and concise.

He hated fluff, flowery language, and padding. I learned a lot by trimming my work down to please him.

 

I'm still not perfect, but I probably say that the best message I've gotten is to cut out all the excess and go straight for the core of your message. Lean prose is powerful.

 

Continuously writing!

 

It is hard to add any further advice to your question. So many great replies which I can relate to.

My little piece of wisdom is -

Have confidence in yourself. This confidence will flow on through your writing. You have the knowledge, whether by research or personal experience. Having the confidence to impart this knowledge is very important.

This is one very important piece of advice that I was given.

Great question post.

 

I have read books for most of my life. I read on average 4 books a week. Doesn't mean I would be a great writer. What it does help in is the ability to spot spelling mistakes and generally do better in writing. But as far as creative writing goes... you either have that within you or you don't. People that are too practical can write... but often they will be the type of stuff that will bore you to tears. In my experience that is the truth.

People that are dreamers and innovators with imagination are the ones that can describe a book/object as if the very pen they hold become an art brush and the words will eventually become a masterpiece. It will define the writer as nothing else will. Your imagination will know no boundaries when you learn to write. It is the same for artists.

My Aha! moment happened when I joined a forum to start role-playing. That is when everything changed in my life. I went from the most lifeless writer you can imagine to quite the creative writer. I can easily switch from Science-Fiction to Horror or Romance if I want to. Roleplaying on forums helped me to become a better writer.

It wasn't till I created characters and brought them to life, that I discovered how much fun writing can be. It showed in my online sites and every little piece of creative writing ranked my sites really well, so I can't say much besides the fact that it definitely helped.

I have yet to see a creative writer on DP. I have looked and honestly not found one single soul on here that actually offer creative writing services. If they did I would have hired them ages ago. Sometimes two heads are better than one.

 

Hello^_^ I am a novice , with this website

www.http://www.thecamera-camera.blogspot.com/

(I not excellent am language , beg one's pardon with) ,

 

I love my mom which always told me to, "You cannot write good content if you are overwork."

As a writer being happy with the result of your write-up is essential. Happiness means that your confident or satisfied with the quality of your articles.

 

The best piece of advice I ever got was to write for my audience. Sometimes, it's difficult for me to forget that I use words that a lot of people don't normally hear very often. It doesn't matter if I am a good writer or speaker if no one can understand me. I've become much more concise and am able to get my point across quickly now instead of concentrating on using $3 words that no one knows. This has helped me win a lot more projects and deliver better quality content to my clients.

 

Hard work, Good English and Grammar skills..