Hello everyone. I just registered at the forums after some time of being just a reader. I'm interested in many internet related topics which these forum discusses, one of my biggest interests though is writing. I'm not a professional writer since I have never written something in exchange of money, nor have I practiced it as much as I would like but for a long time I have had the desire of writing; I remember making newspapers when I was little and winning some essay contests plus praises from my English teacher, but that's another story. Anyways, enough of me and to make this thread worthwhile I would like to ask something to the fellow writers around here: please share some general, basic tips aimed to "starters" like me.
Best tip: write. Sounds simple but many people who want to write don't actually do it. Get a blog, write and then write some more.
I become a member on DP since April of this year. I am also a writer and I experimented my writing on my blog. I also submitted some of my articles on different articles sites (as backlink). I just recently posted a bid for a writing job a while ago. Hoping to be chosen, lol.
Read (watch and observe as well), write, share (better blog), be open to critism (positively reply to the comments accepting your weaknesses and aiming to improve), again read then write and keep this cycle going on with new experiments in style, topics etc.
Good reminders guys, thanks. Sometimes we skipped the most basic things and that causes blocks I think.
There have been several good comments made in this thread. Your first step - write! It doesn't matter if what you produce seems like garbage at first. The more effort you put into honing your skills the better off you'll be. Learning to listen to constructive criticism as Analyst pointed out will also help you in the long run. You don't have to agree with what people might say about your writing, but you will need to learn to listen objectively without getting defensive. Ultimately you need to decide if you would like to make a career out of writing. If so, what niche(s) would you specialize in? Where do your strengths lie? Your weaknesses? Do you want to write primarily for webmasters or do you plan to target print markets as well? There's a lot to think about but plenty of resources to help you get there.
Buy Elements of Style. http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Styl...0141568?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187395386&sr=8-1 No, that's not my Amazon AFF link. There's also lots of classes offered out there.
Thanks. It is also good to read again and again what you wrote. I've made a lot of improvements in my text thanks to this. Good recommendation, looks like it's an eseential as described by the comments. I'm currently going through a book (don't remember the exact title right now) that has many examples of different kinds of writings from which one can take good pointers.
the only way to become a good (or better) writer is to write- CONSTANTLY! Write on blogs, write articles for associated content, or helium, or other such sites. you wont make much money from the, but you will get good practice!
I have heard that Associated Content is better than Helium, simply because when you submit to Helium you lose all of your writes to that article. It is always important to familiarize yourself with the terms of use for the various article directories, paid or free.
You can lose all of your rights to the articles at Associated Content as well, depending on what you select when you submit - and the price they pay for articles is definitely not worth losing all of your rights.
Ah, that is good to know. Someone asked me about A.C. today and I told her that I wasn't familiar with this service. Personally, I have read some of the articles on sites such as Helium and the level of writing is not very good. I am being kind with this comment!
You aren't going to make a living writing for A.C. - and you wouldn't even want to try with the amount they are willing to pay. What's more, writing for AC and places like them are not "resume builders" if you are serious about making a career out of writing. Oftentimes the quality of articles on these websites leave much to be desired as Matt pointed out.
Okay, I'll jump off the bandwagon after this comment. Maybe. Recently, I took a look at one Helium article and saw that it was filled with adverbs and adjectives, beyond the pale of normal speech. For example, "those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer..." isn't original speech nor does it do much to hold the reader's attention. I will, however, note that this person knows how to rhyme. I find that many aspiring writers try to fluff up their work without considering what the reader might think. Simple, well thought out writing goes a long way; engage your readers in a conversation and you'll come across friendly. Try to impress them and the smart readers will see right through all of the fluff.