The Art of Writing

Writing is a skill that everyone needs on a daily basis, but it is also an art form that can be difficult for people to master.

Writing is an important part of our society. We use it in social media, to spread information, and to understand a topic. From an early age, we learn how to read and write. It is a basic skill that we need to have to function in society.

Improving your writing is a tricky business; there's no solid method that works for everyone.

Some people find writing to be a natural talent, while others might struggle to convey their meaning through words (otherwise known as rhetoric).

How to Improve Your Writing

Improving your writing is a tricky business; there's no solid method that works for everyone. I improve my writing through writing itself, and by reading. Reading is probably the most consistent way you can improve how you write, especially since you can use books as reference material for how to word things, or for grammar usage.

Whenever I am in editing mode, I always read through a hardcopy of my work and make marks in a different color ink. It doesn't necessarily have to be red, but as long as it isn't black or a dark blue. I also use highlighters to focus on a sentence or word that I might not know is wrong. I do this while I read my papers aloud because I might have used the wrong tense, or usage of a word and need to rewrite the sentences.

Sometimes, I don't have to rewrite the sentences because just changing the single word that was wrong with the sentence is enough. However, if the sentence just sounds off then I rewrite the entire sentence.

If the sentence still sounds off, then I have someone else look over my writing. Getting a fresh set of eyes, really helps put a new perspective on your work. However, make sure its someone you know will give you constructive criticism. Opening up about your writing can be difficult and nerve-racking, which is why you want someone you trust will give you good criticism instead of just being critical.

Grammar Programs can Help

Below are a few grammar programs that I find work:

• Normal Grammar Checkers: Every writing program has a generic grammar checker, but they can do wonders with spelling or finding a synonym for a word that you have repeated a lot.

• Hemingway Editor: I just recently used this program, and I liked it a lot! It uses highlighting to help you identify issues within your works, and you can edit them to get rid of the highlighting. The program also tells you what reading level your writing is at.

These are just a few of the programs out there. Check out Become a Writer Today to find more, as well as their suggestions which programs are the best to help edit your work (they're how I found out about the Hemingway Editor).

Overall, these are some of the ways that I find help me improve my writing. To find your own way, experiment with some of the tips I gave you, and also come up with your own. As I said before, there is no specific way to go about improving your writing. Just choose the way that makes sense to you.

Edit: Grammarly has been taken off the list. After using Grammarly to help catch small details on my blog, I noticed that the program completely messed up my paragraph organization to the point that some paragraphs were deleted. Other paragraphs were spliced together. I have since edited my posts back to how they were before or similar to how they were. I urge you to not use it because it may end up hurting you in the long run.