How to be a Better Writer
If you're 읽기 this, chances are that 당신 are interested in being a Good Writer: someone who is able to write well and convey ideas effectively through text. Note that we are not talking about being a Successful Writer here, nor a Widely-Read Writer; those are separate concerns. Before 당신 worry about who's going to read your 글쓰기 또는 what 당신 can get out of your writing, 당신 should concern yourself with making your 글쓰기 worth reading. How do 당신 do this? Below are some simple suggestions for practices that should improve your writing. Not all good writers do all of these things, but most do. Thus, it follows that if 당신 want to emulate a good writer in the quality of his/her work, 당신 should also emulate their practices. Each of these practices is important.
1. WRITE
This one should go without saying. To get better at something, 당신 need to practice it. For a writer, that means 글쓰기 all the time. No amount of mental composition, thinking about the 글쓰기 당신 plan to do, will enable 당신 to put the words together as effectively as actually 글쓰기 the words. A week of careful consideration will yield less than an 시간 of typing 또는 글쓰기 의해 hand will do.
Daily writing
Make sure that 당신 write every day, not just on weekends 또는 weekdays when 당신 "have the time". Write every day.
If 당신 are at a loss for what to write, keep a journal and write in that daily. Carry a little notepad with 당신 (or mobile device where 당신 can quickly make notes), and jot down phrases, images, 또는 bits of dialogue that 당신 see, hear 또는 imagine throughout the day. Commit yourself to 글쓰기 a certain amount each day, either of time (I'll write for an 시간 with no breaks) 또는 length of product (20 lines of poetry, minimum). Consider setting aside a regular time for writing, and also consider setting up a dedicated place for writing. Both of those can get 당신 into the habit of 글쓰기 such that, just entering that time 또는 place, ideas start to flow.
Write a lot
Try to write as much as 당신 can. There's an old aphorism that the first million words 당신 write will be crap. The trick, then, is to get those first million words out of the way so that 당신 can get to the good stuff. Of course, the process of 글쓰기 those million words is how 당신 actually get better, so there is some importance to making sure that 당신 keep 글쓰기 volubly as well as often.
Keep an archive of your writing
Mostly one writes to get the words out of the way of the 다음 batch of words. That said, it's very useful to keep a backup of your writing: if 당신 write on paper, file away your 글쓰기 in a 안전한, 안전 place. If 당신 write on the computer, make sure to regularly back up your 글쓰기 onto a CD 또는 other local storage. This is useful for a number of reasons: inspiration (you can return to your 글쓰기 months 또는 even years later and be impressed with the ideas 당신 had, and also how much better 당신 are at 글쓰기 after that time), copyright (you have some evidence that 당신 wrote what 당신 wrote), and just having something to show for your efforts. If 당신 write exclusively online in posting to sites like Fanpop, you'd better start going back and saving copies as soon as 당신 can. There's no guarantee that those sites will keep your content intact - there are database failures, power outages, 크래커 attacks, and all sorts of other things that could cause the site to accidentally lose your 글쓰기 - and if such a site goes out of business 또는 is purchased 의해 another company, all bets are off as to what they keep. So your online 글쓰기 could disappear overnight. Make sure to keep backups.
2. READ
copyright True Nature Gems
Read a lot of the 글쓰기 that others have done. While 당신 should particularly read stuff that is similar to what 당신 plan to write, 당신 definitely should read widely, to give yourself broad exposure to different styles, voices, perspectives and approaches to writing. For this reason, constant 읽기 is a good practice for developing your own writing.
Style
Every writer has a distinctive way that they put words, sentences and paragraphs together. 읽기 더 많이 will expose 당신 to 더 많이 writers' styles, which 당신 can then bring to 곰 in your own style, or, if 당신 become familiar enough with a given style, 당신 can even imitate for comic effect 또는 as tribute to authors 당신 particularly enjoy.
Voice
Well-written characters have clear behaviors, mannerisms, perspectives and attributes that define and illustrate who they are. Since this is all conveyed through words, it is referred to as the voice (either of the character - usually fiction - 또는 the author - either fiction 또는 non-). This is often an extension of the author's style, which is specific to one character/narrator. Paying attention to character/narrator voice when 당신 read will help 당신 to be consistent in whatever voice 당신 create for your writing.
Perspective
의해 reading, 당신 may see different approaches to perspective of the narrative, from a first-person omniscient to a third-person flawed. As 당신 can tell from those examples, there are two scales that measure perspective: the orientation, and the trustworthiness of the narrator/authorial voice.
Orientation: This can be first person, in which everything is written from the perspective of yourself. An example: "When dawn broke, I rose and checked my gear. Then I walked downstairs and unpacked the grenades." A different orientation is 초 person, in which everything is written from the perspective of the reader: "When dawn broke, 당신 got up, pulled on those boots 당신 like so much, and were halfway to the store before 당신 realized 당신 hadn't worn anything else." However, the most common orientation is third person, in which 당신 write about someone else (not you, and not the reader): "When Dawn broke, Larry untied her and had the orderlies return her to her cell, where she would receive medical treatment as reward for her confession."
Trustworthiness: This relates to how much the narrator knows/how fallible the narrator is. Most common is the omniscient narrator (usually going hand-in-hand with the third person perspective), which presents the text as the factual truth, with no reason for the reader to doubt what is being communicated. Most journalism 기사 are written from an omniscient perspective. "President Obama today spoke to Congress about the bill." is an omniscient perspective, just as is "Henry pulled an arrow, nocked it, drew back to his chin and let fly all in one smooth motion, his eyes never wavering from Diane's." A limited omniscient narrator is similar, but tells the action only around one character with no jumping around in time 또는 place separate from the one character. If a story follows Ed the gameskeeper through 20 years of his life at the 성 and never shows us action that Ed didn't witness, but it is clear from the story that other stuff was happening that affects Ed - the narrator may even mention Ed's feelings, then that's a limited omniscience. A limited narrator is 글쓰기 from the view of one who is actually a character in the story/narrative, and so stuff that happens in front of the character isn't necessarily conveyed accurately 또는 interpreted correctly. "Sam sat at the table, dealing cards. Sheila accused him of cheating, then all hell broke loose and I didn't see what happened next." Finally, an unreliable narrator is 글쓰기 from the perspective of a character whose very accounts can not be assumed to be factual. "Paul sat there with a smirk on his face. 또는 maybe he cried. In those days, he did both with some regularity, so it could have been either."
Approach
This is a pretty broad topic, but 읽기 different approaches can really help a writer of any level. Approach can mean the broad strokes: am I going to tell the story in chronological order? Will I write it in rhyming verse? Will it work better as past, present 또는 future tense? But approach could also mean the specific tacks the writer takes for a particular scene 또는 paragraph: will I use alliteration here? Will I develop a theme of the color blue here? Seeing the approaches that other authors have taken may give 당신 ideas on different ways to approach your own pieces.
Dialogue
읽기 a lot can help 당신 with your dialogue: both how to write dialogue well, and in many cases how NOT to write dialogue well.
3. TALK WITH OTHER WRITERS
copyright Carol Ormand
Having a 글쓰기 group 또는 a regular get-together with other writers is key to 글쓰기 well as well as improving your writing. Writers challenge each other, as well as energizing each other. Meeting regularly with other writers can:
1) Encourage discipline (making sure that 당신 write regularly). If 당신 have a writer's group and you're expected to bring some new writing/revision to each meeting, 당신 are 더 많이 likely to do it than if 당신 only had expectation on yourself to write regularly.
2) Reinforce the idea that you're not alone. Other writers can commiserate with 당신 about the difficulties with writing. They can offer tips at handling problems with approaches 또는 blocks from times they've had similar experiences, and 당신 can gain confidence 의해 talking to them about your solutions to problems you've had in the past.
Sometimes a writer on his/her own will start to feel blah about their own writing, but sharing it with other writers can get 당신 out of those doldrums when they express their enthusiasm for your story.
3) Inspire 당신 with their work. 읽기 another author's work in progress can be thrilling, because the other author will almost certainly have a different style and voice than 당신 do. Just 읽기 new ideas and getting excited to see what happens 다음 in a work in progress can really rekindle the 불, 화재 for your own work.
4) Help 당신 with your work. Sometimes just trying to explain what you're trying to say in your 글쓰기 is enough for 당신 to realize problems with your narrative. When that isn't enough, though, the other writers can hear your work and then give 당신 feedback which can help out your craft.
4. CRITICALLY ANALYZE WRITING
Feedback is vital to a writer. But 당신 don't just give criticism of others' 글쓰기 in the hopes that 당신 will get criticism in return! The main value in critically analyzing others' 글쓰기 is that it gets 당신 in the habit of reviewing the craft that went in to a particular piece of writing, identifying what technical choices were made and how they worked for the piece. As 당신 focus on the (mis)spelling of others, 당신 become sensitive to your own mistakes, and can thus correct them 더 많이 easily.
What is critical analysis?
Critical analysis is reviewing a work, checking how it functions as a whole, as well as how each of the pieces contributes to that whole. Usually critical analysis is delivered to the author of the work being analyzed, either in person 또는 in writing. This is so the author can benefit, and so that 당신 are organized and thorough in your criticism.
Some things to analyze
There are many things to consider when 당신 critically analyze a piece, and that list will be somewhat different based on the type of 글쓰기 that you're reviewing. 시 will be different than memoir will be different than reporting. Here's an example of some of the things 당신 might consider when reviewing short fiction stories:
* spelling
* grammar (sentence structure)
* syntax (the order of words in the sentence)
* word choice (are the words being used correctly? Are the words repetitive 또는 limited? Do the words chosen enhance 또는 hinder the narrative?)
* punctuation
* dialogue (Is the vocabulary appropriate to the time period/social status/location of the character
* 설명 (how well are things described, when they're described?)
* character motivation (Does what the character is doing/saying make sense? Does it make sense for that character?)
* plot (does the action make sense? Does it flow from one event to the other in an appropriate, believable way?)
SUMMARY
There are four broad categories that all writers should do: write, read, discuss and criticize. The first is foremost, but all of the others are just as important as any of the others. Try to consistently do all four and 당신 will find your 글쓰기 improving.
