Improve Writing Skills easily

Learning how to improve writing skills can go a long way in improving your chances of developing successful communication skills.

One of the most important things to know while writing is that a blank paper can be your worst enemy. I have seen even the most brilliant writers struggle with a piece of empty white paper. Getting started is probably the most difficult thing for anyone, be it a seasoned writer or a simple person just like you and me.

We all have this inner urge to get started in writing, and finish off in one draft. We are too scared of making mistakes. Allow me to tell you a well-known secret.... No one, absolutely no one gets it all right the first time. In fact I am sure when God was formulating his 10 commandments, he probably had some drafts so he can create the right impact with those words -kidding.

Ever heard of Pride and Prejudice?

If you went to an English School or College you would have come across this novel some time in your student life. It is a masterpiece of English language. When I was in school, the teacher who taught it and the characters over whelmed me. I was just lost when I had to write about this story.

My very gifted and compassionate Teacher called me one day and explained how and why I am stuck. Jane Austin did not pick up 200 sheets of paper and end up with Pride and Prejudice in one day. There were many writes and rewrites. The characters were carved out in her mind, and she put them down in words after many trials and errors. She had her part of fun and heartburns while writing. Therefore, I should take it easy on myself.

From that day on, I relaxed. I consider myself lucky to get that advice. I never put myself into a point of performing well on paper from then. I just tend to get into a flow and write. When I write, my only objective is to express my ideas. When you put yourself under too much pressure to perform the best in the first attempt, you are designing yourself for disappointment. Yes you read it right. So take the performance anxiety out of the way and then you are ready to improve your writing skills.

One of my favorite movies about writing is called Finding Forrester. Jamal, a young talented writer in the movie, is snubbed by his professor but finds a good friend and mentor in an almost forgotten genius of a man known for his writing skills. The advice he gives to his young friend is quite simple.

No thinking - that comes later. You must write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is... to write, not to think! - Finding Forrester

I completely agree. One of the best things to do to get your writing skills up and running is to either use a page which already has some writing or, just copy a few lines of writing from another article on the same subject and then get carried away into your writing.

Doodling as a startup key to improve Writing Skills

The other thing you can do is to doodle on the page a little, so it is not completely blank. We all have our starting trouble. Once we get over that hump, things get easier.

Another tip to get into the flow of writing is to listen to rhythmic music. I love salsa so I listen to salsa in the background while I write. As the music moves, so does my writing.

One more option you can try is to talk into a tape recorder. Once you complete your thought, just transcribe it.

This way you can talk yourself in a good flow and you writing will also be powerful because when you write in a flow you have rhythm and humans are a kind of "Trance Machine ".We fall in and out of trance easily and one of the easiest ways to get someone to fall into a trance is to put them into a rhythmic situation like an article written in rhythm.

Tip from Joe Vitale on how to Improve Writing Skills

I use a neat technique I learnt from Joe Vitale. I read my base material that I want to write about. I then form the intention to write about it and distract myself completely from the idea of writing.

By this method, I give some time for my unconscious mind to hibernate the idea and when I feel ready, I jump-start my muse by music and some dabbling. I do not pay attention to Grammar, Structure, Spelling or anything else when I write.

This may not work for everyone because we all are different. Simple solution is to find out what works for you and use that.

You may hate salsa and might prefer to listen to Rap or HipHop to get into flow. Excellent.

Whatever works for YOU... is the key

The objective of this article is not to tell you what works for me. The Idea is to empower you to recognize what works for you so you can use that to get into the flow of writing.

Recognizing the patterns of your own behavior is a good skill to learn. That way you can  adjust your pattern whenever you want and get the results you want. For example, by this method I completed this 900 words in less than 25 minutes and I can assure you, it will take me a few reads and lot of corrections before you see it.

However, know that this page did not get on the screen as a single draft. Despite all the edits, you may find some mistakes on this page. I will be Glad if you can point it out to me.

I say Glad because I never aim for perfection. I believe in improving my work (and very aggressively too) but never in perfection. Being Imperfect makes me feel human and I am glad I am one. Imperfection is a relief for me. If you agree with me you would be glad too. My Writing Skills improved much faster when I focused on being better than when I aimed for perfection.

Enough of Me.

You now lets get started. Make that first draft now