How to Improve Your Writing Style – 5 Simple Steps

10/28/2020

Improving your writing style or technique is a skill that doesn’t always come naturally to everyone.

It takes hard work and dedication to find your voice as well as create an engaging and cohesive novel, book or short story that strikes a chord with readers.

There are no quick fixes to becoming a great writer, but here are 5 simple steps showing how to improve your writing style:

1. Practice Only Makes for Improvement
2. Keeping It Simple
3. Keep Writing, Edit Later
4. Read Books That Influence or Inspire You
5. Be Succinct

1. Practice Only Makes for Improvement

You know what they say, ‘practice makes perfect’; well, nothing is perfect, but practicing the skill of writing and trying out different techniques to find your voice will make you a more accomplished writer and more committed to your craft. Whatever your chosen genre, you’re going to have to get your hands dirty to become a proficient wordsmith.

Set some time aside each day to practice. It doesn’t have to be hours, but you need to commit to the process. The more you write, the more you will discover your style, sharpen your writing abilities and keep those creative juices flowing.

One of the best ways to make sure you devote the time is to set a word count per day, and then try to reach that target. Check out my article How to Stay Motivated Writing a Novel - 15 Top Tips to see how you can reignite your enthusiasm and perseverance if your writing needs a jump-start.

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2. Keeping It Simple

Another popular tip, and one which many writers don’t do from the outset, is to keep it simple. Improving your writing style and technique starts with ensuring that every sentence is as clear as it can be. Try not to overcomplicate things:

Avoid using mostly lengthy sentences. Split them into two or intersperse with shorter sentences to improve flow and reader engagement.

Don't add dialogue tags that explain a character's shock or anger - the dialogue should show that.

Steer away from grammar which is only going to confuse the reader / avoid constructing complex, difficult-to-follow sentences:

All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life. (Yes, there are 4 'hads', and it is grammatically correct!)
The horse raced past the barn fell. (This should read 'The horse that was raced past the barn fell'.)
'A woman without her man is nothing'. Or should it be 'A woman, without her man, is nothing'. Or maybe, 'A woman: without her, man is nothing'?
Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. (You get the idea...)
See how you can use the semicolon and colon in your writing effectively to add variety to sentence structure.

Read the story out loud and change any clunky, awkward-sounding sections. If it’s difficult to say, it will be difficult for readers to understand.

Also, to aid the writing process, a simple rule of thumb is to write about what you know. You’ll be able to engage your readers and develop your writing abilities a lot easier than if you try to write about something you're not emotionally invested in, can't relate to or have little knowledge of.

3. Keep Writing, Edit Later

One of the worst things you can do when writing is to edit at the same time. If you have a goal of writing your first novel, it is going to take a lot longer if you spend time editing every sentence. Doing this means that you’re overthinking your work. Just focus on the writing and leave the editing until you reach the end of a chapter, for example.

Rereading your work with fresh eyes is the best way to see which areas need more work, so leave it for a couple of days before amending and correcting your prose.

A professional book editor or proofreader will ensure your manuscript is engaging, flows well and concise as well as correcting any grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. Let me know if you need help with proofreading or copy-editing as my services can help your finalized and published book become a reality.

4. Read Books That Influence or Inspire You

Read the books of authors who fire your imagination, whose books you can read in two days, or whose style evokes the passion for writing within you.

What is it about their writing that makes it so easy to digest that you want to keep reading?
How do they use dialogue?
Do they use long, descriptive sentences/paragraphs to immerse the reader, or are they short and to the point so the reader reads quickly due to the tension created?
How do they create imagery?
Does their writing evoke the senses through showing not telling?

5. Be Succinct

Make notes of their writing style and techniques so you can apply them to improve your writing prowess.

Finding your writing style can be difficult and, like the writing itself, may not come naturally. Avoid trying to copy anyone else’s style, as they have taken years to craft theirs. Instead, let it be the incentive to find yours.

Check out the article 4 Types of Narrative Writing on masterclass.com to find the appropriate style for your writing so you can tell your story effectively.

To help with conciseness, go through your manuscript and try to trim each paragraph by 10%. This is a very powerful exercise as it forces you to tighten up your writing:

Reduce your word count by eliminating clichés, commonly used phrases and filler words.
Search for the words/phrases ‘had’, ‘that’ and ‘had been’, because even if your book is written to show what has happened in the past, these words don’t need to be used on a regular basis throughout.
It's easy for us to write as we speak in everyday life, which is great for dialogue, but this doesn't produce a polished and streamlined narrative that flows well...

If you simply can’t reduce your writing by as much as 10%, it proves each word in that paragraph has earnt its place, and it gets to stay. 

Another valuable technique is to visualize your story as a film, so you can see which scenes are longer than called for.

How often are characters occupied carrying out mundane chores, moving from one room to another, sitting around chit-chatting without anything important happening, or traveling to and from a destination yet nothing of any consequence transpires?

How interesting would this be after a while?

If each scene, descriptive narrative or dialogue isn't moving the story forward, does it really need to be there?

In Conclusion

Writing can be frustrating, and you will have days when you’re not in the mood or you have writer’s block – see my article 5 Writing Exercises to Overcome Writer's Block for tips to beat any blocks to your creativity – but a crucial writing tip is to persevere and not give up.

There is a massive sense of achievement when you make progress, and it will only highlight why you love to write.

By applying these 5 simple steps to improve your writing style and reading books on the subject, you will greatly enhance your ability to become the writer you aspire to be and finding your own writing style and technique to tell your story.

I can help if you need any of the following services through my book editorial website where I offer proofreading, copy-editing, or ebook formatting.