Writing Skill Refinement
If you are interested in taking on a career as a professional blogger you probably understand that writing is the primary skill involved. Yes, you need to have an understanding of how to manage a website and how to use a writing platform (don’t worry, we’ll delve into that in a later chapter), but writing is the undeniably key skill you must possess and you must be willing to work on consistently. Writing refinement takes a great deal of practice and there will never be a time in your writing career when this practice becomes unnecessary.
Even the greatest writers spend a good deal of time practicing, and some of the best writers will tell you that they look at everything they do as somehow relevant to the practice of writing. A conversation with a passerby can be a study in dialogue, while watching a film can be help you understand the importance of even the subtlest imagery. Writing practice is all around us; it’s just a matter of recognizing it for what it is.
Recognizing opportunities for writing practice, of course, is not always easily accomplished. When you watch a film you may not immediately understand that the solitary fly perched atop a bowl of fruit is intended as a symbol of death or decay. In fact, you may not even notice it is there, and if you do you may just think that someone in the scene left a window open. When you begin perceiving things through the writer’s lens, however, you will start to notice all those seemingly minor details so that you are able to make any connections later on.
So beyond paying close attention to the world around you and thinking of the ways you can make use of a snippet of dialogue, what other ways are there to practice and refine your writing? There are countless methods, and not all will necessarily be appealing to you in particular. Just like the writing process you employ, your practice should also be uniquely your own. Consider the following as both general advice and as individual writing practice strategies and simply adopt what works best for you:
I have found that abiding by the preceding guidelines for writing practice has been extraordinarily helpful for my professional writing career, and I believe that understanding how to use these guidelines in practice can help anyone refine their writing skills and improve their ability to write consistently well.
Whatever You Read, Read It Closely
When I read anything, whether it is a novel, a newspaper, an instructional guide or even the description of a sitcom episode, I try to be mindful of how the piece is written and determine what the writer’s goals were while they were writing the particular piece. This is something that most people have to consciously set out to do, as it can be easy to just pay enough attention so that you just get the “gist” of it. Writers who are attentive while reading the work of others begin to recognize the true depth of a work and can understand how to effectively utilize the many subtle tools available to writers.
When I read something -- especially creative writing, long form journalism and op-ed pieces -- I look for a few things in particular, including:
The structure of a long form piece of journalism is particularly interesting as the author has a lot of options in terms of introducing the subject, providing context, including alternate perspectives and building suspense. The way in which these pieces are structured can be identified through a process similar to reverse engineering, which may help you see how the author initially outlined their article.
I also look for patterns and rhetorical tools in the writing, which can also be a lot of fun. Sometimes you will see that a particular columnist’s heavy reliance on a specific pattern or rhetorical device makes their writing seem stale. Without looking for the pattern, you may not have been able to pinpoint the problem. When you recognize this in the work of others, you will start to see it in your own work as well.
No matter what you read, read it attentively. Pay close attention to every bit of punctuation and try to hear the music of the words when they are read aloud so that when you read your own work you are able to do so critically.
Here is the most common advice writers get from other writers: Write every single day, no matter what.
Writers do not have to adopt some sort of monastic devotion to the art of writing, though some do and it works very well for them. There are stories of great writers doing very odd things and I don’t think they are necessarily suitable for everyone else -– or anyone else, for that matter. An example: Friedrich Schiller, a German poet and philosopher, kept a drawer in his desk filled with rotting apples because the pungent and overwhelming odor helped him focus on his work.
Here is my advice: Just think about writing every single day.
I keep a journal and I write in it just about every day. It is a small, plain notebook that fits neatly in any bag I carry, allowing me to write whenever the spirit moves me. I jot down ideas for blog posts and I write for pages on end about all of the inanities of my life. Sometimes, however, I don’t write in it at all, and that is all right. I simply try to think about writing every day and I end up writing on most days.
The most important thing you can do, however, is to have a creative outlet that allows you to write without it being work. The most surefire way to burn yourself out is to throw all of your energy into your professional work. Ernest Hemingway had a practice that I employ as well: When you complete your writing for the day, always leave a bit left over for the next day so you know where you are heading and where you can start. Essentially, don’t tap the well until it is dry; leave some water at the bottom so that the well is refilled by the next morning.
Read and Revise, But Don’t Agonize
Everything that you publish should be revised to a degree. As I mentioned in an earlier chapter, I do know of writers who believe in the adage that, “the first draft is the best draft,” but even those writers do not submit their work without first lightly editing what they have written. I don’t necessarily recommend this style, but if you can make it work then more power to you.
I will revise an article or post several times over before I submit it to an editor or before I post it to my personal blog. I first look for grammatical errors and make any appropriate changes before re-reading again to look at phrasing and clarity. This works for me, but you should adopt a revising strategy that makes you feel the most comfortable with the work you produce. I will say this, however: There is a risk in revising too much, so be careful and avoid agonizing over your work. No matter how much you revise something it will never be perfect in the eyes of every reader.
Ask For Feedback and Welcome Any Advice (Even When It’s Unsolicited)
When you are ready and you feel confident in your work, ask for feedback as often as possible. Ask your friends and family, other writers and anyone else that is willing and listen carefully to what they say. Ask that they are unflinchingly honest, and accept feedback for what it is: an opportunity to improve your work. Once you are established as a professional blogger, you will get plenty of feedback from readers in the comments section. Engage them, be friendly and always thank them for sharing their opinion, even when they tell you that you are terrible.
When You Make a Mistake, Own It
At some point, you will make a mistake. Whatever mistake you make, own up to it and learn from it. When you write frequently enough there will be a time when a glaring error slips by you and is published for the world to see. Take it in stride, be honest and endeavor not to let it happen again.
If you are going to truly enjoy being a professional writer, you have to appreciate the beauty of the process. Sometimes a piece that you think is the best thing you have ever done will only be read by a handful of people, while a piece you didn’t think all that highly of will go viral and be read in countries where it has to be translated into another language. The result is not what matters; it is the process of writing and refining your skills that makes writing enjoyable. Focus on the process and enjoy each and every moment as it happens.