3 Tips to Become a Stronger Writer

You can learn to become a stronger writer and connect with your audience. It just takes time, practice and some good advice.

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The first thing I often hear when meeting clients for the first time is “I’m a terrible writer.”

Straight out of the gate, they are quick to dismiss their abilities. And, to be honest, I’m almost always a little bit shocked, because they are fluent communicators in person and are quite engaging. I can tell they have the words and have sound ideas to share, but for some reason or another, there’s a block to getting those thoughts from brain to paper.

I often wonder, is it that they are truly bad at writing (doubtful), or do they just not know the rules or lack the confidence and that is what’s holding them back from being the excellent communicators they clearly are.

See, I believe everyone can be a writer.
It won’t happen overnight and you will have to work at it, but it is possible – if you know the rules (and then learn to break them).

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, I taught high school English. It was an interesting time, where I learned that I loved to teach and share knowledge, but that I wasn’t quite so fond of classroom management or shepherding hormonal high schoolers through books that they didn’t love.

But I did learn how to teach writing. I watched these gangly and reluctant kids stumble through the words until they learned to soar on them. And every single kid in that class came away a better, stronger writer. And they knew it. They had learned how to play within the guidelines I set and then how to wield the language in order to express themselves.

I didn’t concern myself with their content that year – they could write whatever they wanted.

As long as they wrote.
As long as they practiced crafting and whittling down sentences until they could be whittled no more.
As long as they put pen to paper and shared their ideas.

I wanted them to realize that they could utilize the power of words to their benefit.

And I want you to know that, too.

Like I said, I believe everyone can be a writer (including you).

Here are 3 tips to becoming a stronger writer to get you started

1. Write in the active voice

When you write in the active voice, you are giving power to your words. Your sentences become direct and declarative, instead of weak and, well, passive. There’s no wishy-washiness to them – only strength.

Active: Bob hit the ball.
Passive: The ball was hit by Bob.

There’s two things you should notice right away.

The first is that in the active voice, the subject (Bob) is performing the action (hit). The sentence is clear, direct, and to the point. You know exactly who is doing what. There’s no ambiguity.

The second is that the active voice uses less words to get the point across. It’s concise. It’s neat. There’s no unnecessary verbiage to muddle what is happening.

Active: Researchers found that reading out loud to children increases their attention span.
Passive: Studies have determined that attention span increases when children are read to out loud.

The passive voice (whether used intentionally or unintentionally) can often create a convoluted and jumbled thought. It’s hard to know who the subject is and who is performing the action, and while you can probably work out what is happening in the sentence, it requires more effort from the reader to do so.

The active voice inherently creates less work for your audience to understand what you mean. When you write this way, your messaging is clear and people can connect with it right away. It allows them to readily engage with your thoughts and want to continue reading.

2. Use less words.
One of the hallmarks of solid writing (unless you are Ernest Hemingway - he’s a rule breaker) is concise sentences.

“Omit needless words,” Strunk and White exhort in their foundational writing guide, The Elements of Style.

(I’m pretty sure every English major has a copy of this book on their bookshelf, because it’s just that important).

”Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences . . . This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell,” Strunk and White (emphasis mine) admonish us.

It’s the one piece of advice I heard over and over and over again through my university years, as I worked my way through a bachelor’s and master’s degree in professional writing. Then, again, it was driven home by my professors in journalism school.

These words are a cornerstone to learning how to manipulate and utilize the English language well. You can learn to get the same point across more vividly, more concretely, with less words.

Here’s an example:
Original: His brother, who is part of the same orchestra, plays the oboe.
Revised: His brother plays the oboe in the same orchestra.

The sentence is cleaned up, the “who is” is omitted because it’s just not necessary, and the structure is tightened by getting the verb closer to the subject.

These are subtle changes that have big impacts on your message.

I recommend that you purchase your own copy of this book  – it’s a short but informative read and will help you in your journey as a writer.

3. Write like you talk

Absolutely no one wants to read a bunch of jargon. Littering your writing with big-ticket vocabulary words is not the most effective way to showcase your intelligence or connect with your readers. In fact, it can be a turnoff and cause people to stop listening to you. Often, just using plain language is often the better way to attract your reader. I don’t mean make it boring. I mean, use the language you would use in every day conversation. Because the best writing sounds as if you were listening to someone talk. You’re hearing them in their element and it becomes an invitation to a conversation or a story.

When you write like that, people keep coming back because it feels authentic.

Your writing should sound like you talk. Whether you are blogging, writing internal emails or even taking a swing at social media posts, it’s important to establish and maintain your own voice. Your readers want to know YOU and know what it’s like to talk to you. They want to feel a connection to the words.

So the next time you write something, stop and read it out loud to yourself. Don’t worry, no one is listening (except maybe your Alexa). If it feels stilted or weird coming out of your mouth, then that’s not your voice. And if it doesn’t sound like something you would say, then it needs a revision.

Revisions are key to making your work as strong as possible.

I don’t put anything out in the world without at least a dozen revisions or tweaks.

I’m always questioning my word choice and usage, to make sure that I am truly conveying what I mean through the text.

William Zinnser, author of another of my favorite writing books, On Writing Well, says that “rewriting is the essence of writing,” and asserts that while words may not always flow freely, they can be crafted and shaped into what you want them to be. And it makes them come alive. “Good writing has an aliveness that keeps the reader reading from one paragraph to the next . . . using the English language in a way that will achieve the greatest clarity and strength.”

This is exactly what we want – clarity and strength in your writing!

While it’s certainly no masterclass in writing, the tips here will help you start to clarify your messaging and support you on your way to becoming a better writer. So start practicing! Put pen to paper (or fingers on the keyboard) and give it a try. Use the books I’ve linked above – I’ve learned so much from them – and start developing those skills, one sentence at a time.