5 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer

What you think is helping your writing, may be the thing that is killing it.

I’m not the best writer. I’m not the most consistent writer. I struggle with severe perfectionism and anxiety that makes writing a daunting and paralyzing task. Writing turns into a chore. I sit at my desk, pen in my hand, or with my fingertips resting on my keyboard, and it’s like pulling teeth. I can’t get the words out of my head and onto paper.

Writing can be really hard.

Here are some tips to make it a little easier to accomplish.

Read a lot.

Read what you love. Read things you hate. Read everything you can. Understanding different mediums of storytelling will help you refine your own writing.

I know. I just wrote a post on becoming a better reader, and in that post I encourage people to focus on reading the things they love, the things that inspire them.

Writers are different. There’s a difference between becoming a better reader and becoming well-read. Writers may find it easier to experiment with style, syntax, and plot tools if they are well-read. If you read something you hate, try to figure out why you hate it, as opposed to putting it down because you had a strong negative reaction.

Was it the sentence structure? Was it a specific trope? Take the time to figure out what specifically about the book you disliked.

Make it accessible.

Making writing a daily habit is a quick way to build skill. It’s also easier said than done.

The key to building a habit is to make it accessible. Make it easy to do.

If you spend a lot of time in bed when you get off work (I can’t blame you if you do. I’m the same way.) then keep a pen and a notepad in your bed. This way, you can fall into bed and write a paragraph or two.

If you spend your lunch break in your car, keep a notebook in there, too. That way you can write whatever comes to your head.

A lot of people think writing is sitting at a desk and opening whatever the preferred writing document is, but it’s not. Writing doesn’t have to look a certain way. In fact, I started carrying my iPad with me so I can write whenever possible. I don’t use a fancy app, either. I use Notes. The formatting is awful, but writing is better than not writing.

Limiting the number of steps you have to take to write will increase your likelihood of making it a habit.

Limit distractions.

We’ve all fallen victim to endless social media scrolls.

Guess what?

These algorithms are psychologically designed to keep you awake and hold your attention. Don’t feel bad. They’re conspiring against you.

Turn your notifications off. All of my social media notifications are off so I don’t get distracted. I know myself. I cannot ignore a notification, no matter how hard I try. So I made it to where I don’t even see it. In fact, if I’m writing, my phone is not within arm’s reach. I make my phone harder to get to so I’m less likely to get distracted.

Television is also a big distractor for me. I love melting into my pillows and watching anime, Grey’s Anatomy, or Supernatural.

My TV is unplugged. Putting that extra step there that makes watching TV more difficult means I’m less likely to do it. I know that’s lazy, but it works. If it works, that’s all that matters.

Don’t obsess over the finished product.

Focus on the process, not the end. This is especially relevant for those who are writing their first draft and are still figuring out what the process looks like.

While writing, thinking about how the thousands of words you are writing could be included in a published novel is a quick way to get overwhelmed. For me, this triggers my perfectionism and kills my creativity. Manifesting a published novel is fine, but not during a writing session.

Take it one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time.

A first draft doesn’t have to have an unpredictable plot, in-depth dynamic characters, or insane worldbuilding.

A first draft just has to exist.

Fill your cup.

Writing is creating. Don’t undermine the mental energy it takes to create a whole universe with unique characters. Not only do you have to put all of this creative energy into worldbuilding and outlining, but you have to find the most effective way to communicate it.

That is exhausting. Creative people cannot create and create and create.

They have to put energy into themselves. You cannot keep giving if you have nothing left to give.

Filling your cup can look like a lot of things, and it varies person to person.

I take one day a week, typically Sundays, and I pick an activity. This could be hiking, painting, playing video games, reading, going to museums, or crocheting. I spend the day doing that activity. I do not write.

I step away from creating and carve out intentional time for myself. This one day a week truly helps me rebalance. In fact, I also carve out intentional time during the week to do things that I know help me feel better. During the week this often includes a cup of tea, meditating, journaling, or an evening in bed reading.

Burn out is a real and scary thing. It’s important to take care of yourself and give yourself room to feel inspired.

— — — —

Those are my tips for becoming a better writer. I could probably think of a dozen more, but I don’t want this to be too long.

It’s also ironic that I’m writing this post because it was supposed to go up Thursday. It’s Saturday. I have a lot going on in my personal life that made it hard to write this week.

And that’s okay.

Be kind to yourself. Be forgiving. Trust that you love writing enough to come back to it time and time again.

Do you have any tips for becoming a better writer? In what ways do you think you fill your cup? I’m always up for trying new things.