Guest Post by Veronica May: 8 Uncommon Habits That Make You A More Professional Writer

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This is a guest post by the talented Veronica May, an experienced editor and blogger at A-Writer. She has written for multiple online publications, where she strives to share her knowledge and opinions. Her main focus is covering a variety of topics in the field of education.

Although her post focuses on writing in general, I found her excellent points equally valuable to bloggers and authors alike. Enjoy!

8 Uncommon Habits That Make You A More Professional Writer

We may all write the same content and even the same topic, but what separates us from others is the approach we use to convey that message. What makes a writer good at his work has a lot to do with how they express themselves and very little with what they are expressing. Most of the topics you are going to read about have been written. They are already out there. All you are needed to do is say it differently. To do this, you are going to need to bring out that unique feature every writer is blessed with—that special thing that makes you the right person for task.
The number of years in the industry do account for a certain level of maturity in writing skills but let that not put you off. New, amateur writers have quickly turned into professional writers by paying close attention to the little things that most writers ignore or find frivolous.

 

Believe in what you are writing

This bears repeating. You cannot expect your reader to believe what you are saying if your article itself does not sound genuine. Understand why you are writing and then with conviction, sit down and start penning it down. Your writing needs to portray an expression of sincerity and honesty that is woven in every word of your writing. Such that the readers can feel that what they are being told is the truth that you believe.

Have a desire to serve

Your writing may reveal a lot about your personality. And sometimes you might find yourself caught up in sharpening and harnessing your writing simply to convey your personality instead of providing what the audience needs. A willingness to serve the audience, the readers should be the center of your writing. Dedicate more time understanding them and designing content that meet their expectation. You will find that eventually, by putting your audience before your vanity, your personality will still be created in even ways you did not even imagine. Putting your audience first is almost always a very rewarding thing to do.

Practice makes perfect

This cannot be emphasized enough. You want to get better at using parts of speech evenly in your writing, then the old traditional motto still stands unrivalled. Practice makes perfect. You will not wake up one day with the mind of a writer and the hands of a typist. No. You will need to gradually, step-by-step nurture the skills. It will take time, but the effort you invest over this time will prove to be of incalculable value.

Read, read and read some more

You want to be able to relay messages clearly and eloquently, then research on the things that feed the skills of elocution in writing. Watch and read how to they achieve their goals in ensuring that the message is received in its intended meaning without any elements of its organized being misconstrued. Professional writers take the time to read, explore and discover new horizons. They do not get comfortable at any level because their writing pushes them to seek more.

Use tools to simplify

You do not want to saturate your brain by reading everything at once or overload your computer with files of webpages you saw online but could not find the time to read. Use productivity tools such as evernote or mypocket or google+ or dropbox to help manage your space better. The cloud has a lot to offer these days and you do not even need to buy these external storage devices which often get misplaced and hinder further progress at the time you need it most.

Make time for family and friends

Writing, as we know it, is probably the one profession that will eventually alienate you from people if you let it. Professional writers seek support from the circle of friends by keeping in touch with them regularly. By doing this, their minds get to take a break from all the loneliness they experienced in their writing world. This time away from writing can be just the ingredient you need to refresh your thinking for your next writing gig.

Be adventurous

Do not be afraid of trying out new styles or writing approaches. Be brave and take that insanely crazy idea on your mind and put it on paper. You might be surprised at how it will be received. Yes, it might invite oodles of criticisms. Or it might just be the next cool thing. The only way to find out is to give it a go.

Keep it simple

You do not want to take your audience off course with jargon and difficult vocabulary. Also you do not want to shorten your sentences such that the meaning gets hidden so deep, a reader has to read it six times to get it. Simple is the new professional.

Professional writers carve out a niche and a place for themselves because they are not afraid of being uncommon or going off the road of normality. They are not afraid of shading outside the lines. This is what makes their writing thrive.