Writing Tips for 2017
Be Patient
Writing something that is great takes time and preparation. This can even mean preplanning and research. When writing, the time and effort a person puts into it is what others will get out of it. Remember that your writing reflects how well of a professional you are. When people read material, they should be able to clearly understand what the writer is trying to portray. Writing should look great and be something people are interested in reading. A good writer is able to convey all attributes into their writing skills. If it takes a lot longer than expected, take the time to write something that people will enjoy reading.
Writing Tips
Rough Drafts
The rough draft is an authors outlook of what their final work will be like. This is writing material before the final edit. When writing rough drafts it is suggested that writers work very hard to try to make as little grammar and spelling errors as possible. This will make editing a breeze. Reading the rough draft will give the author an opportunity to see what others experience when they read the material. This is a great opportunity to make changes and corrections.
As a rule of thumb, I do not read my material the same day that I complete my rough drafts. I read over the material the next day after i've given my mind some time to rest. I notice that when I read rough drafts the same day that I have the tendacy to overlook mistakes. When I read my material the next day, I can clearly tell when something doesn't sound right.
Learn Grammar Rules
Knowing how to use punctuation correctly and the the correct parts of speech will help writers produce work that is not only correct but professional. I've read many books and written many book reviews for people and I can't help but notice that there are some that have problems with using correct grammar. This is something that is very noticable and if I notice it, I am sure that others will too. There is a lot of free information on the world wide web that will help those starting a writing career and those that are seasoned authors. Trying to second guest whether or not something is right is not the smart thing to do. Often, i've had to research and find out the right way to write material. I would rather take the time to do my reaearch than chance people reading something that does not reflect excellence. There are many simple grammar rules to follow like when to use a comma, colon, or semicolon. There are some that even struggle with writing run-on sentences which are sentences that are way too long. Many do not understand what a real sentence is. If a sentence does not make a complete thought, then its not a sentence. Try researching to find out what nouns, verbs, subjects, and predicates are. If this sounds familiar it probably is. This may be a great time to pull that old English book out or get a new updated one for writers.
Staying on the Subject
It is very important to stay on subjects when writing. It is somewhat confusing when people start out writing about one thing then suddenly there are many different things that could be the title of the content. Sometimes there are things that will need to be mentioned when writing but it is very important to ease quickly back on the subject.
If writing content is about dogs, then there would be no need to discuss cats unless there is a short story about a dog and a cat. Once the cat is mentioned, it should not be mentioned much more. Keeping readers interested in the content title will determine if a reader will continue reading the material. After all they chose to read the content because of the title.
Using Original Content
Content should always be original. It is perfectly alright to research topic areas to learn more but there should never be a time when someone else's work should be copied. This is against copyright rules and writers can get into a lot of trouble with this. I suggest taking points that are important and putting them into your own words.
There are ways that people can tell if someone has used their work. There is software that can be used and other ways right here online. So it pays to do things the honest way. The question is, how would we feel if someone did this to us? Not to mention, search engines like Google know when work has been copied.
Formatting Skills
Its true that writing should sound good and be free of grammar and spelling errors. In addition to writing reading and sounding the way it should, writers should know how to format their work to make it pleasing to the eye. In other words, when people see their work, it looks neat and clean. Very nice formatting includes font that is the same size all the way through. Bullets and numbers should be properly aligned so that everything is nice and professional looking. Paragraphs and headings should all look the same. Subtitles or headings should be either underlined or in bold with a space after the headings. The font should also be a little bit larger than the writing material. If you're an author or are earning money with your writing, I strongly sugglest you take some writing classes if formatting is not your area or hire someone to do this for you. There is information online that can help with learning how to properly format documents and publications.
Proofreading & Editing
All work should be carefully proofread and edited. After the information is carefully formatted, I suggest proofreading two or three times. There have been times when I have proofread material two or three times and still I was able to find mistakes. So carefully take the time to look over each page. Authors should make certain that they are well rested and fully alert so that mistakes are not overlooked. Proofread by slowly and carefully reading the material from start-to-finish. Try correcting any misspelled words or punctuation errors as you are reading. Then repeat this again over and over until you are very confident that your work is very good. Do you have a friend or family member that can read over your material? If you're writitng a book, you could even hire a professional editor and proofreader.
Providing Sub Headings
Providing sub headings allows work to be outlined in a way that readers can better understand the different points that writers are tying to make. I do this by staying on the main point but bringing out different aspects of what I am writing about.
Often when people write two or three big paragraphs, people get bored and sometimes they even get confused. This also allows people to be able to see what they are reading better. They may even want to read over only certain areas that they are interested in.
Summary
Writing great material takes careful careful planning and focusing on what readers need and want to read. If material is not properly edited and proofread, people will not fully comprehend what the author's writing. Sometimes it takes research and the help from professionals to provide professional material. Not only should writing sound good but it should look good. Many can write but seasoned authors provide quality work. Authors should keep in mind that when people read their material, their writing is a reflection of their writing skills. Use the writing tips here and become a better writer in no time.