AD- This is a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.
Writing is a skill, and it can be a hard one to master. Although many people can write, there’s a big difference between a good piece of writing- and an amazing one!
As a freelance content writer, I love to find ways to constantly improve my writing. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, and I started writing for my blog over 5 years ago.
When I look back on some of my old posts, the writing really makes me cringe- and I’m sure I’ll feel the same about my writing now in 5 years time.
As a writer, you are always honing and perfecting your skills- and even those with 10, 20 or 30 years experience will be finding ways to constantly improve their writing.
In this blog post, I’ve put together 5 tips to constantly improve your writing. If you’re a blogger, freelancer, poet, content writer or author, I hope you find a helpful idea in this post to develop your writing!
There are 5 key ways to constantly improve your writing. This includes:
- Read, read, read
- Take a course
- Write in different formats
- Get feedback
- Practice makes perfect!
Let’s take a look at these tips in a little more detail…
1. Read, read, read
If you want to constantly improve your writing, I think reading is so important! For example, I love to read other people’s blog posts when I need a bit of inspiration for my own blog.
Some of my favourite ideas have come from reading books that I love or picking up a new read from my local library. Reading words by a blogger or author you admire can also help you understand different writing styles.
You might try to emulate the writing style of one of your favourite authors or you might see a turn of phrase that you use in your own work.
It’s not about plagiarising someone else’s writing. It’s about ingesting ideas, admiring a particular way of writing and using it to influence and improve your own writing as you grow as a writer.
2. Take a course
There are lots of free or affordable courses about writing on the web, including long training courses or tutorials that are only an hour long.
I recently spoke with a fellow freelancer about how she spends her time, and she takes courses to constantly improve her skills, using sites such as Peak Freelance.
I love this idea! I’ll definitely be spending any quiet periods learning and honing my writing skills when I get the chance. If you’re a blogger or freelancer, this will also make your work more appealing to clients.
3. Write in different formats
As a writer, I find it so helpful to write in different formats, for different audiences and different purposes. For example, I might write a post that’s light-hearted and simple for my blog one day, and a well-researched article the next.
I also try to write some fiction just for myself and I regularly do bits of social media writing for my clients, which gives me a good variety of writing projects to improve my skills.
If you’re an author, why not start a blog? Or if you provide written translation services for clients, try writing prose in a different language to stretch your skill-set!
It’s all about opening your mind and your writing to help you understand how to write with different aims and purposes in mind.
4. Get feedback
As much as we all hate to receive negative feedback, sometimes it can be that feedback that helps us take our writing to the next level.
It’s important to get feedback whenever you can. If you’ve received a rejection for a writing opportunity, ask the client if they have any pointers or apply for a similar opportunity to constantly improve your skills.
It can be hard, but don’t be deterred by feedback or revisions on your writing. Feedback from experienced editors will improve your piece, and it’s always a good idea to get an external opinion on your writing- especially if you’ve re-read it hundreds of times!
5. Practice makes perfect
When it comes to writing, practice makes perfect. It might sound cliché, but it’s important to practice your skills as often as possible.
This is easier for some writers than others. If you write as a hobby, you might find it hard to motivate yourself to put pen to paper or you might not feel inspired.
However, getting into a regular habit is the best way to constantly improve your writing. For example, you could make it into a daily habit or you could set aside time every weekend to work on your writing projects.
If writing is your job, you will be writing everyday. However, make sure to push yourself and write in different formats or about new topics to practice a range of skills. Every piece of writing is different, and it can be seen as a unique opportunity to practice your skills.
Do you have any tips to constantly improve your writing? What do you like to do to improve your writing? What’s your favourite form of writing?
Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below 🙂
Happy reading x
Not-So-Modern Girl 
Great tips, I always try to learn every day and improve. Reading other successful writers. Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you! I think it’s so important to read and write as much as possible- and a variety of content too x
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I’m so glad you mentioned reading; I’ve encountered quite a lot of people who want to write or work in a way that involves writing and they don’t read (either they don’t think they need to or they don’t want to). These are really useful tips; I’m going to look into a few courses!
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Thank you! Yes I think it’s so important, especially reading a variety of material whenever possible 🙂 thank you for sharing your experiences Molly, I completely agree xx
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Thanks, I am new to the writing world. These are great suggestions.
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Thank you Christina 🙂
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These are great tips for improving your writing. I need to start reading more in order to improve my writing, there are so many writing styles I would like to try x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
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That sounds great Lucy 🙂 thank you for sharing your thoughts x
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I love your tip about writing in different formats. That’s a really great idea – by playing with form, tone, or content, you’re figuring out how to find your voice in any format or genre.
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That’s so true! Thank you for commenting Katie 🙂 x
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I think most of my improvements have come from using extensions for spelling and grammar checkers. After a while I started realising what some of my common mistakes were
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I think that’s a great way to improve your writing, thank you for sharing 🙂
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Brilliant tips.
You can’t be a good writer if you aren’t a reader.
I write radio news for a living, I love having the time and space to write differently on here
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That sounds great! Yes I think finding new places and ways to write, thank you for sharing Sarah xx
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We agree, reading and practicing are the best ways to get better.
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I think so too 🙂
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Great tips. I am back to reading pretty much every day now and I am loving it.
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Me too! I love it too x
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Some excellent tips here, for me the no.1 is read read and more reading, the other thing I do is also listen to talk radio stations to improve my language.
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Thank you! Yes I think that can really help 🙂
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This is so helpful! Writing in different formats is a great tip. It challenges you to try different styles and to improve your skills. Reading and taking courses are also wonderful ideas. Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you so much for reading, I agree that challenging your mind is so important 🙂 I love the idea of taking courses- I’m going to do this soon to improve my skills!
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Great tips! I’m a big reader but never considered that it may help my writing!
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I think it’s so important, the two go together for sure 🙂
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These are some really great tips to help you improve your writing. Writing in a journal can also help! Thank you for sharing your good suggestions!
Lauren.
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That’s very true, putting pen to paper can be so beneficial. Thank you for sharing your thoughts x
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Writing in different formats is an important one. I’ve just started writing in notebooks again, to plan my content and get things straight in my head.
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I like that idea, I’ve started writing in notebooks again too- I find it so helpful x
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I think reading is so important, including reading a variety of styles and genres, such as essays, articles, fiction, etc. Also, writing practice, even if nobody reads it. Trying things out on the page helps you to develop your own personal, unique style. Great and usefult post! : )
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Thank you so much! Yes I think we need to get into the habit of writing for ourselves, and in lots of different forms. Not all writing has to go somewhere, but it can be an excellent way to practice our skills 🙂 thank you for commenting xx
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These are all great tips! I think reading was a major dealbreaker for me, but writing in different formats sound so helpful, will have to try it!
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Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed the post! I agree that writing and reading go hand in hand x
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Awesome practical tips for us to improve our writing skills. I strongly believe that for one to become a great writer, one has to read alot. It is from reading that we gain insights, perspectives and different writing styles; not to mention increase in vocabulary. Thanks for sharing the useful links to classes that may help with our writing.
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Yes I think reading is so important- we learn so much, without even realising it sometimes 🙂 thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts!
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Very well said…read, learn, practice, get feedback and improve. The points summarised here really helpful 🙂✌👌
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Getting feedback is so important! Thank you so much 🙂
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Thank you so much for this post. Some really great tips and advice. I’m always looking for different tips to help my writing. A brilliant post.
Clem x
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Thank you so much Clementine 🙂 x
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These are great. I would add one more secret tip: Review other people’s writing.
When you review other people’s writing, it lights up do’s and don’ts in your subconscious so that when you are editing your own writing, they pop out of the page at you.
If you know the writer or the writer is open to it, you can send the reviews as feedback and help you both.
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That’s a fantastic idea! I do a little editing as part of one of my jobs, so hopefully that will come in useful down the line. I appreciate the comment, thank you so much 🙂
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Great tips! I have been working as a freelance writer for a number of years now and the biggest thing that I’ve learned is that we have to be open to keep learning – it never ends! I try to make time in my schedule every week to learn and develop a little more, whether it’s about writing itself, about the niches that I work in, or about the business side of being a writer.
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It’s great to connect! It never ends, that’s so true. I’ve only been a freelance writer (full-time) for 6 months and I want to constantly learn new skills and improve my writing 🙂 that’s a fantastic idea, thank you for sharing!
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Wow great post and tips on how to improve writing. Practice and learning definitely strengthens us. Thank you!
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Thank you! I think so too x
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I shall have a look at the Peak Freelance video to see how it could help me. Great ideas, as always!
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Thank you Jamie 🙂
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