Writing Tips for the Beginning Writer – Part One

If you are here, you have probably wondered if you have what it takes to be a writer.  If you want to be successful writer, there are several writing tips that you need to “make” your own.

Tip Number 1 – Fundamentals

As with any other career, having a good set of fundamental tools, or talents, is absolutely necessary – and writing is no different.

As a carpenter wields his hammer and saw to create a house or a book case, a writer wields his spelling and grammar to create a novel or an article.

Regardless of the language you speak, make sure you can write it.  While some will say that you have to be perfect in all you write, others will say that you have to write in the same way that your readers talk.  The point is that you do not want to come off as an uneducated writer, and more importantly, you do not want to come off as a condescending writer.

Do not be afraid to go back to the basics of writing.  Take your dictionary off your bookshelf and put it on your desktop.  Go and buy a thesaurus and while you are at it, buy a copy of The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.  If you have your old college textbooks, find the ones from your English courses.

After you have practiced the fundamentals of writing by yourself, consider a college course or a continuing education course in creative writing.  Your skill as a writer can only benefit from the honest critiques of others, just as a carpenter’s skills are improved during his time as a journeyman.

It has been said, “There is wisdom in the counsel of many.”  This maxim applies to more than just writers, but I personally believe it should be the writer’s prayer.  Here is why.  How many times have you finished a story or an article or a chapter to a book and you needed to know – you just NEEDED to know – that what you wrote is NOT a piece of garbage?  As rewarding as writing can be, it can also be quite lonely.  The most important fundamental tool you can have is a strong support system.  That is why you should join a writers’ group, either online or down the street.  You will be able to learn from the wisdom of other writers as well as from the wisdom that comes from sharing what you know.

I have mentioned only a few of the fundamental tools of the beginning writer, but I have mentioned only those that I have found to be the most useful. 

While I can not promise you that using these writing tips will make you an overnight, filthy rich writer, I can promise you that using these writing tips will help you determine if you have what it takes to be a writer and whether or not you will want to continue writing.