3 Stories That Will Immediately Improve Your Writing
Avoid discouragement and enhance your literary acumen
A week into my new hobby of writing and I have already learned a valuable lesson.
I have a long freaking way to go.
Yet instead of feelings of discouragement as I read other artfully crafted pieces, I’ve come to appreciate the Medium community’s eagerness to help one another. If you’re new to the world of writing, I hope you have come to find the same “glass half full” point of view as I.
To play my part as a helpful member of the Medium community, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight three stories I’ve recently read that are already improving my writing acumen.
To-That-Very
Our first stop is with Linda Caroll and her “3 Words That Weaken Your Writing.” I’m an absolute sucker for being as wordy as possible, peppering my stories with all the unnecessary fillers. As you’ll find, Linda’s piece is on a mission to bring conciseness and strength to your stories.
Linda helps you build literary strength by eliminating the words that are weak: to, that, and very.
In fact, I eliminated three uses of “that” during the introduction of this very piece. If you feel that your writing lacks conciseness and clarity, I’d recommend brushing up on the principles covered in Linda’s attached story.
Nailing the Use of Commas, Semicolons, And Colons
Do you feel like commas, semicolons, and colons are inserted into your stories on a willy-nilly basis? If so, May Y. Yang is here to help.
In her story, “Easy Comma, Semicolon, and Colon Tips”; May answers all of the uncertainties around the use of these punctuations. I’ll admit, it’s going to take me a while to nail the appropriate use of these three; however, the guide May provides is the exact tool I need to master their appropriate positioning.
(Apologies in advance for the incorrect usage of these punctuations in this very piece.)
Give Yourself a Chance to Go Viral
While going viral with a story may seem like a pipe-dream for a new writer; the fact is viral pieces are written every day. Enter Mohammed Nadir and his piece, “Avoid These 7 Things if You Want Your Article to Go Viral.”
While we will not cover all 7 topics here, I must make note of item number 1 — Not getting straight to the point. Given my struggles with conciseness, I’m taking this advice to put additional time and attention into the introductions of my future stories.
I highly recommend giving Mohammed’s story a read so you can dive headlong into all 7 of his viral enhancing points.
Final Thoughts
Consistently writing is difficult, especially if you have become discouraged by floundering story stats. Ditch the discouragement for a more positive mindset; by finding encouragement through the talented writing community that is Medium.
As demonstrated above, plenty of members are pouring their expertise into those who need the extra direction. There’s no shame in admitting the need for improvement and seeking the resources to become a better writer.
Who knows, the lessons learned may just propel you, or I, to write the next viral story.
I can’t think of something much more encouraging than that.
If you enjoyed this piece and would like to read more of my work, I’d like to recommend the following:
