I Wrote New Content for 30 Days

Here’s what I learned about becoming a better writer

I write thousands of words a day for my clients. Every day, I write anywhere between 11 and 17 articles for publication in various formats. I write book chapters, blogs, press releases, and marketing content.

It’s my job, so how could I need to add on more writing to get better? Shouldn’t I already be good at what I do?

Even if you write every day for work or for yourself, dedicating time to focus on that work and improve it is different than getting through a set number of tasks. Winging it and hoping the editor corrects it is different than taking the time to pull out the AP/MLA/Chicago/APA handbooks to check your formatting and actually find the answer to any grammar questions you have.

Within the last month, I took more time to answer questions I had, like how to use I.E. correctly versus E.G., when a comma is sometimes excluded despite typical grammatical rules, and the differences between MLA (which I learned in school) compared to AP (which is most often used in media publication). Much of that is stylistic, and in my writing, you will proudly see the serial comma.

So, how have my last 30 days of self-reflection and grammar review helped? Here are three things that changed.

1. My grammar habits improved

It’s my job, so how could I need to add on more writing to get better? Shouldn’t I already be good at what I do?

That voice inside my head that said I was perfect was dead wrong. Spoken English is much different than the way you write professionally. I’ve written professionally for over a decade (meaning it’s my full-time job), but it wasn’t until the last couple of years that I went all in.

Writing content over the last 30 days, I put a greater focus on actually taking the time to clear up any grammar misconceptions I had. When you write professionally, you write for your client. Clients can be wrong (and often are). I realized that I was making many mistakes that more knowledgeable people would not, like leaving a preposition at the end of a sentence or having the wrong use of a question word (even when it might be normal in daily speech).

For grammar and spelling, I installed Grammarly Premium (a great tax write-off for writers, by the way) and actually checked its review of my work. It’s not always right, but it has caught some minor issues that I should have seen myself. It’s also fantastic for correcting passive voice, which I do tend to use often.

If you prefer writing to a specific handbook’s requirements, you can download the MLA/APA/Chicago/AP handbooks online. I highly advise the APA handbook for medical writing, while I tend to use MLA or AP in daily writing for clients. Chicago is an odd one to me, but it sometimes comes up. If you are planning to write professionally, having at least a basic knowledge of these guides helps.

2. My niche(s) became more apparent

I don’t think that anyone should be stuck in one niche topic, but it is good to write for many days on end and to explore different topics to see what you do write about most. I tend to write about health, freelancing, and equality issues, but there are other areas that I’d also like to explore.

Seeing what I do now helps me decide how to expand on my content. Looking at the stats here and elsewhere allows me to see what my audience expects.

3. My focus became less on the structure and more on my voice

I’m a ghostwriter for my day job and writing for myself is much different than writing for a client. Initially, I approached writing for myself like I would any other job: I chose a topic, set up an outline, found keywords, and started writing.

That education in how to format and write for media has helped with getting into publications here, for example, but I also found that I needed to develop my personal voice more. It’s simple to write a research paper with facts, but expressing yourself is a different skill set.

Writing about my personal experiences is more exposure than I’m used to, so I found myself talking around issues I was bringing up at first. Now, I’m focusing on speaking to my audience, thinking about their questions, answering them, and adding my humor and voice into the piece. That’s the way it should be because I want you to know me as much as you know my work, even though we may not connect outside of this article.

If you want to be an excellent writer, I believe you have to continue learning. I know that I’ve learned a lot since I began working in the field in 2010, and I will continue to grow as I engage with more audiences and clients. Whether you’re just starting out or are a long-time writer, taking time to reflect on your writing is a good way to improve and finesse your skills.

I’m interested in what you have to say. If you enjoyed this article, consider leaving a comment and following for more.