The Worst Piece of Writing Advice

These 7 quick tips will get you further

I’m guilty of it just like every other writer on this platform.

The best way to become the writer you want to be is to write more.

You’ll never become better, never earn more or gain more traction until you put lots of content out there.

Lots of quantity is the secret to becoming the writer you want to be.

Doing more of something is not the only ingredient for success

Let’s break this down and look at things in our lives where we got better simply by doing it more.

When I wanted to become a speaker, I didn’t simply stand up and start giving more speeches. I didn’t go all over town and start speaking. I actually joined Toastmasters which is a community-based public speaking organization.

For every week for nearly four years in college, I attended my Toasmaters meeting and yes, gave speeches. I gave speeches that I wrote and I stood up and gave impromptu speeches on the spot. Did I become a better speaker? Yes. Was it because I spoke a lot? Not quite.

At Toastmasters, I had the benefit of studying public speaking and studying other speakers. There was actually a curriculum and each week Toastmasters wanted you to focus on a different aspect of speech giving. One week you would work on tone and the next week you would work on hand gestures. You would give a personal story one week and a story about a current affairs issue the next week.

When I did speak, I would get evaluated on my speeches. People would stand up and give me feedback. Yes, there’s a correct way to give feedback and fellow Toastmasters gave me feedback using the sandwich method. They would squeeze in constructive criticism in between positive attributes of my speech giving.

Finally, I got to see other speakers on a weekly basis stand up and give knockout speeches. Yes, some speeches bombed but many people gave memorable speeches. Every speech I heard helped me become a better speaker in my own right.

7 Tips That Don’t Include Writing More

Yes, while I put in the work to become the best speaker I could be, there were many other things that were going on other than speaking more.

Same with writing. While I’ve been writing for years, I didn’t improve as a writer because I wrote more.

Writing more is a myth with a morsel of truth in it. Yes, you have to write more but if you don’t improve your writing, you’re not going to get better at it.

You don’t become a better pianist by playing more piano. You don’t become a better speaker by speaking more. And you don’t become a better writer simply by writing more.

Here’s what you can do to become a better writer than you are today.

1. Review your writing.

Write and leave your piece there for a couple days. Go back and read your writing like it’s not your written piece. Think you’re editing someone else’s work and edit from another person’s point of view. Be your own editor but edit like you’re editing someone else’s work.

2. Have someone else look at your writing.

I just finished with a six week long mentorship program and I am exhausted. You can read about my whole project here where I mentored dozens of writers at one time.

I offered to review and offer edits to writers around these parts. It worked for many of them because they received objective third-party feedback from a fellow writer: me. Many found the process helpful and writers like Donnette had favorable things to say like this about it.

I won’t be doing this again for awhile but there are people in your life who can give you their feedback and suggestions for improvement.

3. Be aware of your analytics

Knowing how your pieces do will be helpful for you to improve. What’s working and what’s not. The posts that perform better, gets more reads and more comments probably means that you’ve struck a cord with your reader.

Use your analytics to determine what resonates with your readers and plan on doing more of that. Your analytics is your insider’s tool to help you observe what people want to read.

4. Take note of what’s working for other writers

Don’t read other writers to hate on them or feel inadequate. Why is another writer experiencing success? What are they doing that you’re not? What’s working for them?

Put on critical lenses to evaluate what’s working for fellow writers. Take note of topics, writing styles, voice and format. Learn what’s working for them by reading to learn.

5. Pay attention to feedback from readers

Your comments and your emails about your writing are gold.

If people respond to your writing, highlight an idea, or find something objectionable in your writing, you want to take that feedback into account.

If you get messages from your readers because you’ve started a mailing list, pay attention to what people want. Figure out what they’re struggling with or what interests them and write more content along those lines.

If they make comments about your style, voice, formatting or structure, take note of those as well.

6. Implement feedback and tips

If you’re a writer who gets feedback, strategies and writing tips, here’s an idea. Use them in your future posts. Use current feedback to get better at what you do.

If you’re reading an article on how to write better articles, don’t read and ignore. Read and implement. There are many teachers available around here who are sharing what’s working and not working with you. Don’t think of their advice as eye candy but use it as a tool for improvement.

7. Think of every piece as an experiment

You write pieces, get feedback, implement that feedback and look at the results. You are learning from each piece, improving each piece and trying to get better each time.

Every time you publish, you’re getting feedback. Use the feedback in real time to improve your writing. Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.

The best writers don’t just write more

The best writers aren’t the best because they write more. If you’re not paying attention to your writing, getting feedback on your writing or being more aware of what’s working and what’s not, things are not going to get better.

You become a better writer by focusing on improving as a writer. Yes, more words will help push you forward but do it with feedback, learning and insight.

It’s not just write and publish. It’s write, learn, implement and publish better pieces.

Tired of all the “write more” advice? Help our community of writers become better writers by adding your thoughts below.