How to write better

I am Seniha Haksever; I am a writer with published over forty stories. (Excluding any published novels)

Here is some advice on how to become a better writer, tune in with me to dive into this smorgasbord article.

Writing is used in many remote or printing forms nowadays. Without it, nobody can get a task or job done efficiently. Some general practitioners (GPs) and specialists find it daunting to write up medical certificates. Some university students hate to write essays as well. They find it dreadful.

Therefore, if one doesn’t own a passion for writing, they will legitimately hate it. This is understandable. Writing can be difficult. Specially, if it’s the English language. When I was a young kid, I didn’t even know what vocabulary meant. English has been advanced a lot throughout the twentieth century decade.

If one is striving to become a writer with passion and pleasure, they will be talented. I recommend if you have a serious passion for it, go for it. However, if you don’t own any talent, honestly, you will still be a good writer, but you can’t be superior.

That is my honest opinion. Not everybody can write well. I have to admit writing takes a lot of stress, pressure, blood, sweat, and tears to successfully get that first novel published. It could take five to ten years to write one novel. Yes you heard that right. Because every word must count, it requires being perfect with humongous detail.

However, writing can be so entertaining and enjoyable because you get to have the freedom of writing whatever you desire. Anyhow, you just have to be cautious with copyright and illegal news or facts when publishing.

Some ordinary people say that a writing career is impossible. Well this is a false statement. When I applied for my courses at the Australian Writers Centre, I got taught that it really does exist. Just like in, freelance writing or journalism; even a chef needs to write, like the menu. Everybody writes everyday even if it’s just writing the shopping list.

Let’s take a look at the main various forms of writing

• Novels/short stories

• Poetry/quotes

• Reports/letters

• Medical certificates/business documents

• Essays/articles

• Resume/cover letters

Etcetera….

(These listed are all applicable in day to day life)

It will be highly beneficial to undertake a qualified course like a diploma or a bachelor’s degree to achieve in writing these types of writing formats. I personally wrote a dozen of writing pieces by myself so I’m self-taught. I then did some online courses to study the art of writing.

Now let’s take a look at how to write them

Novels/short story

Your novel or short story must construct of four sections:

• Plot

• Complications

• Climax

• Resolution

Obviously, you need to have a title, strong plot points; developed characters with emotion. Emotion is a page-turner rule when writing your characters. It’s what hooks the readers in. Dialogue will make your story move forward. Remember to use speech markers when your characters are speaking.

Detail is essential; but do not misunderstand me, do not write anything that’s unnecessary or anything that will leave your readers disappointed. For example, don’t ever come up with a concept and then finalize your story. Thus, your readers will be left in unanswered questions. So they will never read your book collection/series ever again.

Another tip: If you’re stuck on finding names for your characters or color names to describe a color, just quickly search them on Google. You’re free to print anything that is notable, that will provide you with a good intervention.

Your maximum word count limit is up to you. For a novel, it can be over forty thousand words. For a short story, it can be from five thousand to ten thousand words.

Poetry/quotes

You probably already have cached people writing some poetry or quotes in their posts on Facebook or any other social media platform. It’s pretty straightforward, keep it brief, and use metaphoric techniques when thinking and describing your vocab; choose the right word choice too.

Reports/letters

For a report, if for instance you own an organization at the top of the page your logo can appear; and your address. You can write a small title too. The date and to whom goes at the top. Then your information goes below; and your name so whom it’s from.

For a letter, your details go up the top of the page, the date and whom you’re sending the letter to goes below. After that, you can write: to whom it may concern/dear….. Your text goes below. When completed, at the bottom you may write: yours sincerely/kindly regards; with your full name.

Medical certificates/ business documents

For medical certificates, when you’re at work, for example, if you were to work at a clinic, you will receive the copies of the medical certificates, so you simply have to follow the questions and answer them on your patient’s behalf; then sign off your endorsement.

Business documents vary so they might be for a plan, book, financial records, contracts or policies of the certain office. If you’re a business administrator you will be familiar with these documents.

Essays/articles

For an essay, you need to create your introduction, body and conclusion. Do your spacing with a series of separate paragraphs about the topic that you’re going to discuss to your audience. DO NOT write large chunk of paragraphs. It MUST be in third person point of view so use: he, she, was.

For your article, this type of writing is usually for freelance writers or journalists; so in short, for news writing for the media. You can use first person or third person point of view. So the first person is: I, me, and you. Add in relevant quotations and case studies as well.

Resume/cover letters

A resume is a set of profile documents that lists all your details with your work and education history. It is divided into six sections. At the top, it contains your:

• Name

• Date of birth (DOB)

• Address

• Phone number

• Email

Then it slides down to your:

• Career objective

• Skills and abilities

• Interests and hobbies

• Education

• Employment history

• References

You must answer them all. So that you can give a copy to your preferred employer to apply for a job that you wish. The purpose of this is to give a positive impression about who you are to your employer.

A cover letter is quite the same thing as a resume but this time it is written as a letter. So the employers name and address goes at the left hand side. Your own details, so who it’s from, your mobile and email goes at the right hand side. Then you write to whom it may concern/dear, sir/madam. Your body of paragraphs goes underneath. And to conclude the closure of the letter, you say thank you and you write your full name.

Reading/writing (a lot)

The famous author of on writing by Stephen King claims that: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.”― Stephen King. No other words are necessary. This is the truth for every writer. Reading and writing are both essential.

Read and write in every genre and category as much as possible. Consequently, you will have a broader perspective in most writing styles.

Grammar/punctuation/publishing

Grammar and punctuation is highly vital in writing; the reason being is because it polishes your writing, it will satisfy your readers and gives them the comfort in reading it.

• Grammar- is for your language and vocabulary mistakes

• Punctuation- is for your typos and your marks, such as, the full stop or commas

These two editing detectors really are life savers. They can even make your boss content if used precisely.

There are two types of publishing:

• Traditional publishing- when you submit your manuscript for a publisher and they get the editing done for you

• Self-publishing- this is when you edit your own work by yourself and then you publish it

Note that the cost can be pricey depending on the length of your work; some editors charge one dollar per word.

Writing is challenging but is greatly rewarding. We all need successful authors, copywriters, freelance writers and journalists in the community because they create artworks that only fewer can do. If you want to become a writer you must always have these three things: a strong imagination, pay attention to detail and increase your vocabulary knowledge.

Do not be afraid of writing if you would like to switch careers. Writing is an art. Let those creative juices flow. Whilst you’re on the desktop computer writing the news etc… listen; to the keyboards rhythmic sounds and keep writing on in your office with that cup of smooth coffee.

Written by,

Seniha Haksever