No matter how good you get at expressing your thoughts through writing, there’s always room for improvement. And when it comes to writing, practicing may not make perfect, but it will surely make progress. Even the most renowned novelists tend to self-critique their works harshly, so you should never fret about whether you’re good enough. What you should focus on is how to constantly enrich your language so you can create a different combination of words every time. Here’s how you can do that.
Play Word Games
Grabbing a dictionary and blindly memorizing new vocabulary may be effective, but it’s also quite dull. You’ll find that the majority of new words that you learn will be forgotten, because they’re not taken out of a certain context that makes them memorable. A more effective, and more fun way, of adding to your mental lexicon is through playing word games.
You can play those games online, or you can purchase a board game to enjoy with your friends. Games like scrabble are a ton of fun, and you might find yourself immersed in the game for hours. You may find it a little challenging at first, but there are online tools that can help you with that; online unscramblers allow you to learn different combinations of words by giving you helpful hints as you play. That way, you’re more likely to memorize them and incorporate them into your writing.
Read Every Day
You can definitely write without profusely reading on the daily, but you won’t be any good. Reading adds to your repertoire of both vocabulary and idiomatic use of language. And the reason why reading is one of the most effective ways of bettering your writing skills is that you subconsciously learn as you read for leisure. You don’t have to actively read well-written pieces in order to pick up on the language. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your book. Your brain will do most of the work for you. The next time you write, go over your paragraph, and see the difference that profuse reading has made!
Use a Thesaurus
A more immediate way of using less redundant words in your paragraphs is consulting a thesaurus dictionary. But you have to be careful not to overuse it, and to always check how a word is used in context. Some synonyms sound awkward when used in some sentences. However, generally speaking, the more you use a thesaurus dictionary, the less you’ll need to in the long run. Even the most successful writers consult a dictionary when they’re not satisfied with their word-usage, and it’s best to learn from the masters.
Try SAT Apps
There are multiple apps for free that you can use to add new words to your writing. Apps that are primarily designed for students preparing for SAT exams can be a lot of help. Unlike dictionaries, they offer you a wide range of complex literary words in context so you can remember them better.
Most of these apps also have flashcard systems, which are easier to use digitally than manually. When you’ve learned a word, you can mark it as mastered. Most apps allow you to go back to your list of mastered words when you need to. On the other hand, some of these apps also offer dummy exams, so you can test how far you’ve gone every once in a while. Try not to cram hundreds of words a day, and always start slow.
Never Stop Writing
Some individuals may be tempted to focus on learning without rendering their thoughts into written words, which is never the way to go. The craft of writing needs to be practiced as much as learning to write does. You’ll be able to quicken your pace when writing and learn how to critique yourself less. You need to remember that there will always be room for improvement, which is why you’ll find it difficult to be completely satisfied with your writing. Always write in one go, and go over your work to see where you need to tweak your content or language.
Join Writing Communities
Online writing communities will help you mingle with other writers, who are always open to sharing their journey and advice with everyone. This will also help you learn where you can get your work published, or how you can make money out of blogging. These communities can be websites or groups on social media.
Learning how to write better should never be stressful. Always opt for the least dull ways to learn, such as word games, fun apps, and most importantly, reading. In a few months, you can compare an old piece with a recent one to see how far you’ve gone. You’ll notice rapid improvement, if you follow our simple guide, and stick to it.