5 Ways to Improve Your Writing

If you want to improve your writing skills, practice these five habits.

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⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Intro
01:36 - Read Widely
03:31 - Build a Writing Ritual
05:42 - Write Now, Edit Later
07:25 - Read Out Loud
08:55 - Simplify

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Video clips supplied by Getty Images

[jrmcdonald]

An editing strategy that I learned from a dyslexic friend: first edit spelling and grammar from bottom to top. That is, scan your last sentence first and then move upwards from there. It forces you to read each sentence more slowly and out of context so your brain is less likely to fill in or fix missing or misspelled words.
Then, read forward to edit phrasing, flow, and logic - the big picture stuff!

[ICEcoldJT]

“The quality of your habits is the stability of your mental health.” 🙌🏽

[improvewithsoo-selfdevelop]

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” - Stephen King

[Roll]

I write academic papers. The temptation to use complex words is STRONG.

[NancyTroutman]

Before writing, I organize my thoughts by writing down a series of questions I want to answer. This also helps me overcome writer's block.

[bittersweetcaroline]

"we write by writing"
-my highschool English teacher to a room full of terrified, exam stressed, students.

[solitaryjoker]

1. Read a lot. With this, you expand your vocabulary and you will feel much more comfortable. Musicians get inspired from other musicians. Artists use various reference points when they paint or draw. And writers look to other writers.

I highly recommend Mark Manson's video on how to read more books.

2. Make a ritual. For example, set yourself a place to write. Write at a specific time. Get yourself some coffee/tea/bubble tea/yerba mate/whatever. Turn on your playlist. You gotta ease yourself into a hard task.

3. Write now, edit later. Yes, I know you've made a typo or a grammar error. Resist the urge to click that backspace button. You'll do it later. Just sit there and write. Polish things up after your done.

4. Read your stuff aloud. We write in higher speed than we read loudly thus we are much more prone to make mistakes. So after you have finished your writing, read it aloud. You will probably end up editing a lot and think "wait, that doesn't make sense, I should edit it."

5. Use simple, brief language. Unless it's an academic paper for professionals, complex words won't be impressive to the "common folk". Which is understandable because why the hell should I bother googling some advanced word when you can say the same thing with a more commonly-used word? And no, no one wants to read long sentences about nature. We aren't in 19th century anymore when it was highly popular because people didn't have internet. Keep it short, sweet and simple.

All right, I hope I haven't messed up anything here. If anything, I'll use the 3rd point.

[syahrulfachrudin]

“My working habits are simple: long periods of thinking, short periods of writing."
— Ernest Hemingway

[horsecrazi]

The snippet of Ali abdal reading Twilight was gold 😂

[merutosan]

I've wanted to become a writer for all my life now and ended up as a teacher. I'm doing all I can to achieve my goals, listening to podcasts, reading books and getting online courses. All thanks to your help and inspiration Thomas. You don't even know I exist but you've been a true support and inspiration in my journey. Thanks for these videos!

[tabbywarrior]

Timestamps in case the description ones don't work for some weird reason:
1:36 Read Widely
3:31 Build a Writing Ritual
5:42 Write Now, Edit Later
7:25 Read Aloud
8:56 Simplify
This is for people on an old version of YouTube or YouTube Vanced in case the description ones don't work for some weird reason (Android 4 is buggy for me) 😭

[curtisshu]

My English in only on the level of B1, and I was having some problems with finishing my script for a speech, which is my assignment in a philosophy course. I find that I was so nervous because I was afraid to use my words wrongly. So I kept editing it during the whole process, which is a killer for creativity. Your tips have illuminated me, Frank. Thank you so much for making this video. Now I'm going to finish my job without pause and keep my momentum, wish me good luck😁

[itsmeeeeieieiwow]

I LOVE this guy! His video are not only informational about the main topic, (writing) but he is also giving information about past writers such as Benjaminen Franklin. Not to mention his humor and the quotes he pulls up! Truly amazing.

[kerokerbi]

Reading out loud what you have written is the best tip for me. Not only you correct the grammar, you will also be able to hear what your sentences would sounds like.

[bill_jennings]

Greatest tip here that I picked up is to stop editing while I write. Brilliant, yet so simple. Thanks!

[IsaacJoshi]

Such a good point about seperating writing and editing.

Gotta maintain that flow state

[dimasworth]

It's been hours since I started looking for the best way to improve my writing, thinking I would find crazy apps that would help me a lot.... but you just made it easy, get a book, read it, and write about it. as simple as that. thanks for the advice, appreciated it!

[joshmoxeyarchives]

This video was a goldmine for the creative process. I've found that even if you're not an official "writer", you're in the business of communication — whether it's in sales, creating content, relationships or elsewhere. Wherever you go, your ability to communicate will follow you, so it's paramount to be constantly improving the skills within this area. Thanks for the great resources, Thomas!

[siddreads]

02:10 “Expand your reading palette” - Shows Ali reading Twilight. Love it! 😂 But seriously I cannot believe this video dropped now! I was just wondering if I should do a 30 day challenge of blogging everyday from May 1st and then this video drops! 😍

[MrAlexGreen.]

Nothing but respect for you Thomas. You’ve been consistently creating bangers week in, week out for the past couple of years! Been a massive influence to my content and many other peoples too. Thank you for everything! 👊