Skills Outside Of Writing That Make You A Better Writer
*Collaborative post
If you’re looking for ways to become a better writer, then it pays to look outside of the obvious. Yes, writers need to read, they need to work on their vocabulary, they need to learn the pitfalls to avoid, such as purple prose, mixed metaphors, and so on. However, a writer has to broaden their perspective, to be able to inhabit different ideas and mindsets, and more. To that end, here are a few unexpected ways you can improve your writing skills.
Go people watching
This doesn’t mean you should start peering through neighbour’s windows with your binoculars. However, if you want to write well (and to write characters well, in particular) then it’s a good idea to be able to capture the little mannerisms that make humans truly human. Their flaws, how their ego manifests, their little quirks, all of them can make for great fodder for your writing. Becoming more insightful about people through people watching can help you become a much better character writer.
Learn another language
There are all kinds of benefits to learning another language, beyond being able to potentially speak or write in the language. With tools like Memrise, you can learn not just languages like Spanish, but phrases used by local speakers as well as how language and culture intersect. This is especially useful if you plan on writing anything that takes place in Spanish speaking countries. Even if you don’t explore such far-flung settings, however, becoming a better linguist gives you a better understanding of the flow of language in general, allowing you to better control your choice of words, how they sound, fit together, and deliver more of an impact.
What it means to be truly critical
Literary criticism, regardless of what art form it is, can be vitally important for a writer. If you want to get a good idea of how to structure a story, how to help themes emerge, and to be more creative in how you both frame and write, then you should look at sites like Book Oblivion that can help you learn literary criticism. The ability to dissect another’s works, be it writing, movies, or otherwise, can help you better glean information and also gives you a better look into your own creative process.
Breathing and finding your voice
People will find all sorts of techniques to clear their head of all the distractions around them. You might be able to find your own. For some, fitness works. For others, taking a walk in nature can help. One of the ways you can do it with minimal space and in your own home is by learning meditation with the help of apps like Headspace. Writers need to be able to detach themselves from their own worries and immediate distractions. Your restless mind is great at coming up with ideas, but meditation can help you distil them into something you can work with.
A greater appreciation of how we communicate ideas, no matter how you earn it, is going to improve your writing. It goes beyond the prose, it improves the mind of the writer, too.
