Wriging

The first key of writing is not to write what other people tell you to write, or how to write it. What you write is the essence of what you say, and what you say is the essence of who you are, so tell me; how do you plan to improve your writing you follow the trends of others?

"If I have seen further [than certain other men] it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants."

Issac Newton may have seen more from the foundations of others, but if you look at a man from a mile away, can you tell he's your father?

Euphemisms and quotes aside: improve your writing by improving what you know. And you're doing that right now, by asking questions, by learning, by continuing to educate yourself in a brilliant art form. That's my best advice.

Good luck :)

I think the more you know what you're talking about, and understand it, it will come though in the writing, and probably be better because of it.

I have a relatively formal writing style, so when I write a blog post, it's like a formal stream of consciousness. Some could take that as writng well or whatever, but really it's just my style, and you should take your own style into consideration before changing things.

And then of course there's improving writing 101: spelling, grammar, etc... But It really doesn't seem to be a problem ;)

And then of course there's improving writing 101: spelling, grammar, etc... But It really doesn't seem to be a problem ;)

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but that's exactly where I'm going. While I have spelling and most grammatical concepts under a control, I find the more I write, the more flawed I find myself to be. When I write I now work towards avoiding things like passive verbs, useless adjectives, and attempt to use tools such as double-meaning and "describe, don't tell" (describing "George with a flushed face and tightening fist" instead of saying "George was angry"). However, the more I read, both good writing and bad, the more I notice these things, seeking to improve upon them in my own work. Needless to say I attempt to avoid reading too much of my past work, for fear of being shunned and driven into the depths of a cave whose only exit was covered with a boulder reading "Do not open this under penalty of death".

I think you'll find your past stuff isn't so bad, Gnorb! We're our own worst critics.

You improve your writing by (a) writing a lot; (b) reading good writing with an eye to figuring out how it works; and (c) asking for feedback about your writing -- specific feedback about specific things you've written -- from people you admire.

You see a lot of notes on 9rules asking for feedback on design, but I've never seen a note asking for content feedback. Given that content matters way, way more than design in blogging, it's astonishing that people don't ask for help on content more often.

I'm guessing that's because people can be awfully mean and not helpful about the writing of others -- but it's still worth seeking out a few good readers to give you a sense of what they think you're doing right, and where they think you could put more energy.

"You see a lot of notes on 9rules asking for feedback on design, but I've never seen a note asking for content feedback. "

Actually I've resisted doing this for the sake of not seeming like I was spamming Notes with "Read Me! Read Me!" requests. That stated, I was planning to ask for help with some of the short stories I'm writing, once they become quasi-publishable. Fiction is something which, while supremely interesting, is currently somewhat foreign to me (although not entirely by choice).

Thanks for the vote of confidence on my previous work, Bloglily. My biggest fear, insofar as writing is concerned, is that my past work overshadow my future projects. As for the advice: sounds an awful lot like the advice I heard from King, Card, and Stackpole. And for that -- and because it makes perfect sense -- I love it. I presume that's what you do with your writing?

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On a quasi-related note, I've been looking for writing groups both online and off. Has anyone joined one (or more)? How did you find it?

I don't know if this will be helpful, but I offer it anyway. Your senses of vision and hearing are vital because they are the beginning of just plain observation. Standing in line at a grocery store or a bank exposes you to potential characters, accents and conversations. Sitting on a bench, watching people walk (or play if it's a park) provides ideas and stories.Please consider your town's Historical Society as a tremendous resource for culture, history, geography and you will always find there people very anxious to tell you their family stories. The bottom line; writing is part of who and what you are so the total of every experience can gives you ideas of stories, characters and plots.

Again I don't hesitate to recommend The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. The Illustrated version is lovely, though either will help with sentence structure and idea presentation. But you know this already :)

Other than that, the best way to improve one's writing is to both read and write. Lots and lots.

On a quasi-related note, I've been looking for writing groups both online and off. Has anyone joined one (or more)? How did you find it?

Urbis

Someone mentioned it in that note where someone else asked for low-key w2.0 applications that weren't massacred by the blogosphere.

Auburn -- What great suggestions! I'm going to remember them and try them out.

Gnorb -- I do belong to a writing group. It's helpful, especially because it gets you to write regularly. It was led by a guy from whom I took a writing class at University of California extension and has since spun off onto its own.

And Adrian, a while back I began what I hoped would be a series of gems from Strunk & White in these notes. I need to post another one -- soon.

As everyone is saying, it's a "simple" case of reading lots and writing lots.

Read everything you can get your hands on - the good, and the bad, fiction and non-fiction. Then try and work out what makes something "good" in your eyes as opposed to what makes something "bad". When you then write your own stuff, try and get the 'good' bits in and avoid using the 'bad' bits. There's nothing in wrong in emulating aspects of other writer's style that you admire (imitation = flattery etc). The more you read and write, the more you will come to define what makes your own style and "voice".

For myself, there are authors whose work I adore and admire for many different reasons and I can trace their influences in my own writing. Those influences are becoming less obvious the more I write, but I know they are there underpinning it all, and that's OK.

Also, a good grasp of the basics (grammar!) always helps. Once you know the rules, you know when you can bend or even break them.

I also agree that feedback is essential, but I would say be careful who you ask for feedback. Friends are normally willing to read stuff, but can you trust them to be brutally honest and not spare you in their feedback? I have lots of people who I use to get a general gauge of something (is it good, bad, just plain ugly?) but I only have a few whose opinion I trust for proper, constructive feedback. Strangers/writing groups can be equally good/bad for the same reasons. Keep trying and you'll find people - mine are my Dad (bizarrely enough), an old English tutor, someone I met at uni - and once you find them, hang onto them!

There endeth my spiel. Oh, and I'm going back to college myself to brush up on the grammar side of things.

Like everyone already said, be a voyeur to life, read a lot.

I get feedback from my readers via email and comments on most everything so they will tell me if something was really crap, or if I veered in to something which makes them uncomfortable or if for some reason it really didn't make sense.

For the first time ever I asked them for thoughts on my design...man I am almost sorry I did.

"You asking me do I know how to write down words on a piece of paper? That's what you do, man, you put down one word after the other as it comes in your head. It isn't like having to learn how to play the piano, like you have to learn notes. You already learned in school how to write, didn't you? I hope so. You have the idea and you put down what you want to say. Then you get somebody to add in the commas and shit where they belong, if you aren't positive yourself. Maybe fix up the spelling where you have some tricky words. There people do that for you. Some, I've even seen scripts where I know words weren't spelled right and there was hardly any commas in it. So I don't think it's too important. You come to the last page you write in 'Fade out' and that's the end, you're done."

[H]e [the aspiring writer] should go out and hang himself because he finds that writing well is impossibly difficult. Then he should be cut down without mercy and forced by his own self to write as well as he can for the rest of his life. At least he will have the story of the hanging to commence with. (The Paris Review, Spring 1958)

-Ernest Hemingway

What tongue in cheek. But there really isn't any specific way going about it. Just read and read and read, then write and write and write. In any way that suits you.

Re-writing. As in improving what you wrote, instead of improving your writing. The first draft is for you. After that it's shaping it so other people can taste it. I used to struggle a lot when I'd try to get it perfect as I wrote it. Some people can do that, but I can't.

Lots of advice above so I'll keep it short - everyone involved in any type of writing should read George Orwell's essay 'Politics and the English Language.' In a word, brilliant.

In my experience, the best way to improve your writing is to write CONSTANTLY. Carry a notebook with you and write about what you see. When an interesting thought enters your mind, write it down. Even if you're at, like, Starbucks, observe your surroundings and find something to describe. It doesn't have to be perfect, just enough to stimulate you creatively. Re-read and revisit what you've written frequently.

When it comes to my writing, I revise and revise again. I cannot stress how important revising is to writing. I also look to the advice of other writers to help me improve my own skills.