Three Tips to Help You Become a Better Writer

by Tammy Karasek @TickledPinkTam

It was your allotted time to sit down and write. You perched yourself in front of the computer screen or notebook with a pen and have written your fingers numb. As you wrote the piece, whether it’s a blog post, article, devotion or part of your book, did you give it your best effort?

Be honest.

I have to confess, there’ve been times I would wait until the last minute or unfortunately my mood was not conducive for productivity, but I knocked at the door of a due date. I needed to finish the piece for submission and I hurried through it to catch that deadline. I threw some words down on the paper, rearranged the order to make it somewhat flow and pressed the submit button. 

Then I agonized later for the error of my ways. 

Last year, I committed to pray over any writing that I would do. I prayed that God would show me when my best wasn’t in a piece I felt entitled to type The End on. I asked Him to give me an unsettled feeling about it. And make it clear, I prayed, I’m your stubborn one, Lord.

And man did He show up! It’s said, be careful what you ask for, and this applied here. There have been times where I was about to hit the submit button and my computer froze or the piece wouldn’t transfer. I was living in answered prayer. 

In order to get a handle on my writing and make sure my best work is what I published, I have come up with three checkpoints that I’ve used this year. Maybe they will give you some help so you, too, can do the same. 

Three Tips to Make Your Writing Better

1. Plan your writing schedule better. What I’ve been doing is writing my deadline for something one week earlier than when it is actually due. I guess I’m playing a little mind game with myself, but it’s worked. By building margins in the deadline dates, it allows time for the words to roll around in my mind. Have a piece due on the fourth Tuesday of the month? Put it on the third Tuesday in red bold and then a different color on the true due date. This will allow time to write the piece, do what ever extra is needed—photos, references, etc.—and then read it again a day or two later. Does it feel right? Have that peace the best effort was applied? Perfect, hit that submit button.

2. Make an attitude adjustment. Are you rehashing a snarky comment made directed at you? Family member say something hurtful? Bitter about something you don’t want to admit? This could block your entire thought process, which could cause you to write with a sour attitude and you didn’t realize it. Time to get up and walk away. Take a breath. Say a prayer. Maybe even make a needed phone call. 

3. File it for later. When you complete a writing piece, sit back and ask God to show you if you really applied yourself to it. If you get the feeling it’s not your best, do not hit delete. Make yourself a file that says, Needs Work. File the piece there. Pull it out on another day. Let it brew until the words start pouring into it again. 

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” Colossians 3:23 ESV

As we head into a brand new year of great projects, my prayer for each of us is that we always present or post our best work wherever we have placed our words. Because remember—we want all things to be pleasing to God. 

What about you? Do you have a tip to add to those above?

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Three Tips to Help You Become a Better Writer from @TickledPinkTam on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Tammy Karasek uses humor and wit to bring joy and hope to every aspect in life. Her past, filled with bullying and criticism from family, drives her passion to encourage and inspire others and give them The Reason to smile. She’s gone from down and defeated to living a “Tickled Pink” life as she believes there’s always a giggle wanting to come out! 

When not writing Rom-Com, she’s The Launch Team Geek helping authors launch their books and also a Virtual Assistant for a couple best-selling authors. Her work was published in a Divine Moments Compilation Book—Cool-inary Moments. She’s also the Social Media Manager for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Founding President and current Vice-President of ACFW Upstate SC, and Founding President of Word Weavers Upstate SC. She’s a writing team member for The Write Conversation Blog, Novel Academy, MBT Monday Devotions, The Write Editing and others. Connect with Tammy at https://www.tammykarasek.com.

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash