Experience is a bad teacher; it takes your test first and teaches you the lesson later. Rightly said, isn’t it? Who said people are born great writers? Just like other things that you do, getting better at writing requires regular practice. After all, practice makes you perfect and experience certainly counts! By practice, I do not mean reading some writing tips, listening to lectures on writing, or attending readings. I mean actual writing, daily, on meaningful topics or maybe writing about something that interests you.
Writing more makes it easier
The more you write, the easier it gets, and this motivates you even more. The key word here is experience – there is little to substitute it. The more experience you gain with writing, the more confidence you will gain and the better you will get at it. Each time you write something, you will come up with better ideas. With each draft, the quality of your writing improves, or so experts feel! Improvement is bound to take place with time and due effort, spent by you in writing.
Becoming a brilliant writer isn’t instant
Brilliant writing does not just happen overnight or in just one week. It takes years for writers to get the confidence they need so that they can actually write well. Some fear writing, for they fear making mistakes. However, who does not make mistakes? It’s the ones who learn their mistakes that turn out to be great writers and excel in their chosen field. So, don’t fear the unknown, as unless you unravel new areas, you will never know where your skills lie!
Writing is a process
I personally feel that writing is more of a process rather than a product. It’s only with ages of immature drafts, inexperienced writing, unintentional errors and amateur ideas that you actually get to that elusive final copy of the book, which is now perhaps a bestseller! If you view your writing as a process, it turns out to be more productive, more fun and in turn, it generates well-developed writing.
Personal experiences help your writing
Essentially, what you write should come from your personal experiences. If you do so, your writing will have a human touch, which will make your writing unique and interesting to read. In fact, you will realize that it is easier to write about something, which you have experienced yourself, draw on your experiences and use them to fuel your imagination. It will always sound more convincing to others if you write something inspired by personal experiences. Moreover, a brilliant way to recapitulate your personal experience is to maintain a diary.
Writing habitually is beneficial
This not only inculcates a habit of writing daily, but also helps you to jot down your daily activities in minute detail. These minute details may help you to write an interesting account, which is novel and entirely based on your experiences. It gives you more intrinsic satisfaction as well if you write about something, which you have experienced yourself. Hence, experience, develops and improves with time. Don’t fret too much if you are not a great writer now, it will come to you naturally with time and experience!