Last updated on April 26th, 2022 at 07:13 pm
My vote is for ‘Yes’. I believe anyone can become a writer.
However, you’ll be read seriously or not, is what matters and this is what you need to care for. Because Hemingway says,
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed. – Earnest Hemingway
So you need to discard the opinion of those who believe you could become a writer if you could not become anything else.
Rather, start pondering over an important aspect – why would one spend one’s precious time over my writing? Common sense says it must either be highly useful or be unputdownable.
Let aside those who want to argue, argue and make yourself sit down to write. Don’t doubt yourself. Rather, make a start and focus on the following points to be a writer of repute and following:
#1 Invest Time And Money in Writing
In his “So Good They Can’t Ignore You”, Cal Newport emphasizes on building a career capital – the skills you learn, the certifications you earn and the expertise you acquire.
This means you’ll have to have time for brainstorming sessions, studying and researching. You’ll be putting in money to undergo courses that add value to your professional personality.
Opening Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
#2 Create Opportunities Everyday
Apply for freelance writing work daily and in good numbers. Request friends from the freelancer community to recommend you for the work they are not much interested.
Only when you write at places other than your own website, will you be able to show your posts to the world. Plus, you stand to gain backlinks and more work.
Opine on forums that are thronged by writers. Thoughtful comments attract online writing mills and who knows! you may get an invite or two.
Think of other places like print magazines and guest posts where you can get regular, well paid works.
The more you show up on the web, the more will be chances of your writing success.
#3 Discover A New Idea Daily to Become a Creative Writer
This will make you a special writer. Ideas are the real spice of an original writer.
Make it your religion to think of at least one new idea to write daily. Here is an article that tells you how to find new ideas:
How to Discover New Topics to Write About
Though it’s easier said than done, practice, like with many other skills, is the key to creative thinking too. To chase new ideas, choose a quiet spot and a fixed time when your mind is at its productive best.
#4 Write At Least 500 Words Daily
Many mentors give this advice. I want to add that while you do this, try to improve qualitatively on your previous day’s writing, even if it’s only slightly incremental.
You can do this by playing with vocabulary or applying sentence variation or more similar things.
#5 Read Uncommon Stuff
You write things that you’ve thought of, experienced, heard or read somewhere.
If you write about common things that are often available to people anywhere, nobody will be interested in reading you.
To grab attention, you should be able to write differently. This calls for reading what others are not.
Read uncommon books and learn deep. You’ll then be producing unconventional, gripping material which has chances of going viral.
Here you can read some uncommon books for free: Forgotten Books
#6 Rotate Vocabulary to Become a Better Writer
I don’t advise you to use cryptic words but rotating your vocabulary could be a good idea for the entertainment of your readers.
Prepare an inventory wherein you can store synonyms of most used words.
Here is a gem by Jon Morrow, on using power words in your blog posts:
801+ Power Words That Pack a Punch and Convert like Crazy
In addition, you can practice writing different ways to express a phrase. For example, you can accumulate 10 different ways of saying, ‘mostly’.
#7 Become a Writer of a Specific Tone
Every writer has an identity. The writing tone of every writer is unique. This means a writer has her own set of favorite words, phrases and idioms and her own unique way to tell a story.
Even though it’s good to learn from authentic writers you must not look at your own tone with disrespect.
You’ll do well to keep correcting yourself continuously while maintaining your uniqueness of style, tone and mood.
#8 Befriend the Reader – Become a Writer of the Masses
Some writers try to dictate terms to their readers – impose ideas on them and use foul language. Still they expect their readers to follow them.
Frankly speaking, this doesn’t work.
Rather use a friendly tone. Advise your readers as they need, and help them solve their annoying problems. This will establish you as a writer who helps people.
#9 The Environment is as Important as the Theme
When you write on a topic, there are certain factors which are not given their due but are extremely important. I mean, the backdrop and the circumstances prevailing in the period of your subject, set the tone and mood of the article.
The tip here is that you should make a good mention of such factors. They add the flavor to the concoction.
#10 Timing, Foreshadowing and Twists
If your writing looks like a plain, dull piece of text without any turns and twists, readers would perhaps touch it and move away.
Sprinkle little bits of foreshadowing and suspense here and there to spice up your article.
If similar subjects are creating waves on TV and internet, they provide a rub-off effect on your content. Hence you should time your content wisely for traffic gains.
Foreshadowing, in short, means showing your content bit by bit to the reader and drawing them into more reading persuasively.
Besides, twists and turns in the content make it interesting by providing surprises and unpredictability.
#11 Become a Writer With Patience and Tenacity
Rejections, professional jealousy of fellow writers, tough competition, writer’s block, imposter syndrome etc. uproot the career of many a good writer immediately after they start.
So learn to laugh in the face of rejection and be original and daring with your posts in order to beat the competition.
Everywhere success tests you thoroughly before embracing you. In the field of writing, the test is no less cumbersome and tiring. So, keep accumulating patience and mental strength from wherever it’s possible. Here you get some:
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do
Start Your Writing Journey
Don’t just think, don’t quiver. Even stooping starters have conquered the writing world.
So, better start today. Keep the above points in mind. Mistakes are bound to occur. You only need to improve with every sentence, every word.
If you really want to become a writer, let anything not dampen your spirit and tenacity. If you are stuck up some day, try to produce as much as you can. Surely there will be better and best days waiting for you.
Whenever you need help, write to me at the email provided under ‘contact us’ tab. All the best.