One of the most important things you can do to improve your writing is to learn how to write in a way that makes you stand out from the crowd. If you want your writing to be successful, you need to make sure that it stands out.
In this chapter, we’ll look at some of the tools you can use to make your writing stand out. We’ll also look at how you can get feedback on your writing so you can improve it and make it stand out even more. Finally, we’re going to look at a few ways in which you can make sure your writing stands out for the right reasons, not just for the sake of standing out. Let’s get started!
## How to Make Your Writing Stand Out
The most important thing to remember when you’re writing is that you’re not writing for other people. You’re writing for you, for your audience, and for the people who are going to read your writing. When you write, you’re trying to get your ideas across to other people so that they can understand what you’re saying. That’s why it’s so important that your writing makes sense to you. If your writing doesn’t make sense, then your audience won’t be able to understand it, and they’ll be less likely to care about what you’ve written. If they can’t understand your writing, then they won’t care enough to read it. And if they don’t read it, then you won’t get any feedback on how to make it better, and your writing won’t stand out any more than it already does. So, the first thing you should do when you start writing is make sure you understand what it is you’re actually trying to say, and that you can say it clearly and concisely. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to start thinking about how your writing will be received by your audience. Here are a few tips to help you do that:
– Be clear. Make sure that what you write makes sense. If it doesn’t, try to figure out why, and then rewrite it so that it does make sense. Don’t be afraid to make changes to your writing if you think they’ll help it make more sense.
– If you’re having trouble figuring out why your writing isn’t making sense, try reading it out loud. That way, you can hear how it sounds, and you’ll be more likely to notice any problems with it. If that doesn’t help you figure it out, then ask a friend or someone else who knows you well to read the writing and tell you what they think about it. This is a great way to get feedback from people who know you well, and who can tell you if there’s something about your writing that makes it hard for them to understand. It’s also a good way to find out if you’re using the right words to say what you want.
Tip:If you don’t have any friends or family who can help you with this, there are lots of online writing communities where you can ask other people to read and critique your writing for you. You can find some of these online communities in the Resources section at the back of this book.
“The best way to write is to write, and the second-best way is to rewrite. Rewriting is the art of taking a first draft and making it a second, third, fourth, and so on. The more you rewrite, the better you’ll get at it. “—Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird:
## Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Be concise. Try to keep your writing as short and to the point as you can. Think about how many words it would take to say the same thing in a different way, and try to use as few of them as possible. The less words you use, the easier it will be for your reader to understand your point, and to remember what you said. Also, keep in mind that if you use too many words, your reader will have to spend more time reading your writing than they would have to if you used fewer words. So it’s better to be concise than it is to use a lot of words, even if your writing takes a little longer to read.
Make sure that the words you choose to use are the right ones for the point you’re making. For example, don’t use the word alwaysif you mean sometimes, and don’t say neverif what you really mean is rarely. If you use the wrong words, you’ll make your point harder to understand than it needs to be, and it’s more likely that your reader won’t remember it when they’re done reading it.
If you do use a word that you think is the wrong one, try using a synonym for it instead. Or, if you really can’t think of a good synonym, then just use a different word altogether. If there’s a word in the dictionary that means the exact same thing as the one you’re thinking of using, use that one instead. You don’t want to confuse your reader by using the wrong word when you could have used a better one, so it’s always better to use the right word the first time you use it than to use it wrong and then have to go back and fix it later.
Keep in mind, too, that there’s no such thing as a “wrong” or “right” word. There are only words that are better or worse than other words for the points you want to make. So don’t worry too much about whether a word is “correct” or not. Just make sure that it’s the best word you can think of for your point.
Finally, try not to repeat yourself. If you say something in one part of your writing and then say it again in another part, it can make your writing seem a little disjointed.