When writers Google “How to Improve Your Writing,” they get answers about improving grammar, spelling, and punctuation, which is all very important, of course.
But for MultiTalented Writers, improving our writing takes a different form. Olutobi Konigbagbe discusses how to improve your writing when you’re MultiTalented in today’s guest post.
There are pieces of advice that apply to writers generally, but when it comes to improving your writing, the advice that works for niche writers doesn’t always work for multi-talented ones. If your niche was motorcycles, reading more motorcycle publications and studying their styles would make sense. But as a multi-niche writer, reading in just one niche will hurt your business.
So here’s how you can stay on top of your game and how to improve your writing as a multi-niche writer.
1. Read widely
When niche writers want to improve their writing, they specifically research their niche. It’s a different ball game with you as a multi-talented writer, because you need to read more about each subject that you’d like to write about.
You must develop a love for reading widely: from lifestyle to relationships, parenting and family, finance, business, healthcare, travel, real estate, religion, Tech/IT, marketing, and any other niche that you have an interest in writing about.
Reading widely does two important things for you:
- It builds your confidence: When you read widely, you gain the knowledge you need to write about diverse niches, which in turn helps you to avoid impostor syndrome.
- It gives you a repertoire of ideas: reading widely will help you come up with great ideas for articles and blog posts, while research will help you to improve your actual writing and make it more valuable to clients and readers.
2. Research extensively
Well-developed research techniques will help you to dig deep into any topic and learn facts, figures, and other specifics that you can use to drive your points home.
Including this information in your articles will give you an edge over writers whose work shows little or no research. Detailed, well-researched articles not only establish you as an expert on any given topic, it also might make you a favourite with editors, clients, and readers.
An important aspect of your research that you cannot afford to ignore is checking writer’s guidelines. Each publication usually has guidelines that interested writers are expected to follow. You should ensure that you find out about these guidelines and write in conformity with them. Doing so can save your work from being rejected and could also help you become a regular contributor.
Research should be a part of everyday life for multi-talented writers. Don’t wait until you have an article to write before you start researching. Reading widely from reputable sources will help you explore the different niches you would like to write about. Sources such as PubMed for medical and health articles, Lexis Web for legal topics, and eMarketer for digital marketing, media, and commerce, are some of the websites you can rely on for accurate information.
If your write-up is about news and current affairs, your research should come from unbiased news sources. This is important in order to make your reporting balanced, which will indicate your professionalism in the field of journalism.
3. Stay focused on the point
Many multi-talented writers tend to digress from the point when writing blog posts and articles. This is probably because of the many ideas flowing through our heads at any given time. As a result of the peculiar way our mind works, we need to go the extra mile to ensure we’re not including unnecessary points that could be made into a whole other article.
In order to ensure that your writing is free of irrelevant stuff, this is what you should do:
- After writing your first draft, return to it and see if the article you’ve just written could be broken down into more than one article.
- If that is possible, remove unnecessary portions. If your article has become too short by doing this, check to see if what’s left can be elaborated on with the research and interviews you’ve conducted thus far.
- If not, it’s time to go back and do more research or conduct more interviews.
- Thereafter, re-write your article, with your focus on the point you’re writing about.
By doing this, you will have a straight-to-the-point article that many readers will enjoy.
4. Stick to the preferred writing style guide
Whereas niche writers can usually get away with only following one style guide, multi-niche writers need to familiarize themselves with several in order to improve their writing and make each article fit the publication they target.
There are many style guides/manuals, some of which are specific to particular niches. The AP Style is mainly used by journalists in the USA; the Canadian Press Style Guide is used in Canada for journalism; the APA Style is favoured for most scientific writing, while the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) is the primary choice of the writing and publishing industry.
Many companies and publications also have their own style guides in addition to using a standard one. These “in-house” guides often state expected article length, spacing, font size, preferred spelling, etc.
Your willingness to follow specified writing guidelines, coupled with a good knowledge of the many different style guides, will enable you to write successfully in any niche you choose.
5. Interact with fellow multi-talented writers
Nothing beats spending time with people who share the same interest as you. When you interact with other multi-talented writers, both online and offline, you learn so much from them.
They can give you very useful advice as well as share their experiences, which can save you from making a lot of mistakes. They can also recommend invaluable resources that can make you a better multi-niche writer.
What techniques do you use to improve your writing as a multi-talented writer? Let us know in the comments below.
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- How to Improve Your Writing When You’re MultiTalented - October 25, 2017