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How To Be a Better Writer!: The First Steps

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I rewrote this many, many times. I didn't know the correct way to express my ideas and words, and it flew out like a jumble. In order to be as precise and detailed whilst getting to the point, I have decided to go over some big things.

First of all, I have been writing since first grade. It isn't much of an accomplishment, but I have always been a reader. By second grade, I was devouring books, line by line, page by page, until I was in sixth grade. Reading is the first giant way to start writing. There are many different types of books for everyone. I fell in love with reading because they transported me away to a different world. As a child, I was amazed at how magical reading was. Everyday in elementary school, I would sit in the library and find a big book, such as Harry Potter, and I would read it. I knew I would learn more about the strange lands I would land in if I read more. In the end, reading helped me a lot. The first step to being a writer is to read.

The second step is to accept mistakes. A big part in learning anything is accepting you might have failed. When I write to an audience, such as on Wattpad, I would ask my "fans" to critic me on typos and ask how the story is flowing. One tip on life in general, do not put yourself down. Don't put yourself down to bring others up, do not put yourself down to accept more praises, do not put yourself down to make yourself feel bad. Whenever someone compliments you, say thank you. Don't dismiss their compliment entirely. That's something important people should learn that I think gets brushed over a lot. But yes, accept you will fail and make typos and that's okay. It'll make you a better writer.

Lastly, for today, remember grammar. Grammar is extremely important in the art of writing. A couple of years ago I would hate when teachers would force the students to write essays. I would be graded harshly for my story-like writing. I had no concept of grammar. I would type up anything I thought was correct. Two years ago, I had a teacher who focused mainly on grammar and essays. In his class, I learned writing was more than the plot; it was everything behind it. Grammar holds the words together like glue. Now, I have mastered writing different types of essays and analyzing stories. Grammar is important, and if you ever have a question about it, it is easy to search up a credible source, such as this site, and it will list the correct way to format essays or how to correct grammar.

That is all from me today, and if you want more, or if you want more "lessons," please comment below, I suppose? If any of you, if anyone reads this, wants a certain grammar lesson or essay formatting introduction or any type of language art type of lesson, I would be happy to explain it in further detail, privately or on the blog. I have very detailed notes and research papers about many different language arts subjects, and all the sources are extremely credible. Thanks for reading, and have a great day or night. :)
 
Thank you in particular for that excellent advice to accept mistakes and avoid putting yourself down. Writing (in any style), like any skill, requires a lot of trial and error to develop the ability to do it successfully. Understanding that you *will* make mistakes, and that it's all a part of the learning process can be extremely difficult, yet extraordinary freeing. Being resilient and able to handle constructive criticm is crucial to improving at any task; crucial to coping with whatever happens in life.

Ah, I may have climbed onto my educator soapbox for a bit there, sorry, that paragraph just really resonated with me! I enjoyed the whole post, too - I found it an interesting balance of personal background and general information which was artfully grounded in the anecdotal. I'm intrigued by the specific reference to sixth grade as an end point, is that significant?

I come from a family of voracious readers who spent lunches in libraries, and am always thrilled to find someone else who did that, too!

:)
 
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