How to Improve Your Writing
Writing can be done in an infinite amount of ways by an infinite amount of people in an infinite amount of styles. No, I don’t think the monkeys would have written Shakesphere. I think they eventually would have written something we’d refer to as Monkey-Sphere.
What I’m trying to say is that improving at writing is not a one-size-fits-all kind of process. There’s one important thing you need to consider if this is your goal:
What kind of writer do I want to be?
To improve at commercial fiction is going to look a whole lot different than improving at literary fiction. If you’re a bit lost here, check out my post: what kind of writer are you.
Once you have a solid idea of what kind of writer you are/you want to be, you can start focusing on the demands of your style.
Commercial Fiction
You are a writer who focuses on a snappy, engaging, fast-moving plot with fun and equally engaging characters. Think The Inheritance Games, The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Hunger Games.
To improve at writing commercial fiction, you’re going to focus on three things:
Your pacing
Your plot and its hook
Your characters
The expectations of your genre
Literary Fiction
You are a writer who focuses on beautiful language and challenging the reader, either how they think of themselves, or how they think of society (or both). You see your pieces as works of art that hold a greater meaning in society—they aren’t just entertainment. Think To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, The Secret History, Flowers for Algernon.
To improve here, you’re going to focus on these things:
Lyrical prose
Deep character development
Complex themes
Breaking from the “norm” or convention of novel writing
Understanding the world and society on a deep, educated level
Upmarket Fiction
Seen as the best of both worlds, you are a writer who has both the ear for lyrical, beautiful language and the instincts for an engaging plot and characters. Think Blood over Bright Haven, Gone Girl, The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Night Circus
You’re going to focus on these things:
Sensory/lyrical prose – vocabulary!
Character-driven plots with a sharp hook
A solid theme
Expectations of your genre
Taking these pointers, the best way to improve in your area of writing is to read in your area of writing. And read intentionally, really analyzing how other authors build their sentences, their plots, evolve their narratives, etc. Write down interesting word choices, lines you love, details about characters, themes (this is where an inspiration journal really comes in handy!)
Click on the links above to see my related posts!
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