5 Things You Can Do To Become A Better Writer

Do you want to be a better writer? Maybe you just need to find joy in writing. These five steps can help get you there.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

I want to become a better writer: that’s the number one wish most writers share.

Not far behind come things like removing writer’s block, having more confidence, and finishing elusive book projects. As a writing coach and retreat hostess, I’ve helped hundreds of folks defeat writing obstacles and slay their struggles.

So, allow me to share some insider wisdom from years of experience working with hopeful writers just like you! These exercises are suggestions, but you’ll never know if they actually work or not if you don’t try them, so I encourage you to give these a go.

1. Define what being “better” means to you

Knowing what “better” means is an important place to start. Why? Because you may want to monitor personal growth or progress from a specific piece of writing, and your definition will be different from the next writer. Having a defined understanding of where you are and where you want to be are critical for cheering yourself on.

When you read a poem, short story, or novel, what do you like about what you’re reading? Do you like the fresh or surprising word choices? Do you like the way the author develops characters? Do you appreciate the way a story moves along? If you can identify what it is you like, that’s a signal for how to develop or improve your own writing style or technique. In other words, how you’ll get “better.”

[Action item] Get a piece of paper and a pen and answer, “What does being a “better” writer mean to me?”

2. Define what stops writing “flow”

Often, writers come to me feeling frustrated, insecure, and overwhelmed by writing procrastination. Typically, I’m not interested in what the “blocks” are, I’m more interested in identifying where they come from and why

What are the subconscious or emotional beliefs that lurk like trolls beneath creativity’s bridge, and repeatedly pop up to stifle you again and again? Sometimes beliefs are leftover from childhood, some are present-day, legitimate concerns. It’s helpful to know which is which.

One client I worked with was afraid to write her true feelings related to relationships. She came from a strict Catholic family and was terrified her mother might read her work. Although her mother passed away six years prior, the embedded fear prevented her from exploring the complex relational depth her characters required — especially when it came to scenes involving sex or romance.

Another client grew up in a rough neighborhood where drug use and domestic violence were the norms. He subconsciously learned that survival depended upon being seen and not heard. One can imagine the correlations between “being heard” and writing. Though he’s now an adult, the underlying fear of potential consequences from expression influenced his ability to dig deeper into his experience, words, and writing.

These are profound examples — the things that stop flow are not always so deep or heavy. Sometimes it may be residual red-pen marks from teachers that haunt us. Or maybe you don’t think your writing is “good enough.”

[Action item] On the same piece of paper answer, “Where do the blocks come from that stop my writing flow?”

3. Get out of your writing rut

To point to the famous observation, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.” If you truly want your writing to grow, or move into surprising new directions, approaching it in new ways is required. A writing rut may mean you sit in the same place at the same time, or use the same words, or start from the same thematic place, or write in the same style or genre.

[Action item] Write something different from what you typically write. Even if it’s not part of your current project. In other words, if you write sci-fi, write a few paragraphs of romance. If you write history, write poetry. We’re talking a few paragraphs here and there just to shake up or fool your creative machinery. If you don’t know how, read a few paragraphs of another style, tone, or genre different from your own, then emulate it with your own words.

4. Write without editing

I know this is a big ask for some of you. Most of us have been trained to expect perfection when it comes to grammar, sentence structure, spelling, etc. However, these constructs impose barriers that can impede creativity and flow, and possibly our brightest ideas.

If you get an idea, a brilliant sentence your character is about to say, and you tell him to shut up because you have to go back and figure out comma placements in a previous paragraph, what happens to those words? How do know where the creative river flows if you roll a heavy tactical boulder in its way?

[Action item] Pick any genre, and try to free-write five paragraphs without doing a single edit as you go. If the urge to edit creeps in, tell yourself, “Edit later, keep writing!”

5. Replace writing expectations with invitations

This may sound like a simple thing, but this is easily how most writers I work with make profound improvements to their relationship to writing — and therefore, their finished work.

When we “expect” that we “have to” write, that weight alone can become unbearable. There’s no joy when you dread the process. There’s no inspiration when we feel like crap about ourselves because we didn’t get to those 1,000 words. How can we improve or get better when there’s zero incentive to progress?

When you invite yourself to write, you accept the invitation or decline. It’s that simple. Once the weight of “expectation” is lifted, you can breathe. You’re inviting expression and making room for your words — not suffocating them. You’re allowing imagination to roam, not bullying it into submission. You create a welcoming space for curiosity and for what waits to be discovered through writing.

This may seem simple, but I tell you, this philosophical shift in writing approach is a game-changer.

[Action item] On your piece of paper, respond to the following prompt: “When I invite myself to write, I …”

Find the joy in writing

It’s easy to have ethereal or lofty notions of wanting to be a better writer. Sure, we all want to sell hundreds of thousands of copies of our books. We want validation and accolades. But those are outcomes.

To me, being a “better” writer means I’m writing more often. Writing with more joy. Trying new forms and expanding my creative expression. I LOVE being surprised by what I write. That’s how I know I’m getting better. To improve, I practice what I teach.

Try these prompts for yourself — and share the outcomes of what you experience in the comments!

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