I think it is important to always be on the lookout for ways to improve your writing skills. Here are five things you can do that can help you polish your craft:
- Volunteer. Become a writing tutor somewhere and help others learn how to write well. It will help you brush up on your skills and remind you of the basics.
- Teach. If you have to break things down for others, it will make you think them through.
- Take a class. Look at your local community college and see if they have something interesting. Take a poetry class. Try a grammar course. Learn about language.
- Read a book. What is your weakest area? Find a book on it and get to work. You get as much out of writing as you put into it. Hone your skills.
- Add to your knowledge. Learn ten new vocabulary words a month. Save magazine articles you enjoyed and study them to figure out what the author did to draw you in.
You can do any of these–or all of them. The more you work at becoming a good writer, the better the chance you have of getting published and making a living doing what you love. Simply put–you can’t know too much!