How do you become a better writer?

Hey guys,

I am currently in high school and the problem I am currently having is with my writing skills. I have always struggled school but realize that without proper education my future is bleak. Math was without a doubt my biggest hurdle but with the help of Khan Academy I am seeing tremendous improvement. Now I want to fix my other issue which is my writing. I feel like my skills to identify run on sentences, proper punctuation, and grammar, needs improvement but I haven't found anything on the net like a Khan Academy that can help me with it? Can anyone help me out with this? Thanks in advance.

 

Practice writing and read more.

 

read a lot

 

Read and practice writing more.

 

I've definitely been reading a lot more. My mom got me a kindle fire for Christmas and I have been using it like crazy. I appreciate the advice, thank you.

 

why bother with ebooks? Sherdog will teach you better than anything. from complex theories to perfect grammar, etc.




just kidding, for real though - Sherdog does help, there are a lot of assholes & smart people on here as well - sometimes both too. if a post is able to get you to react emotionally, practice expressing yourself & conveying your feelings through words on here - the plus side is you get immediate feedback most of the time.

 

plagiarism

 

Start writing different kinds of things. Write poetry, short stories, essays etc..

 

Reading will certainly help you, especially good articles and novels where you'll find good quality writing.You can also write a list of all the words you come across that you don't understand and find out their definitions.

 

plagiarism

 

Plagiarism.

I just thought of that^
It's my original contribution to the thread.

 

It's exactly the same as getting good at anything else. Lots of practice + good coaching.

Write alot, read classics as much as possible, and get good instruction.

 

I heard reading sherdogians elaborate posts can not only improve your grammur by meiles but it also gives you a sound base in good structure to arguments and debating techniques.

Just read a shitload and write a shitload

 

Read American classics and take some creative writing courses.

 

a personal vocab book, as suggested, is a good idea.

read from a variety of sources.

spend thirty minutes a day writing, even if it is just a journal.

all in all, at your age, just being concerned with this sort of thing, puts you ahead of most in the game.

lastly - get the SAT book now and spend an hour with it a day till test time. good scores can get you into good schools and they can also get you tons extra in scholarships/aid.

good luck, friend

 

In the short term you can get a tutor and just have them beat the rules into you. Should be able to find help for free if you're a student.

Long term, try and read the western canon. Literally try and read every book that people talk about being great, especially if you want to be some form of writer. My grammar is still atrocious, but the only way I got better was just reading the big books; Proust, James Joyce, Flaubert, Nabokov etc.

 

SherDawG MaDe M3 SupeR SmaRT y0 lulzzz

 

i like the writers you mentioned, but i would suggest he start with the english writers first.

his concern is writing, and the russians especially have a peculiar style.

Charles Dickens is easy to pick up and go.

 

Shame that we force our young people to sit around identifying the shallow structural aspects of grammar instead of the substance of it.

 

The same way you get better with everything, practice.