Want to Improve Your Writing Skills?

You may have heard this a hundred times before, but if you want to be really good at your craft, the most important things you can do are READ, READ, READ, and WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. And then repeat. But that's not all.

Writing coaches can be a great partner to help you improve your writing skills, just as writing workshops and how-to books on writing have a whole lot to offer. However, there's one tool that anyone who wants to write on a professional level (meaning you want to publish) just can't afford to leave out.

I have learned more from reading books in the genre in which I write than I have from every workshop, every class, conference, seminar or video put together. And I truly believe that if I had ever read a “how-to” book, I would have been able to add that to the list as well.

Ask yourself why that last book you read, the one you had a hard time finishing, didn’t hold your interest. Maybe the plot was compelling and the pacing even, but the main character just wasn’t believable or likable. Learn from another author’s mistakes just as you can learn from their genius.

How did your favorite author get the hero or heroine out of such a tight spot? How did they make you cry or laugh out loud? What was it that pulled you in and had you believing every word, feeling, living and experiencing every heart-pounding moment right along with the characters on those pages?

Today's advice: Never stop reading, never stop wanting to improve, and you’ll never stop learning, and before you know it, you’ll have one hell of a story.