Is Writing Self-Improving?

The Story Matters Most – Guest Post
Drawing by Adrian Serghie

We know that practice makes everything better, but does that apply to writing as well? I mean, how does writing improve? Based on what? If I write the same crap over and over again that makes me better? Probably not. It will probably be easier to find the same words and phrases, but if I don’t learn new things, I don’t think my writing will improve.

Writing gets better with time and practice, but not without bringing something new. I guess it’s all about the purpose of that writing. Why do you write in the first place? Is it to get rid of some frustrations? Is it to understand some things better by trying to give them a logical form? Is it to connect with people? The destination decides the road and the vehicle.

Regardless the reason of writing, it definitely helps. Practicing makes us better and we will create better writing, but the difference will be made by the things we put in. Emotions and information are the two best reasons for improving our writing, but not without practice. But then again, it’s all about the reason behind.

What do you want to achieve with your writing?

24 thoughts on “Is Writing Self-Improving?

  1. Practice makes perfect in pretty much anything and that goes with writing. You don’t have to write for other people for your writing to improve, either. I’ve been writing for most of my life, and have only been published a few times, but I write for me. If other people happen to like it, great. If not, stiff shit. And it doesn’t have to be literary brilliance either. I still write fan-fiction because I love taking characters that have been created by somebody else and putting them in new and unique situations. I wrote one recently that I was going to put on my blog then didn’t because I realised it sucked. Then I had another go at it and am much happier with the result. Hence: practice.

    1. Very interesting! Based on your experience, what has actually improved? The ease with which words come? The ease with each ideas come? What else?

  2. I wouldn’t consider myself a writer by any stretch but I feel like that very thing in itself can almost make you a good writer because you may or may not limit yourself to the constraints of “traditional writing” or whatever you wanna call it. Just one girls opinion! 😉

      1. Yea, of course, that goes without saying almost I would think, sorry I keep commenting on so much of your stuff, btw. I didn’t realize lol

  3. Love the thought-provoking posts your team generates. In writing consistently we can make our dreams manifest, imagine a new reality within ourselves and the world. Practice brings fluidity, facile expression, and good connection with our readers. Thanks! Rebecca

  4. As a practicing and published writer, I only get better when I have input/constrictive criticism from others. I am fortunate to have editor/writer friends (so professionals) and then “regular” friends who read my work to give my feedback. That is 100% the reason for my improvement as a writer. I think in this particular creative endeavor especially, some of us can get so stuck in our heads, we can’t see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Sometime we need to phrase things differently to make it more understandable to the reader or a story may be missing key details, that WE inherently know because we lived it, but others do not. Fabulous & thought-provoking question!

  5. Literally and figuratively.
    Most of the “learned knowledge” that enabled man to leap forward socially and scientifically, are found within written format.
    Writing not only improves the writer’s skills but also his/her thought analysis, improve the context and purpose.
    I think writing is the most impactful, long lasting contribution one can leave behind.

    1. Written word is indeed something that can last in time and it seems that it becomes the most interesting things about our society, just as we try to understand hieroglyphs.

  6. I have thought about this just recently. It seems to me that, frighteningly, you can pretty much stagnant in your writing even if you’re doing it regularly, if you’re just doing a “data dump” of your brain and not reflecting or trying new forms.

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