How to Become a Better Writer

February 15, 2024•2 min read

Most people who want to become better writers don't know where to begin.

As a published professional writer who has authored several books, I get asked often, "How can I become a better writer?"

My answer is always the same. It hasn't changed in more than 40 years and I am pretty sure it won't change in the future.

It's really simple and most people don't like it.

Read, read, read.

Put your eyes on all kinds of writing -- from Shakespeare and Hemmingway to blog posts and everything in between.

The more you read, the easier writing becomes.

First, seeing how others write about things builds the bank of ways to present ideas through the written word. You cannot short-change this requirement, unless, as I think about it now, you rely on artificial intelligence, which I don't recommend nor fear will take away the need for good writers.

Second, the more you read, the more you discover. The more you know, the easier it is to find logical connections that are at the core of good writing.

Those connections are soldier holding the two key components of writing, a writer and a reader, together. If I hadn't read recently about soldiering, I don't think I would have been able to make that cool connection that way.

A little insider writing here: That connection I tie to soldiering captures the idea of reader and writer being linked in a way that is better than saying the reader and writer have to be connected. Duh. Boring. I can do better than that. I am a writer after all.

I read anything I can find, even if I am waiting in a doctor's office and all they have are old issues of People magazine. Even user's manuals, recipe books, billboards, explanations of art in the gallery. If it has words, I want to at least skim it.

Nothing can replace this reservoir of ideas and images I can use when I write. It allows me to soldier on as a writer without getting stuck or stopped.

(Without having read a lot, I wouldn't have been able to use soldier in two ways. Just sayin')

Want to see how to put words together to create your business book? Let's talk. I know I can help you, even if today is the first day you pledge to read more.

Bob Graham

Bob Graham is the founder of SpearPoint Ink, where he helps financial advisors, consultants, speakers, coaches and executives turn their expertise into business books and other Authority Assets. He works as a ghostwriter and book coach and has helped more than 25 authors finish their books. He started as a journalist and spent more than 40 years writing, reporting and working in marketing, public relations and business coaching. His work has appeared in newspapers and magazines, on websites and in brochures, speeches, business plans and marketing campaigns. From 2006 to 2012, he was executive editor of Insurance & Financial Advisor (IFAwebnews.com). He wrote The Renegade Way and co-authored The 55 Soft Skills That Guide Employee and Organizational Success. He was a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University from 2014 to 2018, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in business communications, and adjunct faculty at Towson University from 2012 to 2014. Earlier, he was an adjunct professor at Strayer University and Goucher College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication from Towson University and a Master of Arts in communications, journalism and public affairs, from American University.

Back to Blog