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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 and CEO of SpearPoint, which helps business people write books using his POWER Process to generate new clients and business. A trained journalist with years of experience in marketing/public relations, business and teaching, he harnesses the lessons he uses each day to write to make writing easier and quicker for people who want to be authors of business books. He has written for newspapers and magazines, and his words have been used on countless websites, in brochures and speeches, and in business plans and marketing campaigns. He wrote The Renegade Way, and he co-authored The 55 Soft Skills That Guide Employee and Organizational Success and The Insider's Guide to Baltimore. He also has taught English, journalism, marketing and communications at various colleges and universities, including Johns Hopkins University, Towson University and Goucher College. In addition to coaching business people on how to write their business book, he also serves as a business coach, helping mostly small business owners find new strategies to scale their businesses. His clients have ranged from startups to established businesses been in a wide range of industries, including insurance, law, lumber, financial services, technology, energy, apparel and automotive. He graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication with a Journalism concentration, and holds a Master's degree from The American University in Communications with a concentration on Journalism and Public Affairs.

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