10 Steps to becoming a Successful Writer: Our Writer's Manifesto

This writer’s manifesto is to help anyone struggling with writing to learn from our mistakes so that they won’t have to go through the same pain as we did (for further information, watch the video above) ; it is to help people realize that everyone can be a writer no matter what your strengths or your weaknesses are, because, at some point, everyone has to. To that end, we've created this list of ten helpful steps to becoming a successful writer. 

1. Be Passionate  

Passionate Writing equals Engaging Writing

The first thing we’ve learned as writers is that none of what you write matters if you don’t believe in it. You have to be passionate about what you’re writing, or nothing about it will stick with people. It’s like what Philoctetes (the satyr in Hercules) says about painting a masterpiece: it’s a work of heart. Our writing is our own masterpiece, and we have to let our heart show through. 

2. Have Confidence 

Be Brave: Protect your Work from Errorists

One of the most difficult things in writing is doing so with confidence. One struggle that our group members overcame with writing was the struggle with questioning spelling and what it sounds like when people read our writing aloud. Our tip would to forget about spelling or any other of your insecurities and write what you want to write. Use the spell check tool and then have someone you trust read it for you. This way you can get across what you want to say more powerfully than if you’re always questioning the mechanics of writing rather than the actual message.     

3. Define your Purpose and Audience

Cater to your Audience 

Another important part of succeeding in your writing is to remember your genre, and stick to it. Whether you’re writing for an assignment or on your own time, you need to ask yourself an important question: what’s your purpose of the paper? If you’re writing a research paper, let the topic of the argument take the lead: don’t fill it with opinion while keeping the statistics under the table. Determine your purpose and make it explicitly clear. 

4. Make a Word Vomit Draft  

Another tip we learned is that word vomit is okay. The first step to being able to write anything is having a good first draft, and that requires a brainstorm. Just starting to write will help more ideas to come. Most of the time when we’re writing we’re concerned about wanting to be really good and that anxiety stops the flow of words. Then, suddenly you don’t where to go with your writing anymore, but if you just start writing and keep writing, more ideas will flow to you. 

5. Think outside of the Box

A good exercise for thinking outside of the box is to list a few random objects on a whiteboard or piece of paper and then choose one to connect to another random topic. When we did this, a group member wrote about how an elevator relates to love by saying:   

“You get off  the elevator never looking back, never knowing who still be on the elevator waiting” (Thomas). 

6. Use Sensory Imagery

Another tip to making your writing work effectively is to utilize descriptions and sensory details. As we’ve looked through our writing we’ve noticed where we have been able to successfully describe something that the reader can see, hear, taste, smell, or feel.  This semester has definitely helped us improve in this ability to describe something or paint a picture for the reader.  One example is  

“The grass is yellow, expressing its thirst for water” (Kent).  

 This paints a picture for the reader of just what exactly the grass looked like, and helped them have something to connect the image to.

7. Use Metaphors and Similes

Something we have also been able to learn how to use is metaphors and similes. Sometimes these comparisons are hard to create, but they give interest and color to any type of writing that will feel good to the reader and help them relate to the subject matter. An excellent example from our group says, 

 “My dad’s chocolate chip cookies are as iconic as Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke” (Kent).  

This helps the reader grasp onto the idea in a way that they wouldn’t be able to by just saying the cookies were good. 

8. Be Specific 

It is also important to be specific so as not to lead the reader astray and give them the wrong idea. This gives the reader a specific and clear picture of what the writer wants them to have as they read. Nobody wants a guessing game. If you can, supply your readers with research and statistics to help get your point across. 

Don't use that Tone of Voice with Me

9. Pay Attention to Tone

One of the most important ways to get your message across effectively is through the tone of your paper. For a research paper, the tone should be mostly factual, whereas the tone of a journal entry might be more personal. Consider the purpose of your paper and write accordingly. Here is an example from a journal entry--notice how the tone come across as one of awe. “The atmosphere seems almost drained of all color, but the land beneath is more vibrant than ever. It makes me wonder at the contrast—how things can seem so much more alive set against the backdrop of gloomy days” (Adams).  

Kuzco's Poison

10. Be open to Revision

You have to remember that revision isn't a bad thing: it's actually very good for your work! This is the part of the process where you see what you can work on to do better the next time you write, which just creates a cycle of becoming a better and better writer. Be open to feedback. Learn from it, and let it make you a better writer. 

So whether you’re writing for class or professionally, it always is important to be clear and have your ideas well presented. We hope that by using these tools, you will be able to reach your own success with writing in the days to come. Good luck! 

Helpful links:  Owl Purdue, Grammarly, The Quill.