4 Strategies To Polish Your Writing And Storytelling Skills
How to polish your writing skills - 4 strategies for success
Human connection offers countless physical, mental, and emotional benefits. Among the various methods of connecting, storytelling emerges as a remarkable technique. It is one of the most ancient art forms and dates back to the third millennium B.C. It is both an art and a skill and like any craft, the techniques needed to write compelling stories can be acquired through learning and practice. This article teaches five strategies to refine your storytelling skills.
Embrace Your Doubts
Most writers perceive doubt as an obstacle in their writing journey, something to overcome or hide. However, doubt can serve as a valuable tool for personal improvement. When approached thoughtfully, doubt is your subconscious mind signaling potential issues that require your attention.
Typically, it does so in the form of questions:
Am I capable of writing this story effectively?
Is there something missing in this scene?
Does the dialogue sound true?
Doubt becomes detrimental when we convert the uncertainty of these questions into limiting beliefs:
I lack the skill to write this story.
I can't make this work.
My dialogues are terrible.
As a writer, you must embrace doubt as a helpful guide. Consider the question that doubt raises. If a genuine issue needs addressing, consider the actions you can take to resolve it. For instance, if you doubt you cannot write the story, ask yourself why. What's the underlying issue?
Maybe you're feeling uncertain because you're unsure what to write next. This situation does not indicate that you cannot write your story. It indicates the need to step back from drafting and identify where your story lost momentum. Consider reading the concepts of story structure. You can apply this same approach to convert doubt into a catalyst for personal growth.
Seek External Input
Writers are often so immersed in their manuscripts that objectively assessing their strengths and weaknesses is challenging. This is why actively seeking feedback from external sources, such as beta readers, critique partners, or professional editors, can widen their understanding of areas that need improvement and set the stage for remarkable growth.
Engage In Thoughtful Reading
Reading books can teach valuable lessons for enhancing your writing and storytelling skills. Thoughtful reading takes on various forms.
For instance, you can:
Analyze your favorite author's use of descriptions to enhance your descriptive writing skills.
Map out the structure of a book in your genre to gain insights into the essential story elements.
Write a book review to evaluate what worked and what didn't in the novel you recently completed.
Consider any envy or admiration you experience while reading. Use these emotions to understand areas of potential improvement in your work.
Put Knowledge Into Action
Knowledge is a valuable asset, but not without action. If you want to enhance your storytelling, applying the insights you gain is crucial. While writing is the foundation of your growth, implementing newfound knowledge requires a more deliberate and thorough approach to your creative work.
Therefore, don't hesitate to take your time. It's okay to sacrifice word count in favor of refining your dialogue. In the same way, it's entirely reasonable to set aside revisions temporarily to delve deeply into your story's structure.
Takeaway
While the strategies discussed here provide a solid foundation, seeking the support of a publishing company and professional editors can be transformative. A publishing company can offer guidance, exposure, and invaluable insights into the world of literature, elevating your work and providing a platform for your stories to reach a broader audience.
Row House is a disruptive publishing company offering a new, transparent, and equitable model to publish groundbreaking books in wellness, community, health, psychology, memoir, politics, spirituality, children’s literature, parenting, business, LGBTQIA+, and other genres. We offer an equitable publishing model that represents the values and diversity of the authors and audience we embrace. To learn about our publishing process, visit our website .
