How to improve your novel writing skills

There seem to be lots of bestselling debut authors, including J. K. Rowling and E. L. James. But 50 Shades of Grey was not the first novel E. L. James ever wrote. She got her start in writing by penning fanfiction for the popular Twilight books. J. K. Rowling had the idea for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 1990, but didn’t complete the manuscript until 1995. That’s hardly an overnight success for either of these successful authors.

For many of us, the first book will not be a commercial success. Maybe not even the fifth book. But over time, your writing can absolutely get better. After all, nobody is born a writer.

Born to write… or maybe not?

It’s easy to think that some people are just good at writing. Others are good at math. And then there’s people who are good at sports or music. Yet, nobody is born a writer.

In fact, when you were born, you didn’t even know how to talk, let alone pick up a pen.

Think about all the things you’ve learned how to do since you were born, many of them not in a traditional school sitting. Walking. Running. Talking. Those are skills you learned by watching others around you and trying to copy them. Falling down. Being misunderstood. And getting up again. Opening your mouth again.

There’s not much you can’t do if you set your mind to it. Writing and storytelling may be intuitive to some people, but they can be learned, just like many other skills.

Writing & storytelling are learned skills

While the stories we read about and watch on TV sometimes seem magical, there is actually logic behind it. Story telling and writing are both learned skills. To begin with, every delightful story follows the same 5-act structure. If you miss any of the important turning points in your story, it will fall flat. I recommend reading Save the Cat to immerse yourself in story structure. There’s a version of the book geared toward novel writers, but even the original is worth a read.

Of course, understanding story structure is not enough. You must also learn about the finer points of storytelling, including the hero’s journey, character arcs, character archetypes, foreshadowing, and more. But don’t despair. You don’t need to understand all of it right away to write a good book. Here’s how to craft an unforgettable story if you’re eager to get going.

Before readers can enjoy your imaginary world, you must also ensure your writing is up to par. Incorrect spelling and grammar will turn away your readers before the end of the first page. While you can look up basic rules on comma usage in dialogue, dialogue tags, and capitalization rules, it’s a good idea to use a grammar tool. We love ProWritingAid. This tool is more than a spelling and grammar check. It catches overused words and cliches and can help you polish your manuscript.

But neither studying story structure nor investing in ProWritingAid will turn you into a better writer if you don’t practice.

Practice makes perfect better

Remember how you learned to walk? Probably not. But every baby follows the same process. Stand up, hold on to something (table leg, mom’s skirt, couch), and take a step. Then another step. Fall down. Get up. Take a step. Fall down. Repeat ad nauseam. Eventually, taking steps becomes easy. Next is running. More falling guaranteed.

You can’t master anything without practice. You can’t become a professional singer without singing every day. You won’t be a backup dancer for Justin Timberlake if you don’t practice dancing. They won’t promote you at work if you’re not great at what you do.

Will your writing ever be perfect? No. Will it improve? Most likely. But only if you practice writing, read a lot, and seek feedback from others. Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? Absolutely.

One tiny problem with getting better at writing? You’ll actually like your writing less as you learn more. You’ll see all the things you could do better you weren’t even aware of when you penned that first short story. But it’s good. It’s progress. You just have to start.

How to get started

The best thing to do is to just start writing. If you don’t have any story ideas in your head, find some writing prompts and pick one you like. If you’re still stuck, look at our 13-week writing course and watch your story come together. You don’t have to start out writing a novel, either. It could be a short story or a novella or a diary entry.

Start writing and keep doing it. The more you write, the easier it will be. Eventually, it will become a habit, like exercising or taking vitamins daily. You don’t even have to do it alone. There are several authors you can follow for writing practice and advice.

Writing advice to learn from

The Write Practice is a site that encourages daily writing practice. They regularly publish articles, and they always include a writing prompt. You’re supposed to do the assignment and post your results in the comment. Practicing as little as 10 minutes a day can advance your skills. At the same time, you build a habit of writing. And more often than not, you learn something new.

If you’re looking for advice on plot, story structure, character arcs, and narrative devices, check out K. M. Weiland’s site Helping Writers Become Authors. She’s published several books on writing, but even digging through her blog or subscribing to her site will generate a ton of useful information that may just help you crack your next story.

All the writing advice and practice in the world is not enough if your stories never see the light of day. To find out if your writing is any good, you’ll have to show it to other people.

Seek feedback early & often

If you’re writing to have fun and don’t really care about perfecting the craft, I recommend showing your work to your friends and family. They’ll praise you and tell you what you want to hear.

If you want to become a better writer and improve (there’s always room for improvement, trust me!), you need to seek feedback elsewhere. You can easily find Beta readers online who will give your book a chance for free. The more readers you have, the more you can rely on the collective feedback. It’s really important to find readers who like your genre. A fantasy reader won’t have anything good to say about your cozy mystery even if it’s exceptionally well written. Or maybe they have good things to say about it, but it doesn’t really matter, because they’re not your target market. And a cozy mystery reader might be put off by what you wrote even though it appealed to the fantasy reader.

Be warned: It’s scary to put yourself out there. The first time I received real critical feedback on one of my novels, I was devastated. It felt a bit like being stabbed. Okay, I’m exaggerating. Being stabbed is definitely more painful. Still, you get the idea. Fortunately, I dusted myself off and (you guessed it) tried again.

I’m at a point in my writing career where I love critical feedback. Sure, it’s nice when someone tells me, “I love your story.” Who doesn’t want a bit of validation and flattery? I’m only human, after all. But I prefer when a reader points out the flaws, big ones and small ones, in my story (not in the Amazon reviews though – those can really kill book sales).  Consequently, every book I write is a little better than the one before it.

Do I think I’m a skilled writer yet? Far from it. But I will keep getting better and better, because I won’t stop pounding on the keyboard. And when the keyboard breaks, I’ll buy another one.