5 Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills
(Updated May 2026)
As writers, we must continually seek to improve our skills. It is an ongoing process that can be accomplished in a number of ways to fit anyone’s budget.
Here are several options:
Participate in a critique group—it’s much easier to see someone else’s weak spots than your own. I’ve learned so much by critiquing others’ works. I belong to Word Weavers International, but there are many others out there. An online search will help you find them.
Read writer blogs and utilize the many free products they offer. Blogs I recommend are:
Randy Ingermanson, https://www.ingermanson.com/
Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur, https://kindlepreneur.com/
The Steve Laube Agency, https://stevelaube.com/blog/
Author Media from Thomas Umstattd, https://www.authormedia.com/author/thomas/
Subscribe to writer magazines. Writer’s Digest and The Writer are two I recommend, but I’m sure there are others.
Read books on writing. Purchase them or find them at the library. Be sure to ask about inter-library loan or for your library to purchase the book if they don’t have it. I recommend:
- Scene and Structure by Jack M. Bickham
- Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress
- Show Don’t Tell by Sandra Gerth (Best book on the topic I’ve seen and the kindle price is only $.99 as of this update.)
- 5 Secrets of Story Structure by K.M. Weiland (free on kindle)
by James Scott Bell
The Writer’s Little Helper by James V. Smith, Jr.
Take a writing course…or two…or three.
- Webinars offered by various organizations
- Writer’s Digest offers online courses at Writer’s Digest University
- Courses at the local community college or university
What have you done to improve your writing skills? Do you have a book, course, or professional organization you recommend? Leave it in the comments below.
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