Teaching myself to write (better)
Reading has always been my favourite hobby. Which comes as a surprise to most people who know me as I’m known for my more active or artistic hobbies rather than a keen reader. But reading has been there my entire life, a constant companion in strange or hard times. So I read for fun. Some times I read to learn things. And some times I simply read because there is a soothing nature to the way words follow one another on paper.
What this hobby has done is made me highly critical of my own writing skills. For someone who reads a lot, I found I usually read through my own copy attempts and find them lacking. And so I made a promise to myself, about a year ago, to start writing more and get better at it.
The process has not been linear, but it’s been–mostly–fun. Some days I had to force myself to do it. Some days I really enjoyed it, more than I’ve anticipated. Here I’ve put together the steps I’ve taken to help get me started and kept on me on track.
Read more of what you want to write.
Read about the kind of things you want to get better at. Last year, I’ve used my remaining training budget (thanks to the awesome benefits at HAA) to get a couple of books on copy. I found it massively helpful to have D&AD’s copy manual at hand and enjoyed reading through all the successful, creative copy ads they picked through the years.
Write regularly.
This was hard but a commitment worth making. I bought myself a new notebook and started setting small writing tasks. Most were creative copy for past projects to train myself on them. Some were paragraph-long messages of various functional day-to-day copy. I scribbled and scribbled, even though I hated most of them. There are tons of very (very!) bad ideas in there. But I found that there are some good ones too.
Expand your vocabulary.
As a prime reader who gets through at least 2 books a month (on a very busy month), I’ve started highlighting phrases and words that impressed me. Especially words I’ve never seen or used before. They are all in my kindle’s clipping section so I can revisit them any time.
Edit. Simplify. Re-write.
A lot of this. So much that some times it hurts. I have to admit that with these posts, things got easier. But with some of the shorter lines it was very difficult (and still is). It gave me a deep appreciation for good copywriters.
Edit more.
The main tip I’ll always give to anyone starting to learn anything new. Edit your work again, again and again. There will be times when a first draft feels genuine and honest. But it takes a while to reach that state, so for most of us, editing multiple times makes copy better. (This also applies to creative work, editing is crafting and crafting makes everything better).
Seek feedback (and accept criticism).
No one wants to hear their writing is bad. But it’s necessary for someone to point it out. I’ve had some really harsh feedback at times. Even though it hurt at the time I received it, it also helped me get better. Feedback and criticism are your best friends, they are what will drive your progress. Always seek them out and remain open to them. Don’t ever expect feedback to only be positive, there will always be something to improve on.
Be methodical.
Find the order in the chaos of your mind. This was especially difficult for me as I tend to think in a very chaotic and unruly way (which I’m aware is not the same for every one as some creatives are very orderly and organised). When I write long-form copy I make an outline of the key points I want to deliver. Then I expand on them and start to write paragraphs to explain further (such as with this post). When I write short-form copy, I find it useful to brainstorm using buckets. What I mean by buckets is categorising the way you brainstorm. Much as we do with creative routes in design, I try to create these buckets of direction to explore. Is my copy benefit-led? Is it emotion-led? Is it offer-led? Knowing what you are trying to achieve with your copy (and setting parameters for exploration) only makes you more creative.
Enjoy the challenge.
You won’t do it if you don’t enjoy it! Find your way of having fun with it. Usually I get weird ideas popping into my head when I’m at the grocery store, on the tube or out and about. They are what drives me to do my quick 5 minute briefs. I keep a long note on my phone and do it during my commute. If there’s an ad in there that sparks an idea, then I expand on it. Some days I feel inspired and start to solve work challenges. It doesn’t mean I’ll ever use that copy for anything. It’s just practise without pressure. It’s having fun. It’s trying something different.
Want to learn more?
👀 The Writer’s Room is a great place to find more about AI with some quick and efficient articles that are great to learn from (both about writing and AI).
✍️ Thanks to my job at HAA and our amazing resources, I’ve had the chance to try YCN’s Writing Well micro learning course and would highly recommend it!
✏️ If you are looking at specific types of writing, then take advantage of Domestika’s current offer and get yourself booked for a class for $0.99.
