Refining Your Skills for Better Writing

Every few months I like to assess my writing and see where I’ve struggled. Did I have problems developing plot, creating relatable characters, or perhaps building a fantastical world? Where ever my struggles may lie, I choose one to try to improve upon.

As an educator, I’ve come to appreciate that there are a few fundamental tricks when it comes to teaching (and thus, learning.) First, the same approach doesn’t work for all students, so approaching the material in different ways is essential. Second, if you want students to remember something, you’ve got to repeat it at least three times. Third, students need to not only know, but master the subject-related vocab before any learning can actually begin.

Three-Approach Method

When I reverse the role and become my own professor, I use a similar, though adapted process that I call the Three-Approach Method to hone the skill I am trying to develop or master. To illustrate this system, I’m currently working on a project that requires some knowledge of the romance and mystery genres. As a speculative fiction writer, I quickly found that I had little idea how to incorporate aspects of these genres in my writing and plot. In order to progress with my project, I need to know how these genres work.

Classic Approach

The first thing that I’ll do in this situation is use the classic approach to find some kind of authoritative reference to learn from, usually a textbook of some kind. Selection of this reference tool should be based in part by the depth of knowledge you have or need. If you want the depth and detail, you will likely want to pick up an actual book of some kind. If you need more of an overview or summary, online references or the like may be sufficient. The FWA Blog is certainly a great place to begin! Be sure to take notes (hand writing helps build memory), including how the material may be relevant to your writing.

Adaptive Approach

Next, the adaptive approach allows me to reinforce what I learned with the classic approach through the use of alternative media adapted to my own preferences and personal style of learning. You can register for an in-person or online course, watch a webinar or YouTube video, read a second book on the topic (some people really dig the classic approach), get some chats going with other writers on a discussion board, or perhaps even find/write a song or something just as creative. I’m going to take advantage of the FWA webinar series for my adaptive approach to learn about writing mysteries.

Interactive Approach

Finally, there’s the interactive approach. Here, you see what you have learned in action and study how and why it works in real life. Select a book, either new or one you’ve read before, to read and analyze. You’ve just spent significant time and effort to improve a certain aspect of your writing and now you’re going to scrutinize how it is applied in the book you’ve selected. Take notes. What was implemented well and what didn’t quite work? Be sure to include reasons why.

By the end of the interactive approach, you will have used three teaching methodologies to create or enhance a new tool for your writer’s toolbox. When your writing is in a rut, take a step back to identify the main culprit and use this Method to beat that bad guy down! After all, it’s difficult to be a productive writer if you’re not an effective writer, so be sure to take time now and again to refine your craft.