A random sampling of blog posts, for instance, reveals multiple people stating in their blogs that they think they are “a pretty good writer.”  Read through the articles on which they say that, however, and you’ll be amazed at the amount of bad writing actually present.

By bad writing, I’m not just talking about the lack of a strong voice or an unfortunate use of analogies in specific instances.  Instead, I’m talking about really bad writing that will make even high school English teachers cringe — barely coherent sentences, strings of unrelated phrases and horrid grammar.

Want to know if you’re a really good writer?  Try these things to get a less-biased assessment:

1. Use a software to evaluate your writing.  Try a grammar checker.  Try a style checker.  Try a plain English evaluation program.  Try a readability software (MS Word has a couple of those built in).  If a software thinks you’re decent, then you’ve probably got the basics right.
2. Swap works with other writers online for evaluation.  Find a writing forum where people help critique each others’ works and post yours.  See what feedback you get.  For the most part, it’s hard to trust the assessment of family and friends — they’ll find it hard to tell if your work is abhorrent.
3. Attend a writing workshop and get feedback.  If there’s a relatively affordable writing workshop in your area, then sign up for it.  Bring printouts of your sample writing alone.  Many writers attend these things just to get other people to see their work and acquire feedback.  The same thing might benefit you.

There may be a time in your life when you and your loved one had a misunderstanding with each other. You both argued endlessly and may have ended saying hurtful things that both of you don’t really mean. Or maybe it could be a friend or maybe your parents. In these cases, it is always difficult to apologize to them because you find it very awkward to do so or maybe you are too embarrassed to admit you were wrong.  During these times, when you do not know how to express your deepest apologies, then a letter might be the answer to your problems.

Making a letter of apology is very easy. It doesn’t need to be fancy. You can create a simple letter of apology that can convey your heartfelt regret to your loved one.

First thing you can do is take a blank sheet of paper and try writing down a letter of apology as practice. Try not to make it too long or too short. Express your apologies with the best of your abilities and make sure the words are clear and concise. If you have your own computer, you can use it to try and check for any grammatical errors on your letter. Try using grammar checkers to make sure.

If you have already made your final draft, you can now start writing the letter of apology. Make sure you use a clean paper for writing. This should now be very easy for you since all you need to do is simply write down everything that you had made in the practice. After writing, place the letter inside a nice envelope. Now, if you want to make your loved one feel how sorry you really were, one tip is to place the letter in a table, surrounded with flowers or balloons. Now isn’t that sweet?

Ok, since I was able to tackle the most basic steps in the first article with the same name above, we will now proceed with the more advanced steps in writing like a professional. The next few things that we will discuss have something to with mental and physical preparation before you start writing. These things are very important in order for you to unleash your full potential as a pro writer.

Without further ado, let’s begin learning the advanced steps:

Mental Preparation – First of all, the mental preparation of a writer should not be taken for granted. Make sure you’ve had a well earned rest and have eaten before you start writing; nothing distracts a writer more than sleepiness or a hungry stomach. When you feel tired of writing and thinking of ideas, give yourself a break. If you need to finish the article as soon as possible, take a deep breath and relax just for about 20 to 30 minutes. If you feel comfortable writing in the wee hours of the night, then take a nap an hour before you start writing. A nap can energize your senses, enabling you to work more efficiently. Drink a warm glass of milk to soothe your nerves.

Before writing, release all negative thoughts from your head. A person who has so many things to think about cannot write because of so many mental distractions. It is true; angry people tend to make horrible and heartbreaking stories due to the many feelings of anger hidden inside their minds. So the next time, try releasing any negative thoughts while and before writing an article.

Physical Preparation – This is very important as well. Before you start writing, you need to check the room and the table that you will be working on. Make sure that it is comfortable and well—ventilated. The chair should be comfortable as well. Sit straight with your feet flat on the floor while writing. I know your mom or your bossy teachers have told you of this a thousand times, but believe me, they do help while you are writing. It enables proper circulation inside your body, making you more relaxed and more focused in writing.

Most writers experience a pain in their wrist while they have been writing for many hours already. When you experience this pain as well, it is important that you stop for awhile and then stand up and stretch your arms. Remember that your health is also a priority and should never be secondary. Take this into your mind the next time you write a long article or story.

Well, this is just one part of the Advance series. Watch out for the next one, where we will focus on the many techniques and tools, such as grammar checkers and spinning systems, you can use in writing like a professional. Happy writing!

]]> http://www.grammarsoftware.com/blog/write-pro-advanced-steps/feed/ 0 http://www.grammarsoftware.com/blog/secrets-effectively-rewriting-articles/ http://www.grammarsoftware.com/blog/secrets-effectively-rewriting-articles/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:32:42 +0000 admin http://www.grammarsoftware.com/blog/?p=93

Article rewriting is indeed one of the most sought after skills in the Internet world today. When it’s about Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O) or just plain rewriting for blogs and other purposes, article rewriting is becoming more in demand today. However, it is much more complicated than just changing a few words and phrases. When you rewrite articles, you need to rewrite as much as you can but the thought is still there. Sure, you can use as many article checking software as you can, but this is only a temporary resolution. In order to effectively rewrite articles, you need to understand the concept first.

First of all, when rewriting articles, think of the format and the size of the articles. For example, if you have a very long article, after you’re done rewriting it should still have the same format and size. Rewriting is not the same as changing everything in the article. This is the most common mistake that new writers do so you need to be very careful about this.

The next thing that you need to remember is that you must try to rewrite as much as possible. Just like what I have said in the beginning, if you want to seriously rewrite an article then rewrite as much as you possibly can. Because the danger of you getting caught for plagiarism is a very grave consequence. If you are not confident with your own grammar, you might want to check your spelling and sentence construction skills, as well as your own knowledge with synonyms. Synonyms are very useful in rewriting as you can interchange many words with the use of synonyms, thus your rewriting is improved.

If you do not like the idea of spending too much time rewriting, then you might want to use article spinners or grammar checkers so that it can make your work easier. But if you really wish to become an expert in rewriting, then the only secret is determination. Be determined in studying and perfecting the art of rewriting and you will be rewarded greatly.