It takes time to transform your English writing skills, but the exercises are easy and simple. After all, it’s too hard to stick with difficult processes.
These exercises will help you transform your skills for almost any style of writing.
I’ve always been a word nerd.
In school, I was either constantly reading or constantly writing on loose pieces of paper and in half-filled notebooks. English literature and composition (writing) were always my easiest classes. Even if I didn’t enjoy the homework or required reading material, I could get great grades without really trying.
So… I never really thought about why people thought I was a good writer as I got older and graduated from high school. It was just something I loved and did often.
When I started editing other peoples’ work — and then the work of my ESL clients — I started looking into why I could write as well as I do.
Fortunately — and unfortunately — it all comes down to habits and practice.
1. Start a Free-Writing Habit.
“Train yourself into a new habit,” might be the least sexy piece of advice possible. I know it’s definitely the least exciting piece of advice I can give.
Unfortunately, it’s also usually the most effective advice — that’s why “Start a habit,” is my first recommendation.
Several times a week, everyone who needs to communicate professionally should set aside 5 minutes to free write. Free-writing exercises have always helped me when I feel “stuck” in my writing projects.
In fact – after I wrote the outline for this article, I filled in the gaps by setting a timer and typing nonstop. I will definitely edit a lot of it out, but by giving myself the freedom to write “bad” (or incorrect, maybe uninteresting) words, I know I wrote some great ones. The words I’m happy with were only published because I gave myself the freedom to make mistakes.
And yes, even as a professional writer and ESL business English coach… my free-writing grammar always has a few run-on sentences.
Usually, my students tell me they feel much more confident after just two weeks of free writing 4 – 5 times a week!
FREE-WRITING EXERCISE GUIDELINES
This is the simplest writing skill exercise ever.
One. Set a timer for 5 minutes and don’t stop writing.
This means you can skip words you don’t remember! It also means you should not delete anything or make corrections.
Two. Keep moving forward and write without editing.
You can start with a prompt or topic, but don’t force yourself to stick to the topic. The topic can change however it needs to — write whatever comes to your mind.
Three. Write until the timer ends… or keep going.
When the timer stops, you can stop writing! But if you feel like continuing, however, please do!
Optional. Wait a week or more before you re-read and edit.
The value of free-writing exercises is training your brain to produce language when you want it to. This is not about being correct. If you want to edit your work, wait a week or more.
If you’d like a free-writing worksheet and some prompts to get you started, you can make a copy from my Google Doc version here!
2. Read, read, read. Exercise your comprehension skills.
Sigh.
Yes, I know. “Read more” is everyone’s advice. I’ll switch it up a bit, though.
Read different things.
The best writers read. A lot. They read books, newspapers, blogs, articles, audiobooks, comics, poetry, and social media posts.
If you usually read a specific genre, of traditionally-published books, why not try to read more news articles? If you’ve never followed a blog before, find one about a subject that interests you.
Find a poet you like, even if you only look at poetry once a month.
If you want to learn from every type of writer… you should even look at advertisements and commercials!
3. Save Your Favorite Words, Phrases, and Sentences from Other Writers
The best writers read… And because you absorb things subconsciously, why not make it more efficient and…. Conscious?
Nobody is TRULY original… Even the writers with the most distinctive and “unique” voices will be very open about their influences.
Their styles are a combination of the styles from their own favorite authors.
Highlight or Underline Phrases While You Read and Keep a Dedicated Space for Notes
If you have a printed-out version, highlight or underline the words as you go, if you don’t want to constantly stop and write things down.
You’ll get the best results if you keep a journal or document full of your favorite words.
If you’re reading online, copy-paste makes this super easy. I like to keep one document with random phrases and notes.
Once a Month, Go Back to Your Document of Favorite Quotes
Read through your document.
- Are there any patterns?
- Do you like a specific sentence length or construction?
- What vocabulary words do you want to bring into your active vocabulary?
- How many adjectives are there?
If you see obvious patterns, you can start using that pattern in your own writing and speech!
The longer you continue this practice, the more unique and true-to-you your writing style will become. Because, as C.S. Lewis states —
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”
C.S. Lewis
Is that all? Yes and no.
These three exercises can become more complicated — or more specific — over time. For example, if you’re studying for the IELTS, you should choose your reading material more carefully than if you didn’t have an exam.
I would also add that the most important factor in all of these exercises is time spent consistently doing them. For example, if you spend 5 minutes free writing every day, that will be more effective than 10 minutes every Saturday.
So… tell me in the comments: Have you done this? Has it helped? What will you add to your study routine?