Is it good grammar?
Is it good spelling?
Is it good punctuation?
Actually I don’t think so.
In my personal opinion, good writing is less about the technicalities of the writing, and more about the factors listed below.
So let’s explore what makes a good writer!
By and far one of the most important things a great writer will have is a plethora of life experiences.
Why does this matter? You can still write a ton of stuff with limited life experiences!
Someone who has a wider range of life experiences can draw from so many different fields, experiences, people, ideas, and different perspectives.
Some of the most famous writers of all time like Hemingway, Mark Twain, and Benjamin Franklin had crazily interesting lives!!
They weren’t simply better at writing down words than everyone else, they simply had a broader range of subject matter to draw on.
If you have lived a life full of experiences, you will have more to write about, and more knowledge to impart on others.
Usually people who are great writers are into multiple things.
Comedian Bill Burr credits having multiple hobbies with keeping his comedy material fresh:
– He does stand up comedy.
– He travels all over.
– He became a helicopter pilot.
– He got really interested in cigars.
– He learned to play the drums at a professional level.
Having all these different areas of expertise allows him to draw from a much wider range of knowledge.
Having multiple skills is important in nearly every profession, and can make you a solid Triple Threat. Being a Triple Threat is also extremely beneficial in making a good writer.
A lot of people come to me wanting to become a copywriter, but they are secretly just trying to find an extra source of income.
They don’t actually like writing, they just like money.
Most great writers will write even for free. In fact many of them have been writing for years and years without the expectation of income from it.
If someone at a conference asks me, “Do you think I can become a copywriter?”
I simply reply with this question:
“Have you published at least one article in the last year on any platform?”
If yes: “You actually have a shot at becoming a writer!”
If no: “You probably won’t enjoy writing all the time.”
Most great writers have this weird compulsion to write. They’ll write in a journal, they’ll write in a diary, they’ll write on loose leaf paper, they’ll write in a Word Doc, they’ll write on a personal blog.
A 16 year old girl that’s been writing a personal blog for several years has a better chance of becoming a good writer than a business person wanting to get traffic to some content he puts out. This is because someone writing because they love it, or they MUST do it will persevere longer when an article gets tough.
My friend Linda has been writing since before “food blogging” was a thing. She wrote about what she loved for YEARS and slowly built up a following.
Editing, proofreading, finalizing, etc are almost always not that fun. That’s a given.
However if you at least love the process of STARTING an article, you might have a shot at becoming a good writer.
There’s something kind of exciting about finding a topic to write about, then brain-dumping everything onto the page, then organizing your thoughts. You can see this process in action here.
Of course by the time the article starts getting long and you have to put finishing touches on it, it’s totally normal to absolutely hate writing at that moment!
Many people start writing because it either helps them think or helps them calm down.
However if writing hella stresses you out….it may not be a great option.
I fall in the camp of writing helps me think. My brain is so dumb that I can’t keep much information in there at once, ergo I must write down my thoughts to think clearly.
There’s also a large amount of people who start or end their day by writing in some sort of journal. This is therapeutic for many people, and helps “organize and reflect” on each day. People who get this sort of benefit from writing have a shot at being a good writer.
A lot of content generation nowadays is just a writer Googling a subject and condensing the knowledge from the top posts into their own post.
While there’s some value in summarizing other content, the content that does well over time is something that adds new knowledge to humanity.
Here’s some content examples that’ve brought the author lots of attention, links, and money:
- 1,000 True Fans (created the concept that you don’t need a large audience, but a loyal audience)
- Elon Musk AI (laid out what Artificial Intelligence is in a different way than anyone else)
- Writing Taglines (proposed a different way of creating a tagline than others).
These are seminal pieces of work that even years later bring in massive amounts of readership.
They stand out because they bring fresh and unique perspectives to existing topics.
Have you ever built a complicated piece of IKEA furniture? And at the end of the process you get this strange inner feeling of accomplishment?
That’s how I feel whenever I complete an article.
I may be completely fed up with writing the damn thing by that point, but it still gives me a sense of accomplishment that I took a bunch of raw ingredients and created a finished product.
As a writer you’ll have to publicize your work to the world. Is this something you’re willing to do?
Some people are.
Some people are not.
Either way is fine, but if you want to be a good writer, it’s likely you’ll have to subject yourself to public scrutiny.
I think curiosity might be one of the biggest factors of all for a good writer.
Good writers like to explore.
Good writers like to poke and prod an issue.
Good writers like to break down complex ideas into simple chunks.
Neville. I love you!
My life was in the middle of falling apart when you published this post and I missed the kind shout-out. I did very much write compulsively and it is still something I do privately. I am now 40 journals deep in my personal notebook collection.
I miss you and am always a fan!
Hey, Loved to see your articles. Thanks for your message and for increase my confidence to write in a more honest way.
A great writer has guts.
therapeutic- writing cured my depression and anxiety :D I rely on it to survive. weird habit lol I don’t feel like waking up if I dont write a post in the morning- before 7 AM! I will feel sick if I don’t write every day. Students feel that I create a lesson/day for them but I create that for myself. workout+writing+cold brew+meditation = I can survive today
This list is awesome, Neville! I found it applicable to me, at least. I would like to add another point, with your permission.
You face your own inner & outer self with grace
You know, as they say: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I believe that the more you explore yourself, the more you will be able to understand the external, which in turn equips you to write more passionately.
This is brilliant Neville!, Now I understand the why of my personality and why writing is a must for me since I was 16 years old.
I bookedmarked this to read on days I don’t *feel* like a writer, let alone a good one. :) Really enjoyed the unique points about the person beyond the writer.
Thanks for sharing!!
Oh that’s awesome Connie, glad this made it to your bookmarks :)
And yes I think the “person beyond the writer” is far more important than any writing technique. For example when Warren Buffer writers his annual shareholder letters, people read them because of WHO HE IS and his accomplishments, not because of the stellar writing :)
Interesting Person often equals Interesting Writing!
A great writer is not a perfectionist. Or maybe she is, but has the ability to put that part of the personality aside, and publish the damn article when it is good enough.
Very true Eva! I think you CAN be a perfectionist but still get things out the door. So long as you’re a perfectionist that still respects deadlines :-)
This is an interesting article. I make a living as a writer and quite a few of these don’t apply to me. The one missing for me is that I wish I’d written more books. Even though I’m prolific that desire drives me. I believe that we can gain immortality through our writing as people continue to read our words long after we are gone.
Very true Jonathan, if we lost all computer access this blog would be gone….but my book will still be around :)
I actually wrote an article a whole ago on publishing a book you can checkout, as the process was much simpler than I expected.
It was essentially just a Google Doc I wrote in, then uploaded to Amazon to be sold as a physical and Kindle book. GO DO IT!!
Yes, yes, yes, 100 times YES! All of these! I agree that the last one – curiosity – is for sure the most important. The therapeutic impact of writing is a close second for me. I write a little every single day, and when I have a hard-to-answer decision I’m having to make, writing about it almost always helps me with my answer. Thanks for another great post!
Totally agreed :)
Writing down a problem is the best…..completely makes the problem into a logical thing rather than an endless brain-circle!
Spot on, as ever Nev!
I would say this one could be put under ‘life experiences’ but I’ve found that there aren’t many good writers that don’t like reading. I don’t mean, book a day type reading. Just in general reading. Also, reading is a great way to live more than one life, or at least get as close to that as physically possible.
Great post dude – thanks!
– B
Yeah a couple of people here have recommended “love reading” as one of the traits of a good writer. I think so long as the person is super curious (#10) and has a wide variety of skills (#2) they should be good…..the reason I didn’t say reading is required is because I find myself physically READING LESS than in the last 10 years, but listening and watching FAR MORE podcasts and videos with educational stuff.
So as long as they are absorbing knowledge in any capacity that seems to fulfill the requirement :)
Great points Neville.
I’ve thought about this in the past and here are a few more I’d add:
#11: Take the time to understand the target audience
#12: Understand the need for tension to keep the reader interested
#13: Ability to think conceptually. A little creativity to help the reader see something in a new light.
Great points Robert!
Hi Neville,
What a terrific article. Helpful as well. Add on informative too.
Get the idea, I really liked it very much!
Thank you.
Why thank you Judith, very glad you liked it :)
“A 16 year old girl that’s been writing a personal blog for several years has a better chance of becoming a good writer than a business person wanting to get traffic to some content he puts out.”
I’m putting this on a post-it note and sticking it to my fridge. THIS WAS ME!!! I started my first Xanga blog back when I was 13 years old and then migrated to Livejournal by the time I was 16. I used to write about emo bands, gossip about crap happening in my high school, and post cringy pics of my dogs. I don’t have a degree or formal training in writing but I’ve been writing blogs for a decade and a half. Thanks for the vote of confidence. You rock!
Bahahha XANGA!! That was the jam :)
The fact that you’ve continuously written over all that time is a very valuable skill, and shows that you actually ENJOY writing rather than view it as an ugly chore.
Keep writing!
I have to say writing has always hurt my head. I find it a constant struggle. I do NOT enjoy starting an article. But I do enjoy revising.
To avoid writing I started making YouTube videos. I just started talking to the camera as if I was teaching a class. Over time I’ve learned to write outlines and scripts for my videos, because a more succinct and organized video gets more views and subscribers.
I enjoy your blog posts because you take the process down to simple steps. And you’re very down to earth and you make me chuckle. Cheers!
Oh wow very cool website Marlene, your stuff looks super professional!
A lot of people who don’t completely enjoy writing might actually like photography or video much more. There’s something about that visual medium which appeals to them more.
I personally like all formats, but articles are my favorite since they are easiest to edit (whereas video is more cumbersome to change once the product is finished).
P.S. For a second I thought that mountain was digital and you were standing on a green screen :-P
Visual mediums definitely appeal to me more. But you’re right, video takes a lot of skill, gear, time and energy. But I love that process so much. I find it very satisfying to finish and publish a video. I spend 8-10 hours on each video I produce. And then I have to write like heck for just as many hours to promote it ;) Go figure!
Bravo Neville! Great article, great comments. I’m adding another one to the mix: compulsive reader. Kinda’ goes with Usha B’s trait – enthusiastic learner.
Thank you Annie! I was considering adding “Voracious Reader” as a trait, but for some reason I didn’t think that was necessary in the last 10 years with the advent of YouTube and a bunch of educational videos.
However 10 years ago if you weren’t a compulsive reader I would’ve agreed you could not be a good writer.
And I totally agree enthusiastic about learning would be a requirement :)
A good writer needs to understand what audience feels and their needs.
Good script is defined by how easy is to read it and how convincing is it written.
Understandable? No! Just easy to read. A good text is always read multiple times :)
Cheers, keep up the good work!
Good point Aljaz! Breaking things down simply is an extremely important trait for a writer!
Great article Nev. I think having the balls to develop a personal style that works for the writer is also key to longer term success. That can also mean that the writer will take a pasting every so often from the holier-than-thou stylists, purists and pedants. Having said that, I do think poor spelling, punctuation, grammar and structure etc. shouldn’t get be allowed to get in the way of the reader’s experience, but that’s where they belong, not front and centre. Anyone can chop out a ‘perfect’ sentence or piece, it doesn’t mean it’s readable, interesting, valuable or worth the cost of the electricity to prop it up!
Very true, I think nowadays more than ever a personal style is extremely important. It’s not CRUCIAL someone be wacky or weird just for the sake of it, but if you write enough you’ll start developing what people notice as “your style.”
great stuff.
I would dare say that a good writer is able to leave a piece of his writing, and then get back to it with a new fresh perspective.
Very true Yair. I frequently start writing something with great enthusiasm, then kind of “lose my way” on the article, and have to come back to it at a later day with a fresh new angle.
Good one :)
Well, Nev, these are some great characteristics, and you obviously know it.
One thing that I’d add to this list is “A good writer is also an enthusiastic learner [always].”
Thank you Usha! I agree with the enthusiastic learner quality, I believe it’s just worded differently in the post as “Hella Curious.”
Your way of saying it was far more eloquent though :-P
Great article Nev!
I especially agree with “willingness to put yourself out there.”
I’m still not at that spot and get nervous about publishing writing.
Thanks Neal! You might wanna try making a free WordPress.com or Blogger.com blog at first, that’s what I originally did back in 2004. It helped just write in private and get used to writing before publishing to an audience.