Healthy Writing Habits That Help Professionals Enhance Themselves

Writing Daily

Practice makes a man perfect – like all other skills, the adage holds true for writing. Writing regularly not only ensures the completion of the story, but it also lends consistency to one’s writing until it flows naturally. It enhances the writer’s creativity. Penning down a pre-determined number of words every day may not always be practical. On occasions, the writer may come up with only a few lines, but he can always continue from there the next day. Returning to the story on a day to day basis gives one the opportunity to review his own work. Apart from bringing out grammatical errors, it helps the author rephrase his sentences so that they become crisper, clearer and aesthetically more pleasing. Often, the precise word to describe a scene or character comes up after repeated reviews. 

Staying Focused

To remain focused is the trait of a good writer. It is not uncommon for an author to stray from the storyline when he attempts to expand his work so that it achieves the desired word-count or when he gets carried away by his eagerness to impress readers with unrelated facts or events. A writer should stick to the plot or core idea without running off on too many tangents.

Show and Not Tell

In fiction and poetry, an author is expected to show rather than tell. He should strive to help his readers visualize a scene rather than merely stating a fact. “His face turned red and his eyes bulged out as he thundered, “Now get the hell out of here, you liar,” is preferred to saying, “He yelled in anger…..” 

Research

A story might be gripping and yet lose its credibility if the author gets his facts wrong. Hence, it is essential that the writer does his bit of research before penning his story, be it fiction or non-fiction.

Avoiding Cliches

An expression or idea that has been overused in literature loses its charm and becomes an irritant. This is commonly termed as a cliché and a writer would do well to stay away from them if readers are to appreciate his work. Once popular phrases, like “As cunning as a fox,” “As brave as a lion,” “In the nick of time,” “Only time will tell,” fall in this category of currently shunned expressions. 

Physical Exercise

However incredible it may sound, daily physical exercise is also crucial for the enhancement of a writer. A good metabolism, a strong heart, and perfectly working limbs help in the smooth functioning of the brain. That, without any doubt, is absolutely essential for the uninterrupted flow of words from an author’s mind.

Chandan Sengupta

Guest Author Mr Chandan Sengupta is the author of the book titled“Unforeseen: A Battle for His Daughter’s Life". Mr Sengupta completed his schooling in the steel township of Bhilai in 1979 and subsequently earned a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering in 1983 from Jadavpur University in Kolkata. Mr Sengupta has won numerous accolades, including the 1st prize in creative writing for an article on Bahrain and its people that was published in the coffee table book “Best of Bahrain” in 2012. His first book titled “Land of Two Seas” was published in 2015 and is a fictional story woven around about a daring Italian air raid to bomb an oil refinery in Bahrain. “Land of 2 Seas” is set during World War 2 and is very popular in Bahrain.