How do you know when your writing is “good” in the most objective way possible? Is it even possible?
How To Improve Your Writing
I can say with the utmost confidence that there is absolutely no way to determine whether a piece of writing is without a doubt “good” or “bad.”
Writing is an art form and is entirely subjective, changing from person to person and from interpretation to interpretation. Even some of the best classics have their critics, and a subject or style that may be riveting to one person may be boring to another.
Writing tastes even change within a single person; a book you used to love as a kid can become unreadable as you grow older, and your preferences for certain genres and tropes also tend to change as well.
You yourself can never determine whether your writing is “good” or “bad” because often times you tend to be your own worst critic when it comes to what you’ve written.
Instead of worrying about the completely subjective and unattainable concept of “good” writing, think of it more along the lines of a learning curve. Consider yourself a student of writing who’s constantly working toward improvement the more they practice.
Every time you sit down to write—or even to some extent, when you read—you become more experienced, and with experience there comes a certain knack for grammar, spelling, and flow.
Your writing improves as you practice, and because improvement is constant and never-ending (there is no such thing as becoming the Ultimate Writing God wherein it is impossible to get better) there is no way to determine how far along you need to be in order to be considered a “good” writer.
There is such thing as amateur writing, where the author struggles with spelling, grammar, and paragraph spacing, but without a doubt within their narrative there is a part that shines.
Whether it be the characters, the storyline, or a certain snippet that really hits the jackpot, there is bound to be a supposed “good” aspect among the “bad.” Therefore, to label the entire work as bad would be false, because no work of art is entirely good or entirely bad.
Things you can do to grow more experienced in your writing
Practice Writing a Lot!
Writing is a muscle that needs to be exercised, and if you stop writing because you’re afraid of it being labeled “bad” then you’ll never be able to continue on your journey of improvement!
Reading: A Lesson From Those More Experienced Than You
Published authors more often than not had to work for years in order to get to where they are now, especially if they’re traditionally published and needed to go through the process of querying to get there.
Because they’ve worked for so long, you will learn from their writing. You will learn new metaphors, new tropes, new character archetypes, new ways to describe things, new ways to structure scenes and dialogues and descriptions, even if you don’t realize it!
Get a writing buddy!
Having a friend you can exchange writing with can be a great help, especially since a fresh set of eyes can pick out grammatical errors or narrative inconsistencies that you might not have noticed. You learn from each other and help each other with your specific strengths and weaknesses.
For example, if your writing buddy is better at dialogue and you’re better at descriptions, you can help one another out by sharing your own experience.
Look up writing tips and tricks, just like how you’re doing now!
Writing advice blogs like me are always here to help. Whether it be videos on YouTube, blogs on Tumblr, or published authors sharing their experience, it’s super easy to find some awesome content online.
If you need help, you can check out my FAQ, or if you want you can follow these amazing writing blogs that are always a fantastic help!
@heywriters
Fantastic writing advice blog who answers asks and reblogs awesome writing content!
@writing-prompt-s
A ton of unique writing prompts to help get the gears turning!
@writingwithcolor
Helps you develop your POC characters!
@scriptmedic
This blog is non-active but still has a ton of masterposts about how to write injuries!
@jennamoreci
A self-published author who has amazing writing advice videos posted on both her Tumblr and her YouTube channel. Has helped me so many times when I’m in a bind.
I hoped this helped, best of luck!
