How YOU Can Write Better

Anyone can improve his or her own writing ~

All you really need is a "toolkit" and a process that works for you.

First, understand that, generally, good writing is the result of a lot of revision. A piece almost never writes itself, springing forth in final form on the first try.

Getting ideas onto paper or the screen is the key.  Organizing and re-organizing, checking for errors and clarity -- these all come later.    

Toolkit

Have available, somewhere in your work space: a dictionary, a thesaurus and a general (non-academic) style manual.  

Good electronic versions include:

• Wiktionary or Merriam-Webster
• Thesaurus.com
• University of Alabama, The Economist (sometimes skews British, but in our opinion, that makes it more desirable, not less!)
  
• Write and Polish's own Writing Tips

However, we do not feel that the websites entirely replace actual reference books.

Work Space

Your physical space should be whatever is conducive to your work, whether dead-silent and distraction-free, or with white noise or music of some kind, and laid out for comfort and convenience. 

Find Your Process

• Preliminaries ~ It's what your English teacher probably called (more)
• Getting Started ~ Ultimately, to write, you have to (more)
• Revision ~ Once all of your general ideas and supporting details (more)
• And, finally....  (more)