{"id":622,"date":"2009-06-01T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2009-06-01T18:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/"},"modified":"2015-11-04T20:27:41","modified_gmt":"2015-11-05T02:27:41","slug":"what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"What are three ways to improve your writing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

No matter whether you write for your job, your business, or fun, you must be interested in improving your writing, or you would not be here at a website with the slogan “Better Communication for Smart People”.<\/p>\n

And this made me wonder: What are three recommendations that I would make to anyone who wants to improve his or her writing skills?<\/p>\n

The answer? 1.<\/strong> Look it up! 2.<\/strong> Read! 3.<\/strong> Write!<\/p>\n

1. Look it up!<\/strong><\/p>\n

You have to be willing to “look it up”, if you want to improve your writing.<\/p>\n

I go to Dictionary.com<\/a> to look up word definitions and to check for proper hyphenation of words.<\/p>\n

I go to Google<\/a> to compare frequencies of competing phrases and expressions and to look beyond Dictionary.com for definitions.<\/p>\n

And I go to Wikipedia<\/a> for a rich source of information about words and the English language.<\/p>\n

2. Read!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Better writers are more voracious readers.<\/p>\n

What\/where\/how should you read?<\/p>\n

Blogs let you read in snatches of time.<\/p>\n

Books teach you about deep organization of a topic.<\/p>\n

And news websites let you see how the same topic can be covered in several different styles.<\/p>\n

3. Write!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I recommend that you “do it” by writing more email messages, blog posts, and articles.<\/p>\n

Email messages let you test whether you are communicating well with your recipients.<\/p>\n

Blog posts require you to present your thoughts in bite-size chunks.<\/p>\n

And articles let you go into much more depth than you can with email and blog posts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No matter whether you write for your job, your business, or fun, you must be interested in improving your writing, or you would not be here at a website with the slogan “Better Communication for Smart People”. And this made me wonder: What are three recommendations that I would make to anyone who wants to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat are three ways to improve your writing? - Kirk Mahoney . com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What are three ways to improve your writing? - Kirk Mahoney . com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"No matter whether you write for your job, your business, or fun, you must be interested in improving your writing, or you would not be here at a website with the slogan “Better Communication for Smart People”. And this made me wonder: What are three recommendations that I would make to anyone who wants to…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kirk Mahoney . com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-06-01T18:00:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-11-05T02:27:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kirk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kirk\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kirk\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/ef2d2a9df1a7b457aacaa1b36d0ffe3a\"},\"headline\":\"What are three ways to improve your writing?\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-06-01T18:00:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-11-05T02:27:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/\"},\"wordCount\":254,\"articleSection\":[\"General\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/\",\"name\":\"What are three ways to improve your writing? - Kirk Mahoney . com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-06-01T18:00:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-11-05T02:27:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/ef2d2a9df1a7b457aacaa1b36d0ffe3a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What are three ways to improve your writing?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Kirk Mahoney . com\",\"description\":\"Better Communication for Smart People\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/ef2d2a9df1a7b457aacaa1b36d0ffe3a\",\"name\":\"Kirk\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8752dc5ed4333a83c8044afd0530fb70bcf58c955e7b5cbadbbd7b4c82c7cd?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8752dc5ed4333a83c8044afd0530fb70bcf58c955e7b5cbadbbd7b4c82c7cd?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8752dc5ed4333a83c8044afd0530fb70bcf58c955e7b5cbadbbd7b4c82c7cd?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kirk\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/author\/Kirk\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What are three ways to improve your writing? - Kirk Mahoney . com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What are three ways to improve your writing? - Kirk Mahoney . com","og_description":"No matter whether you write for your job, your business, or fun, you must be interested in improving your writing, or you would not be here at a website with the slogan “Better Communication for Smart People”. And this made me wonder: What are three recommendations that I would make to anyone who wants to…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/","og_site_name":"Kirk Mahoney . com","article_published_time":"2009-06-01T18:00:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-11-05T02:27:41+00:00","author":"Kirk","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kirk","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/"},"author":{"name":"Kirk","@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/ef2d2a9df1a7b457aacaa1b36d0ffe3a"},"headline":"What are three ways to improve your writing?","datePublished":"2009-06-01T18:00:38+00:00","dateModified":"2015-11-05T02:27:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/"},"wordCount":254,"articleSection":["General"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/","name":"What are three ways to improve your writing? - Kirk Mahoney . com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-06-01T18:00:38+00:00","dateModified":"2015-11-05T02:27:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/ef2d2a9df1a7b457aacaa1b36d0ffe3a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/what-are-three-ways-to-improve-your-writing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What are three ways to improve your writing?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/","name":"Kirk Mahoney . com","description":"Better Communication for Smart People","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/ef2d2a9df1a7b457aacaa1b36d0ffe3a","name":"Kirk","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8752dc5ed4333a83c8044afd0530fb70bcf58c955e7b5cbadbbd7b4c82c7cd?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8752dc5ed4333a83c8044afd0530fb70bcf58c955e7b5cbadbbd7b4c82c7cd?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a8752dc5ed4333a83c8044afd0530fb70bcf58c955e7b5cbadbbd7b4c82c7cd?s=96&r=g","caption":"Kirk"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/author\/Kirk\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gYTW-a2","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1034,"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions\/1034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}