Whether you write for a commitment, are honing your writing skills, or telling a story, every author needs skills to communicate. Every writer must develop the voice that keeps the reader wanting to go on and feel that what they are reading adds value. A good author should always strive to ensure that they can put their thoughts down with simplicity and clarity for other people to understand without struggles.

Skills that a good writer should have

1. High standard research skills

Even creative writing needs some heads up on how to phrase things and gets the reader to like the content. Therefore, every good writer must have the skills to get information on their writing and from the right sources. Different authors who have different niches need to know where to improve and add value and credibility to their report. A sports blogger will need to learn more about sports while a book author needs to know more about getting their story flow.

2. Unique writing skills

If you want to do well in writing, then get out of the comfort zone. Have a unique style away from what every reader is used to seeing. For example, Roger Wolfson, a renowned television writer, can steal his readers’ attention from a one-time visit on the page. He is a writer who values good writing and shares tips on better speech writing. If you want to stand out, come up with a unique way of writing.

3. Ability to communicate

Writing is not just writing for its sake, but putting your thoughts most simply such that others understand it. A good writer should know when they need to be professional and when to be casual. They need to know when their writing should be neutral and when it should be formal. The target audience should always be at the back of the author’s mind to understand how to phrase them.

4. Flexibility

Writers, especially article writers, should be flexible. This means that a good writer should have the skills to effectively and efficiently handle different topics. Even if they cannot take all the subjects, they should up their game to do any job that came their way and produce quality content.

5. Search engine optimization

All online writers have come across this. A good writer should be aware of the skills to use to ensure that an article ranks high and attracts traffic in the search engines. Never tire of editing. Edit the text till you get the desired outcome. It is also essential to know how to make good meta descriptions so that the information you want to rely on the public gets massive traffic online.

6. Organization

A good writer should not just be physically organized, but also in their writing. What is the flow of your piece? Is it something that the reader will, at one moment, feel lost? Being organized helps your ideas flow systematically, producing high-quality content and staying in demand.

7. Time management

Most writing jobs will require the authors to work within a specific time frame. A good writer should always aim at working within the deadlines.

Tips to hone your writing skills

• Get a writing partner
• Make writing a habit
• Use words well known to you
• Avoid filler words
• Research on what you want to write
• Go for short paragraphs and sentences
• Use writing tools such as Grammarly to check your grammar
• Let your headings be catchy
• Read your work

Places where good writers can work

Digital marketing and commerce have led to a demand for online writers in the marketing industry. The following are places where writers can find jobs.

• Online sites such as Upwork, textbroker, Flexjobs and Fatfrog
• In books and journals publishing firms
• In newspapers producing companies
• As translators, for example, you could translate from Portuguese to American English.
• As public speakers, all the writers have communication skills, making it easier for them to become public speakers.
• As proofreaders
• As copywriters
• As a sales agent, if you can write and convince a reader, a sales agent job can be easy. You have to use communication skills to persuade the customer to buy the product.

The best thing about writing is that you can never go hungry. There are lots of job opportunities that a writer can find. All you have to do is ensure that your skills are honed and give quality content that sticks in the readers’ minds.