How do I become a better writer?

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I'm nearly a year out of school, and I'm working a job in a startup that I really like.I'm a developer, so I don't write a lot, but I do enjoy it. To me, it's not only about communicating effectively, but it's about expressing ideas in a way that's impossible with other methods.

So I've made it a little goal of mine to become a better writer in 2014. The problem is that I don't know where to start. Obviously, writing a lot is the first step, but I'm not sure where to go after that. What kind of things should I write about, and how do I practice writing in different contexts? And how can I be sure I'm improving? At school, I could always go to the writing department, or ask a friend or professor. Where can I go now to get good feedback on my writing? I'm not looking to become a reporter for the Times, just to polish my writing up a bit to make it seem a little more professional.

Any advice is much appreciated. I was a computer science major in college, and while I don't think I'm a terrible writer, I'm going into this endeavor with a clean slate and open ears. :)
 
One thing that recent college grads tend to do is to be too verbose. In business, be clear and concise. Use bulletpoints. Get to the point. Everything that you are rewarded for in college is awful for business.

Also: Don't bury the lede. Don't ramble. Group things into threes.

If you want to be a better all around writer, get a copy of strunk and white. Learn it.

Don't use complicated words when you don't need to.
 
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I second Strunk and White, and any edition is fine.

I also recommend William Zinsser's On Writing Well, and again any edition is fine.

Strunk and White is great, but is more focused on improving grammar, but Zinsser will focus more on approaching writing conceptually, and how to develop ideas, and also discusses a variety of ways to approach different styles of writing.

I think both of these will be good tools to help put you in the right direction, and of course there are a variety of other tools out there, but these are just my recommendations, but as far as Strunk and White goes they are universal amongst English majors, so that should tell you something.

As you may have noticed already too that reading is generally the best way to get better as a writer.

Good luck with your venture.

 
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I already have Stunk and White on my Kindle from a philosophy class I took my senior year. :) I haven't read the entire thing, but I've read bits and pieces for class. I guess my first step from here will be to read it through.

As for being too verbose, I'm definitely guilty of that. I've been working on it lately though. As you said, it's great for writing class essays, but I find that verbose messages are just ignored in the real world.

Also, does anybody have any suggestions on how to get my writing reviewed by others?
 
Try to avoid being too blunt/direct.  You know how in A League of Their Own, Tom Hanks would yell at the girls, making them cry and then have to be real nice to the point where he was shaking?  That's sometimes how it is in the real world when writing emails.  

 
well, you're on a message board and writing, so there's that. i've been on forums since i was very young and i think it's been immensely helpful in that regard.

as for feedback, look for local writing groups in your area or find some like minded people on the web. start a blog.

 
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panzerfaust said:
well, you're on a message board and writing, so there's that. i've been on forums since i was very young and i think it's been immensely helpful in that regard.

as for feedback, look for local writing groups in your area or find some like minded people on the web. start a blog.
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actually i was going to warn against forums. Forums are full of people who can't write for shit. And even those who do know how to write will take shortcuts and be lax. It's a terrible place to read or write. There's only so many times you can read something like "That game is good on it's own merits" before you start thinking that is proper grammar. And don't get me started on your vs you're / there vs their vs they're, etc. that seems to permeate internet discourse. The fucking internet is awful for writing. (I mean just look at my sig FFS.)

In general, I was going to tell the OP to learn to recognize bad writing. Because understanding what bad writing is will help you develop good writing skills.

Also, read and reread everything you write. If you don't care enough to check your own writing for spelling, grammar, and clarity, then your poor writing will reflect on you.

 
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Confucius said:
actually i was going to warn against forums. Forums are full of people who can't write for shit. And even those who do know how to write will take shortcuts and be lax. It's a terrible place to read or write. There's only so many times you can read something like "That game is good on it's own merits" before you start thinking that is proper grammar. And don't get me started on your vs you're / there vs their vs they're, etc. that seems to permeate internet discourse. The fucking internet is awful for writing. (I mean just look at my sig FFS.)
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It probably isn't the place to learn how to write professional copy, but a message board is still helpful. You can find plenty of intelligent discussion on these boards if you look for it. Grammar can be always be drilled into you, but honing debating skills and learning to clearly articulate arguments are things I think forums are great for.

Depends what kind of poster you are, though.

 
panzerfaust said:
It probably isn't the place to learn how to write professional copy, but a message board is still helpful. You can find plenty of intelligent discussion on these boards if you look for it. Grammar can be always be drilled into you, but honing debating skills and learning to clearly articulate arguments are things I think forums are great for.

Depends what kind of poster you are, though.
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I'd probably agree with you as far as content, and some structure, but I tend to stay away from the VS forum where most of the good writing happens. :lol:

The first step in this journey for me was to change my subreddits. I'm started looking at more reading/writing oriented ones, and of the technical blogs that I still read, I try to keep it to professional, well-written ones. As Squarehard said, reading well written material is a good part of writing better material.

Also, I have a buddy who is an editor. I'm not going to bug him too much, but he said he would look over my stuff for me. Always good to have another opinion.
 
panzerfaust said:
It probably isn't the place to learn how to write professional copy, but a message board is still helpful. You can find plenty of intelligent discussion on these boards if you look for it. Grammar can be always be drilled into you, but honing debating skills and learning to clearly articulate arguments are things I think forums are great for.

Depends what kind of poster you are, though.
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I would say it depends on the forum.

CAG? no. sports forums? no.

 
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