Writing is a valuable communication skill, no matter what we do in life. Just to name a few of the uses a small farmer might have for writing:
- Writing posts and pages for an agripreneurial website.
- Blogging about country living.
- Writing a how-to book for future generations of farmers.
- Writing a business letter.
- Keeping a detailed farm journal.
Looking to improve your writing skills? Allow us to offer a few suggestions:
- Read. To have an output, one must first have an input. Reading the words of others can help us put our own thoughts down on paper cogently. However, it is essential to read quality works, because we will tend to imitate the writing of those we read. Inferior fiction and unedited eBooks need not apply.
- Look it up. We can actively expand both our vocabulary and our understanding of the words we already know by making frequent use of the dictionary. We can look up unfamiliar words to find their meaning. We can look up familiar words to find their origin. We can look up confusing words to find their proper usage.
- Learn how to diagram. Sometimes, sorting out confusing words hinges on a proper understanding of the parts of speech. Diagramming a sentence can help, because it allows us to visualize the the interactions between words.
- Find a helpful organization tool. There’s no reason to waste time searching for missing notes or battling research chaos. We can make our writing times much more productive by choosing a tool to keep notes and manuscripts organized. (We recommend Scrivener for both research and writing.)
- Schedule a writing time. Writing requires frequent practice, just like everything else in life. Setting aside a block of time in the day to write guards us from letting this skill slide in a futile attempt to meet the demands of the urgent. What to write? Try the daily prompts in Write Something Every Day, suitable for writers of all ages. (Free sample pages are available for preview.)
Notice that there is no special secret here—these five suggestions are within easy reach of anyone determined to improve their skills.
Happy writing!
Homestead on the Range 