Being a writer is no easy job.
But once you know how to communicate your thoughts well through the written word, many opportunities from different industries will open to you. Great writing skills allow you to make content for your clients in order to sell their products and services or simply get their message across to a recipient. Today, employers value applicants who know how to write business reports and other content they use.
When you are able to hone and then showcase your writing skills, people would take notice and this can impress your future employers.
So if you aren’t a natural wordsmith, you might be thinking what skills you should have to qualify as a writer and excel in it.
1. When you’re a writer, you should be able to communicate well.
A writer’s job is to essentially communicate thoughts and ideas in order to convince or persuade someone into believing said thoughts and ideas expressed. A writer must have the ability to put this message across in a concise and transparent manner. You don’t want any reader to be left confused with what you wrote.
But you might think that you only need to learn how to communicate through writing. You also need to sell your writing services which means you’d need to have great communication skills. In writing, there’s also a need to collaborate with other people.
Yes, you’d spend most of your time in front of your computer as you jot down words but having a writing job also means communicating with other people, particularly sources, clients, and other fellow creatives. This will be a great factor in becoming a successful writer.
2. Writers can adapt to the different needs of a client no matter what industry they're in.
You won’t always get to write a news piece with a topic that you like to write. You can make money if you can get as many clients as you can handle while making sure you give them the best content that you can deliver. The competition is cutthroat so you need to be able to write any content from any business, as long as you meet the client’s needs and preferences.
You have to learn how to be flexible and write about topics that don’t really interest you in the first place. You have to understand that the industry changes a lot. For example, people used to read newspapers; now most of them turn to social media for their dose of news, meaning more people consume short form content now than long articles.
3. Writers must be disciplined, especially that they work on their own.
There will be so many days when you have to write so many assignments that it can become daunting for you to finish your tasks. Probably, you also didn’t choose to become a writer. During these days, you’d find it more difficult to finish your writing tasks. This is why when motivation is running low, you must count on your self-discipline in order to deliver a job. You made a commitment to your client or to the company that you are working for so make sure that you are able to meet deadlines. The most successful writers are the most disciplined ones. And plus you can make more money if you are able to write more articles, efficiently and of quality.
4. Writers must have good research skills.
As a writer, the writing part of your job only constitutes about 50 to 60%. You can expect that you need to do a lot of research in order to write great quality content for anyone, especially with regards to a topic that you do not know or you are not an expert of. If you do not have good research skills, your market will be limited and you will most likely produce content that is of subpar quality. Writing about different topics can only help your growth as a writer and help you advance more quickly in your career. And in this day and age where information is readily accessible, there’s no excuse in writing a half-baked story. But also as a writer and researcher, you must be able to determine what source is credible and what is not.
5. Writers must know how their audience reads.
Aside from the obvious that writers must know the demographics of their target market, writers must also have a good grasp of the reading patterns of the market today. When they know how customers read and consume writing content nowadays, they are able to make pieces that have more impact and that resonate with thousands, even millions of readers across the world.
One, a writer must make sure that their written material is readable. It should be direct, simple, and concise. You don’t want to confuse readers with high-falutin words that just don’t make sense or with too many ideas that you are just rambling thoughts without being able to organize them in one cohesive message. A writer must also consider its readers’ attention span, know what topics interest these readers, and what words to use in order to reach a big chunk of the target market.
And of course, the writer must know what questions readers are asking. In order to write a topic effectively, a writer must be able to answer these questions on the air that will help their readers gain clarity, add to their knowledge, and maybe give them an alternative mindset.
As a writer, you’ll be spending a lot of your time in front of the computer, seated on your chair. There may be bursts of focus and motivation and once you get into this zone, you’d be typing continuously on your keyboard. The thoughts just keep on flowing. You wouldn’t want anything to distract you from your focused time, especially body aches such as pains in your neck, back and arm muscles. An ergonomic office chair is a piece of furniture that will benefit you most in your writing job.
Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair
This ergonomic chair from FlexiSpot proudly features a 3D lumbar support system, 135-degree lounge tilt, and 4D adjustable armrests. The elegantly curved backrest will conform to the neck and spine that will provide the maximum headrest and lumbar support. The armrests are adjustable in four dimensions that contour effortlessly to the arms and elbows. It is made of Italian-imported chenille and K+R temperature sensitive fiber that will provide maximum ventilation and the most delicate of fabrics. It also features the best-in-industry Samhongsa Class 4 Gas Lift which guarantees that this chair will be able to handle whatever you throw at it.
