What are the Qualities of a Good Writer?

Jan 15, 2019.

What are the qualities of a good writer? Ever wondered if you possess those qualities? Writers have very special qualities, without which they MAY never succeed as a writer. Below are 10 traits writers must possess.

10 Qualities of a Good Writer

1. Organisation:  You must be very organised and treat writing as a business. All successful businesses are organised ones. Clean up your writing life and ensure it’s not clustered. Your manuscript should be in order. Create specific times and places for your writing. Keep a good filing cabinet.  Keep tract of work submitted to editors, publishers and do proper follow ups. Keep records on expenditures and sales, if any. In fact, your whole writing career should be organised from top to bottom, to achieve the best results.

2.  Avid Reader:  Writers must read to produce outstanding writing. Reading widely broadens a writer’s horizons. When you read, you discover that you know very little and at the same time accumulate good knowledge that will help you in your writing.  Both contemporary and ancient writings will be extremely useful depending on what you want to write about. So, don’t only write, good writers create time to read the works of other authors.

3. Keen Observer: Good writers are keen observers. They observe and note everything that goes on around them. Making use of observations skills can land you a beautiful piece of writing. When you observe you are aware of the happenings around you and would most probably get something to write about. So, do not allow important issues to pass you by because you are not keen in your observations.

4. Dedication: Writers must be personally committed to their craft. You must give in as much as you can – even more, for a better output. You must be determined to succeed. You must persevere. Those who are dedicated to their course always make it.

5. Self-Discipline: This is a quality of successful writers. Set some rules and make sure not to break them, unless you must. If your objective is to complete a chapter every day, then do it. If you must get up early in the morning to write, don’t fail to do so. If your objective is to do research at the library, don’t be distracted by a football match or anything that will prevent you from realising your day’s objective. Good writers are very self-disciplined.

6. Love For Writing: A good writer must love his craft. Writing is not as easy as some people think it is and not everyone can write. Not everyone loves writing. To succeed as a writer, you must love writing. Thus, writing must be a passion and you must have that insatiable quest for it

7. Research Oriented: Just reading is not research. You must do your research to establish and re-establish your facts. Sharing scientifically proven material gives you the much-needed respect in the writing world.

Qualities of a Good Writer

8. Confidence and Professionalism: A good writer will ensure his readers know he knows what he is talking about. He is the master of his niche. When you find your niche and own it, your readers have confidence in you. Professionalism here means you learn every aspect of your niche, take it seriously and offer your followers only material they wish to read.

9. Resilience and Self-Motivation: Always have a reason to keep going, even when the going gets tough. Your motivation may be that big reason for which your are writing.  Is it greatness and fame? Money? Sense of achievement? Resilience here is the ability to bounce back, even though a wonderful piece of work has been rejected, for instance.

10. Patience: Good writers are very patient. It takes a lot of time to complete a great piece of work and even when you thought it’s over, editors will tell you no. The journey from the beginning to the end is a tedious one and not everyone can endure. If you know you may not be patient enough, then, writing may not be for you.

I  am pleased that you have gone through this article and are now aware of these amazing qualities. Put them into practice. Let the form below to tell us more about the qualities of a good writer, especially those that we left out.

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