10 Tips for Writing Excellence From Top Writing Bloggers

Do you want to drastically improve your writing? Are you looking for new ways to boost your writing career, retain more clients, stick to your writing schedule, or get more readers addicted to your blogs content?

We asked the winners of our Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest for their best advice on how to achieve excellence in the business and art of writing.

Here are their top tips. I think youll agree that there are some excellent ideas here.

#1: Dream Big, Write Big

Heres what Larry Brooks of Storyfix, a blog on writing fiction, recommends:

Not so long ago there was elephant in the writing room: the work was all about getting published.

You did that by writing a great story.

But today, with digital venues having no qualitative criteria, the elephant has a new mantra: youll still need a reallygreat story. That is, if you want to sell to anyone besides your family and your critique group.

But not just any story.

Until recently, publishers did all the vetting. Today that power exists in the digital marketplace.

Which means you, the aspiring author, need to play the odds: a small story about your grandmothers childhood in Des Moines is less likely to make a dent in the Amazon rankings than, say, a story that takes an astoundingly compelling concept and sends it sailing over the fence.

So think big. Out of the box. Dont try to compete with James Patterson or Nora Roberts you cant, theyre still out there. Rather, become the next James Patterson or Nora Roberts by swinging for that fence.

Write the story you were born to write. Do it now the door has never been open wider.

Top Ten Blog For Writers Nomination: Jennifer Blanchard loves Storyfix because Larry tells it like it istheres no sugar-coating whatsoever Larrys blog is invaluable for any writer who wants to be successful in the fiction writing industry.

#2: Why Your Writing Doesnt Really Matter

Heres what James Chartrand of Men with Pens, a blog that offers world-class web design and web copy, recommends:

Most writers jam up. In fact, very few writers actually write with complete peace of mind, firing off words and then hitting publish without a doubt in the world. They edit. And re-edit. And edit again. Stress levels go up. Self doubts rise. And hours of blood, sweat and tears go into the smallest pieces of writing.

Heres the thing: Your writing doesnt really matter.

That doesnt mean you shouldnt care about making your writing the best it can be. You should edit and try to catch the typos, use proper punctuation and grammar and work out the kinks in awkward sentences, sure.

But there comes a time when you need to stop twisting yourself up in knots. Let the writing go. Because it doesnt really matter.

What I truly mean by that is that the medium of your message isnt as important as you think it is. People dont get excited over perfect writing. They dont leave comments that say, Wow, that was some damned fine editing!

No. People get excited about the message you have to share. Not your perfect writing.

And if youre preventing yourself from letting people see your writing because youre stressing over the perfection of it well, your message never makes it out there to the people you want it to reach.

So give yourself permission to write what you need to write in the way you want to write it. Stop stressing over what people will think of your work. Th! ats not important. Start getting excited about sharing your message instead and making sure that the people who need to hear it actually do.

Your writing doesnt really matter. Your message does.

Top Ten Blogs for Writers Nomination: Andrea Vahl loves Men with Pens because "James consistently delivers thought-provoking posts on writing, web copy and small business."

#3: The #1 Reason Your Blog Post Goes Unread

Carol Tice of Make a Living Writing, a blog that offers practical advice for hungry writers, says:

Did that headline make you feel you simply had to read this section? Youve just seen a demonstration of why strong headline writing skills are essential for writers who want to succeed in the Internet age. If you can write intriguing headlines with key words, it will help your audience find you. You can really stand out from the crowd, too I reviewed more than 100 writers blogs recently, and weak headlines were the single biggest problem I saw.

Where newspaper headlines have a subhead to help fill in the details for readers, online your headline stands alone. It must grab readers who see it on search engines and compel them to click through to your piece, or you wont be read. Strive to make your headlines both meaningful and intriguing. In my view, improving your headlines is the single most powerful thing you can do to help your online writing career.

Top Ten Blog For Writers Nomination: Stefanie loves Make A Living writing because Carol has a wealth of information for anyone looking to have a freelance writing career success story.

#4: To Get Inspired, Embrace the Mundane

Judy Dunn, founder of Cats Eye Writer, a blog that helps bloggers get their posts noticed more, read more and shared more, recommends:

Whether you are writing a blog post, telling a story in a marketing piece or penning a novel, ideas and topics are right in front of your face if you watch and listen.

In everyday lifeat the grocery store, at the bankturn the camera on yourself. Carry a notebook and record what you see and hear. There is enough bizarre behavior out there to spark the creative juices indefinitely.

Mine your family for rich material. I spun my experiences in raising my daughter into stories that are still educating, engaging and entertaining my blog readers.

Writers should be avid readers. Reading across genres is a catalyst for new ideas. It improves your vocabulary. It helps you find your voice. It shows you how to touch the senses and emotions in writing. And it helps you tell your stories better. My reading ranges from childrens books, true crime and memoirs to 19th century classics.

Finally, write, write, write. I am a big fan of free, stream-of-consciousness writing because it brings me some of my most unique ideas. Try journaling for 15 minutes every day and see what happens.

Top Ten Blog For Writers Nomination: Patty loves Cats Eye Writer because Judys advice is practical, useful and presented in a style that is enjoyable to read.

# 5: Blast Per! fectioni sm and Thrive

Linda Formichelli, author of The Renegade Writer, a blog about living and loving the freelance life, recommends:

I teach and mentor writers, and a huge sticking point I always hear from them is that theyre afraid to put their work out there if its not perfect. So they wait and wait, and get caught in analysis-paralysis and of course, they have no success.

I dont know about you, but nothing I do is perfect. That includes the way I parent my toddler, my cooking skills, and you got it my writing. And yet, Ive been published in more than 130 magazines, from Womans Day to Health to Redbook.

Let me assure you: There is no such thing as perfect. Editors (and readers) are all individuals so what one loves, another will hate. You cant predict it. All you can do is do your best and get your ideas and your queries and your letters of introduction out there. The mediocre idea you send out has an infinitely better chance of being accepted than the one that you never send to an editor because its not perfect.

If it makes you feel any better, when I was first starting out, I sent out some terrible ideas, including a query to Family Circle called Quik Dri Cheez: Why Advertisers Cant Spell. No one blacklisted me for sending out imperfect ideas. I learned from my mistakes, kept pitching, and ended up writing a dozen articles for Family Circle after that. If I can do it, so can you.

Now: Get pitching!

Top Ten Blog For Writers Nomination: Dana Britt loves The Renegade Writer because she has learned SO much and gained so much insight on writing and a writers life from this blog.

#6: Understand the Importanc! e of Per severance

Therese Walsh of Writer Unboxed, a blog about the craft and business of fiction, recommends:

Im not sure who said that the difference between an unpublished and published writer is perseverance, but I believe it. I worked on one fiction project from 2002-2008; my debut novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, was published in 2009. Why does it take such a long time to perfect a story? Because even though we begin the writers journey believing we know enough to write a book, we usually dont. As we writeif were able to cast a clear eye on what weve writtenwell see weaknesses in our prose, our characters, the structure of our stories. Well pick up craft books and ask critique partners for guidance, and apply new ideas and knowledge to our works-in-progress. Until we hit the next snag, and then again well try to understand what the problem is, and well learn more, then make new changes. This may seem a crazy processwrite, learn, rewrite. But in the beginning, it may be the best way to produce quality work. You must have something inside of you that says write, learn, rewrite, dont quit, repeat. Listening to that voice truly can be the difference between the unpublished and published writer. Write on!

Top Ten Blog For Writers Nomination: Rachael Herron loves Writer Unboxed for their sheer number of inspiring, helpful posts from a great variety of writers!

#7. Establish a Consistent Writing Routine

K.M. Weiland of Wordplay, a blog that focuses on helping writers become authors! , says:< /p>

The only way to succeed at the writing business is to treat it like business. That means showing up for work every day, rain, shine, or smog. Write every single day, if possible. If not, plan a workable writing schedule that will allow you to write on a regular basisand then stick with it. You may be able to set aside several hours a day, or you may only be able to manage twenty minutes. Start small if you have to, and work your way up. Bestsellers have been written a paragraph a day. It isnt quantity thats important, so much as consistency.

Once youve chosen a reasonable schedule for your writing, stick with it like a bulldog on a drumstick. Remember: The only person who can make your writing a priority is you. If youre not willing to make sacrifices and enforce your writing time, no one else will do it for you. Explain the needs of your writing schedule to family and friends, asking them to respect your need for privacy during this timeand then guard your desk with a machete and a flamethrower if necessary.

Top Ten Blog For Writers Nomination: Lindsey Lucas loves Wordplay because her posts are always immensely helpful but still condensed enough to read even if Im busy that day. I feel as though shes an old friend giving me advice over a cup of coffee.

#8: Write What You Love to Read

Joanna Penn, author of The Creative Penn, a blog about writing, publishing, and book marketing, recommends:

For years I was held back in my writing because I thought I had to write Booker prize-winning literary fiction in order to be a proper writer. I also thought that every sentence had to be perfect when it went ont! o the pa ge. These two misconceptions blocked me for a long time. But its not true! Take a look at your bookshelf and chunk it down into what youre passionate about reading. I realized that I had mostly thrillers and books on religion and psychology these are the things that consume me and drive my interest. So I started to write a thriller that blended these topics and it was so much fun to write! If youre writing what youre passionate about whether its your blog, ezine article, fiction or non-fiction book, then you wont find it hard to enthuse about your writing. Its also important to know your market and if youre writing what you love to read, then you will naturally hit the right chord. Let that passion carry you through a first draft and then edit your way to a brilliant finished product.

Top Ten Blog For Writers Nomination: Monique Wildewood loves The Creative Penn because Joanna helps budding authors from woe to go with plenty of good advice, links, and personal experience.

#9: Love Blogging for Writers

Victoria Mixon of A. Victoria Mixon, Editor, a blog that focuses on the art and craft of fiction, recommends:

Writing and blogging arent about what you get from others, theyre about what you get from yourself.

So love it. Love blogging for writers.

Love writingthe tools and techniques of written language, the humanity that comes through understanding readers, this art that gives words to everything in life that has no words.

Love writers your audience and inspiration. It doesnt matter whether you have one reader or thousands or if the only person reading is you. Whoever they are, that! reader is a writer. Appreciate their presence in your life. Love them for loving what you love too.

Love your lifethe source of all writing. You dont have to blog about yourself. But if you pay attention to the world around you and write in telling, significant details, crafting each post along the classic structure of storytelling (hook, development, climax), taking your time to draft, revise, and polish your voice until each post is the best post it can possibly be, striving always to say something unique, something that truly needs to be said. . .

Then, no matter what your numbers are, youll get the most out of yourself. And thats the excellence in blogging for writers.

Top Ten Blogs For Writers Nomination: Roz Morris loves Victoria Mixon because she is Hilariously funny, deeply wise. Shes an editor who really knows her stuff."

# 10. Learn How to Inspire Your Readers

Ollin Morales, author of Courage 2 Create, a blog that offers writing and life advice, recommends:

For me, writing isnt worth it unless it inspires.

People seem to believe that if you show your reader a character who is at her most successful and does not have one speck of ugliness, inconsistency, or imperfection in her, that this character is inspiring in herself.

That isnt true.

Whether your character is a character in your novel, or whether your character is YOU as a character on your own blog, the key to infusing your reader with knock-off-your-socks inspiration is by doing the complete opposite of what you think will inspire:

Show your character as ugly, imperfect, needy, arrogant, confused, lost, strugg! ling, in painshow her at her absolute lowest. Be brutally honest.

Why? Because your readers will relate. Why? Because theyve been there, too.

Once you got your readers relating, show how your character triumphed, even though all the odds were stacked up against her.

Have her say to your readers:

Yeah, I know lifes tough. But you can make it through, in spite of it all.

The deepest of valleys are what make the highest of mountains. So make the valley of your story 10,000 feet deep, so that its peak is twice as high.

Top Ten Blogs for Writers Nomination: Linda loves Courage 2 Create because "Ollin has a wisdom beyond his years that allows him to write honestly and on a level so relatable it feels as if youre reading advice from a good friend."

Now Its Your Turn

These tips are the beginning of a great foundation to achieve excellence in the art and business of writing.

What do you think? How do you achieve writing excellence? What other tips do you have to share? Please leave them in the comment box below.