Writing your first few articles as a beginner can feel arduous and sometimes even discouraging when you see others sail through with relative ease. Writing for any medium is just like every other skill — the more you practice the better you get at it. It’s that simple. But with the right direction, you can step up your writing game and become a pro writer before you know it.

To lend you a helping hand in your writing journey, Nadeem Sarwar and Karandeep Singh have condensed everything they’ve learnt over the years into a few practical tips you can apply to your writing to make your work and yourself stand out. 

1. Fight the blank page 

That blank page looks scary because it stares right back at you, and even your brain goes blank in that moment. This is where you trick your brain to your advantage. All you need to do is think about the subject and write down whatever comes to your mind.  

Something related you faintly remember reading earlier? Perfect. Your strong opinion on it? Go right ahead. A title that you’re too embarrassed for anyone else to read? Write it down anyway. When keeping pace with your racing thoughts, you don’t have to care about any spelling or grammar gaffes. Just. Jot. Everything. Down. 

This vomit draft will not only give you something to start with but will also get you a fair idea of how much you understand the subject and what needs to be further researched. Use all the scattered pointers in this draft as your template to build your final article afresh. This is where you can finally show your perfectionist side and get everything right to the last period. That blank page doesn’t look scary anymore, does it? 

2. Simple, structured, and focused 

Pixar films are known to strike an emotional chord with the audience almost every single time. The animation quality is obviously fantastic, but Pixar is actually known for its brand of storytelling, which emphasises simplicity, structure, and focus. Before you start mashing your keyboard, take a deep breath and think about why you are writing what you intend to write. It can be an advice piece, a fantastic explainer, a hot rant, a unique opinion, a short story, or an inspiring poem. 

Find the reason and create a structure in your mind. A structure that answers some basic questions like: “What’s happening?” “Where did it all start?” “How does it impact the reader?” “How's it all going to end?” “Will it have any long-lasting impact in the future?” Once you have the answers, put them in an order you like by writing short cues for each structural element spaced by blank paragraphs. Play around with it until it makes the most sense, and once the structure is finalized, get started. 

Now, for the next piece of the puzzle, make sure that each structural portion of the story has something to do with the main character. In simple words, keep it focused, or at least linked to the main story arc. This way, the reader won’t feel lost in a maze of deviating paragraphs. The main character can be anything, from a person or animal to an inanimate thing such as an overheating graphics card or a crypto heist.

Are you worried that your story is not that simple and you may lose the flow as you write? Here is an easy fix: decide where the story starts and come up with a fitting ending. Once the start and the end are locked, fill up everything that happens in between. This trick has rarely failed me (Nadeem), especially in scenarios where I have to tell a story with a human-centric angle. 

3. Don’t write to impress 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of using complicated language to appear artistic, or worse, forcedly sound like a native English writer. In most cases, you will end up overdoing it, which will in turn make your article hard to follow for your readers. Remember that the content of your story may be complex, but your language shouldn’t be complicated. So, just don’t sophisticate it for the sake of it. 

As it’s often said, you should be able to effectively convey an idea to a fifth grader. And to do that, you need to simplify your language and use familiar phrases. You should also be mindful that the jargon you’re habituated to may not be something your average readers can quickly decode. Take some time to identify such instances and make it a point to give brief descriptions before moving forward with your article. 

A good way to check if you’ve gone too far into the complication territory is by reading your final piece out loud. This way you will pick up on a lot of jarring sentences and phrases that are breaking your verbal flow, and you’ll instantly know exactly what to fix. 

4. Read more, write even more 

We all have a few favourite writers in our beat whose work we love reading. But instead of merely consuming their words, try dissecting their articles. Notice the sentence structure, how their phrasing is close to the way a person would speak, the flow of the article, and other such elements. Especially for writers from India, it truly helps to read articles written by native English speakers. Read regularly and read a lot of them.  

Your next step is to write as much as you can while trying to incorporate these learnings bit by bit. It may take some time, but you will surely notice a positive change in your writing — there’s no shortcut to that. 

And while you’re at it, think from your readers’ end. Would it be easy for them to follow what you’re writing? Do they need any other supplementary or contextual information about the subject? Doing this exercise will broaden your own perspective and will help you explore even more angles for your story that you wouldn’t have otherwise considered. 

Be mindful of how your article flows and paragraphs connect to one another from start to finish. At times when you have included all the information you can, but the piece still doesn’t feel right, it’s usually the flow. Make sure you are not jumping back and forth between your various sub-topics and aim for a coherent sequence. A good way to tame that is by using a tool as simple as headings — make them your best friends. 

Now, 50% of your work is done; the other half is proofreading and editing. 

5. Edit, chill, fix, and send

The best writing tip I (Nadeem) ever got was: “Don’t take yourself too seriously. There’s always another person who can write the same story better than you.” These words are not meant to discourage you. Instead, it’s a sign that there’s always room for improvement, and improvement starts at home. So, once you’re done writing, give your article at least two readings. The first one is all about spelling and grammar checks. You don’t need to go too deep with the first reading. Just give a cursory glance to the words without trying to make too much of their meaning and direction. 

Once the typos have been fixed, play your article like a scene in your brain. Ask yourself whether your headline hits the right notes. Does your article flow like a natural conversation? Is there any crucial information you missed that can actually add more value to the article? Does the ending lead to a solid conclusion, a piece of advice, or some sane warning? And above all, would you want to read this article as the target audience if someone else wrote it? All these questions can only be answered with a fresh and inquisitive mind. 

So, before you start your second — but more impactful — self-editing session, take a small break. Maybe enjoy a song to cool down your exhausted neurons. Or watch a few Instagram Reels from your favourite creators. Or just take a small walk out on the balcony to get your back straight. 

This small break makes one helluva difference. Come back to your article with a fresh mindset, adjust the flow, break those complex sentences, trim the paragraphs, and hit the send button. Your editor will be a much happier soul reading this fine-tuned copy, and the reader won’t find it a drag either.

When you hone the craft of writing and produce quality work, you don’t need to sell yourself, your writing does that for you. Focus on polishing your writing, which will result in you finding your style and voice over time — something you’ll be recognized for one day. The improvement may feel slow initially but rest assured that you’re steadily forging ahead. And most importantly, be patient with yourself.

If you still have any questions related to writing or navigating the world of online publishing, we’re happy to lend a hand. Feel free to DM either one of us on Twitter (linked below).

Nadeem Sarwar has been covering technology and its cultural impact for over six years. His work has appeared on Wired, Rest of World, Digital Trends, SlashGear, and more.

Karandeep Singh is a creative writer and a technology journalist of eight years’ standing, currently working with Android Police.