First, you have to love words! Why? Emotions and attitude toward the elements of writing are important in learning how to write well. What else would make you spend so much time learning them? Words are tools of the trade. Even Tiger Woods cannot play without his golf clubs. The pianist is nothing without his piano. An architect cannot express his ideas without his models and the scientist cannot test his ideas without his equipment and laboratory.

Professor Strunk, an authority in writing, has emphasized that choosing the right words and correctly using them is a skill everyone must continuously learn to do better. Do you think people who are good in their sport, profession, are disinterested about their tools and equipment? Hell, no! They spend time learning how to use them. They are careful and even protective of them. So don’t buy into the foolishness that words and grammar are not essential. Those that did cannot even write their own resumes or business letters today. So why handicap yourself?

Second, you have to respect correct grammar. Writers must respect grammar as athletes respect the rules of their sports. Rules are important because it makes writing understandable to readers. It increases the quality of communication and expression; as rules in sports increase the quality of the game and the enjoyment of the fans. Would a pianist even think of moving the keys of the piano around? Again, Professor Strunk advises us that, “unless we can make it work, it is better to follow the rules.”

Learning more words increases your flexibility as a writer. It gives you more choices. Knowing more words is like having more money! Lacking a repertoire of words is like a musician who can only play a couple of chords or a tennis player who is only good at forehand or volley but has a poor service and backhand.

How can you learn more words? You have to read the works of several good authors. Swap books with friends, check out free online libraries, join book clubs, or subscribe to writing resources online.

Study how the different authors used words to convey the meaning and emotions of the story. Look up the new words you meet in the dictionary. Know the full meaning of the word and how else could they be used. And use them! Apply this new tool whenever necessary in crafting your work.

You have to love reading to become good at writing.

Like any sustainable program, you have to add variety and balance to your writing program. Listen to books in audio. Read magazines and journals. Play word games in the computer. Read the newspaper and sometimes just skip it and move on to the crossword puzzles.

Eventually, becoming a better reader makes you a better writer. As you read more and write more, you would grow hungrier for the higher quality of books. What you previously thought as unappetizing and boring would suddenly become satisfying. Make it a point to read one of the “Great Books” each quarter. Like drinking wine, only those who developed their taste buds and noses for a good wine would appreciate its subtleties and characteristics. So people who continually learn to write eventually become better readers. And eventually, your love for writing will make it possible for publishers to publish better quality writing that helps develop better writers!