Okay, most writers know that the most important things to do if you want to get better at writing is A) to write and B) to read.
Writing both your stories and outside your stories. Practice what your weakest at. Personally, I write dialogue really easily, what is harder is description of the scene, the characters and what they are doing. This is probably because I wore a lot of research essays for school growing up. I'm used to factually writing what things look like. For example "Female White Tigers are 7.5 to 8.1 feet tall. They are off white and have light brown or gray stripes." Trying to describe, as the main character how someone or something looks without it coming of as the author being lazy is hard. I know for some writing dialogue is hard to. Making it sound fluid and like an actual conversation without having all the filler words is frustrating, but there is nothing more rewording then when it comes out right.
Read widely. This is pretty hard actually. Most people know the type of books they enjoy reading and when they stray from those categories they can feel bored, disinterested and give up on the book. Though it is good to read all types of books don't make yourself read a huge books that you have absolutely no interest in (unless it's a textbook, then sorry.) Just keep digging and trying to find others that you do enjoy. Just because a couple books in a different genre weren't good doesn't mean the whole genre sucks.
Another way to become a better writer is read blog post by other writers. Everyone has a different tip or trick to talk about. But there are so many Blogs out there it's hard to know where to start or how to find ones that are any good. Here are a couple I've stumbled across.
1. The Write Practice (http://thewritepractice.com/)
New post everyday. Great writing contests. Free books/booklets.
The Write Practice believes that the only way for us (writers) to progress is to practice writing every day. And to help you do that at the end of every blog post they have a prompt and say to take 15 minutes to write and then post it in the comments. This allows other writers to respond and help you out and for you to read other people writing and help them.
While it can be annoying to get a emailed blog post every single day if you read the ones that interest you and delete the ones that don't apply it's a great resource.
If you want you can even fill out their form to post your own blog post on their website.
Seriously. If you are for real about wanting to write and/or publish this is the blog for you.
2. Hannah Heath (http://hannahheath-writer.blogspot.com/?m=1)
One big reason I love Hannah's blog is all the book/movie references. It makes it relateable, funny, and easy to follow. Though she posts only on Fridays, it's nice for those of us who follow other blogs and don't want their inbox all clogged up.
She just started her own YouTube channel where she talks about her favorite books, introduces different Indie anthers and answers your questions.
For teens and fangirls/boys I would definitely recommend checking out Hannah's blog.
3. Justin McLachlan (http://www.justinmclachlan.com/category/writing/)
Justin is knowledgeable and is a great resource for writers of all kinds. He doesn't only blog about writing but also film making, acting and storytelling.
Though I do not regularly read his website because I'm not into the acting/filmmaking side of stuff, it's great for those who are or are trying to become a more well rounded writer. For those who are new to writing and am not sure what's
right for them this is a great place to start and learn about the writing world.
Check out these three blogs and tell me what you think. Do you have a favorite blog? Do you think that reading outside your genre is hard?
Much love,
Thane