Have you ever thought why people write? Apparently, when a writer writes something, he/she does so with a certain purpose in his/her mind. One may write with different motives—to convey a message, to explain something, to persuade others, to motivate, to guide, to discover, to explore an idea, to amuse others. Or some people write simply for pleasure. Whatever may be the reasons, writing is a tool to express one’s feelings, ideas or experiences.

Of course, writing well is a lifelong challenge. I began to write my articles for a newspaper 10 years back with the feeling of having to see my name printed. I still remember when I got my first article published. Since then, I have been writing as it has added to my joy and given a sense of satisfaction.

Of course, the most important part of writing habit for me has been that it has helped me to be more thoughtful and

creative. Since writing also demands research, this habit has inculcated in me an attitude of reading more.

Obviously, if one wants to write well, one needs to read a lot. Then one needs to learn the technique of critical thinking. Writing as a matter of is a tedious and long process.

After conceiving the idea, the writer has to plan how s/he wants to convey the message and why. Then there comes drafting. Every piece then requires a revision and it could be more than once. Copy editing then helps remove spelling mistakes and slips. A catchy headline caps the whole process. Some people, however, tend to put the headline before they start giving shape to their ideas.

For a writer, one of the key aspects is understanding who the audience is. Idiomatic expressions can always add value to one’s writing. The better coherence, the more readable a piece becomes.

One must develop reading habit to improve his writing skills. Reading enriches your vocabulary, while teaching you the techniques and usage of words and idiomatic expressions.

Before using idiomatic expressions, one must understand the meaning very carefully. Idioms sometimes can be very confusing as the meaning is not deducible from those of the individual words. For example “raining cats and dogs” does not mean cats and dogs are dropping from the sky, but it means “it is raining heavily”.

Finally, it is always good to have a friend look at one’s writing, as more pairs of eyes always mean more correctness.