It is said "Pen is mightier than sword". When used effectively and with creativity, writing works wonders and there are many who write with passion and still many others who develop writing as a hobby. As with any other skill, the skill  or the art of writing can be improved only by constant practice. The following tips are just for those who who would like to  improve their writing skills.

Logical flow of ideas

Planning and arranging your thoughts in a logical order is the basis for producing a good piece of written work. Hence, ponder on the topic with concentration and pen down your thoughts so that you can later arrange them in a proper order. If necessary, research a bit on the topic and gather all the necessary information. However, make sure not to deviate from the topic. In case of business writing, start with defining the problem or the purpose for which the document has been prepared by you, then give the required solution to the problem and lastly, describe the intended action to be taken to get the solution.

Short sentences and better presentation

Use short sentences as far as possible because long sentences would tend to confuse readers. If using complex sentences, use effective connectors (suitable conjunctions) to make the sentence/sentences more clear and understandable. Divide your document into sensible paragraphs and emphasize headings and subheadings so that they stand out; this makes your work more presentable and provides for convenient reading. You can further enhance the presentation of your document by adding fitting images.

Grammar, Punctuation and Spellchecking

The importance of using proper grammar and spellchecking a written piece of work needs no elaboration. A document with spelling mistakes or poor grammar clearly shows the unprofessionalism of the writer. Hence, refresh your grammar and spelling skills before starting on your work. Further, it is recommended that you use strong verbs where you can, and avoid overuse of clichés, symbols or idiomatic phrases. Punctuation adds beauty to your writing, so use proper punctuation where necessary.

Usage of Dictionaries

Use dictionaries and, more commonly, the Thesaurus to find synonyms for a particular word. Armed with these synonyms, you can avoid repetitions in your writing and thus, make your work look professional. In this aspect, online dictionaries and thesaurus serve as an invaluable tool. However, indispensable software available on the internet for those who are at a loss of words at any particular point of time is the REVERSE DICTIONARY. It is a web search engine which uses the concept of artificial intelligence to search for related words or expressions, provided you give a collection of known words describing anything under the sky-be it an emotion, a thing, or a situation. For instance a search for “candy stick” would return “cane”.

When writing for the web, yet another tool which proves to be very helpful is the keyword search tool available at many websites like: http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/ or http://www.wordtracker.com. You can search for the best keywords to use in your document so that it gets picked up the search engines, thereby helping you to get maximum readership for your written document.

Proof reading and editing

This is the final and an important step in the preparation of your documents or manuscript. Do not forget to proofread your document because here is where new ideas might come up which may make your work a much better and attractive one. You might want to change the order of sentences or use more appropriate words in order to make your document a more “spicy” one. Read aloud your document so that you will be able to find out how your work appeals to the reader.

By following the above tips, you are sure to produce good writing. So go ahead and write your way to success by always writing in the "right" way.