Strong writing is an essential skill for any professional, but you can’t become a grammar guru overnight. Worry not! Here are three writing tips for any writer to instantly improve their prose.

1. Cut Passive Voice for stronger sentences. 

Typically, English sentences are written in the Subject-Verb-Object structure, but writing in the passive voice changes the order of the sentence. The object appears first, then the verb, while the subject disappears entirely or appears in a tacked-on “by” prepositional phrase. Passive voice obscures the true subject of the sentence and can make your prose read as unfinished or awkward.

Look for sentences that include “was/is [verb]” or could be improved by adding “by [noun]” for clarity. Consider what the true subject of the sentence should be (i.e. who or what is performing the action described by the verb). In my example, the person who writes a story would be the author. Rewrite your sentence in the active voice by beginning with your subject, and choosing a more active form of your verb.

2. Avoid Redundancy

Many new writers believe that eloquent writing must be wordy, poetic, and complex, but overwritten sentences can read as the opposite. Sentence padding makes your prose sound unsure, while clear, efficient writing shows confidence and mastery. 

Think about the core message of your sentence. Look for words like “try,” or instances where you repeat the same idea (“fewer words, stronger words, and better words”) without adding anything new. Reduce the instances of repetition where you can for cleaner, clearer text.

3. Edit edit edit!

Editing is an essential part of writing, but many writers overlook editing beyond the line level. Anyone can read over prose to look for typos, basic grammar mistakes, or missed words, but an excellent writer also edits with the big picture in mind.

After your first draft, ask yourself a few questions: 

• What is the goal of this project? 
• What does each piece (that can be sections, paragraphs, or even sentences) do to contribute to my goal? Does the order of those pieces make sense?
• Are there any pieces that depart from my goal? Should those pieces be removed, or repurposed in a separate project?
• Is every idea presented in my project complete?
• What will readers come away from my writing with a better understanding of? Have I achieved the goal of this project?

Edit your writing more than once. I prefer at least three passes, one to tackle the big-picture structure and content, one to look closer at each sentence, and a final pass to clean up the details and catch any errors left from previous edits. If you were a strong writer in school, it’s easy to fall into the habit of few edits (or even no edits), but in order to write professional prose, editing is essential.

Struggling with editing your own work? N. Sowers offers Editing Services for fiction writing, and you may inquire about other editing services by sending me a query at my Contact Page.