What Makes a Good Writer

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the best writer of them all." If you are a voracious reader, I am sure you must have encountered this dilemma if you had to choose between the best amongst your favorites. It is certainly a tough task considering the greats of fiction, like William Shakespeare, Sidney Sheldon, Ayn Rand, Jules Verne and innumerable such fantastic authors. As a child I always thought what makes these 'gods of words' tick? Then as I started reading and writing more and more, I started to fathom the secrets of being a good writer. But it was not before I realized that writing is an art as well as science. Although I don't have the exact recipe, this is something which needs to be shared with all those who are in love with words.

Making of a Good Writer

Read On: Just as they say that you need to listen meticulously to develop your singing or music skills, you would ideally want to read a lot to become a writer. The more you read, the better your vocabulary, your writing style, your sense of usage of words would become. Thus, reading is very crucial.

It's Only Words: You need to have a linguistic sense and interest in a language. Language opens the doors of that culture for you, helping you to understand and portray it better. Thus, taking an avid interest in any language and then learning it to the best of your capabilities can help you in writing well. Good language skills and expression in that language is imperative for a writer. Your language needs to be catchy and appealing and should hold the interest of the readers. You can cultivate language skills, but then I think some are born with that tiny little germ of writing, while some might be not. If you have that, it becomes a bit easier otherwise it could be a tough task.

Elementary, My Dear Watson: Okay, writing skills are necessary, but you should have knowledge of what you are writing about, otherwise your writing skills are bound to go in vain. Therefore, my dear aspiring writers, make sure you get your facts right.

No Ambiguity: You have the knowledge, you have great vocabulary and linguistic expression, and are an avid reader. These things might prove to be a hindrance in writing as well. You may tend to use flowery language and try to show off your prolific language skills rather than putting across your point clearly. That may prove to be an hindrance to your writing skills and will lead to unnecessary ambiguity. Thus, being lucid is important and using flowery language with discretion is what is ideal.

All these were the basics. Now we will try to understand how personality impacts the way we write and how sometimes what we write makes a huge impact on the person we are. There are a few traits one needs to have.

Personality Traits of a Writer

A writer needs to be original in his thinking and should be perceptive. Agatha Christie once wrote in a Hercule Poirot book, 'From Peril at End House'
"Poirot", I said. "I have been thinking."
"An admirable exercise my friend. Continue it."

Creativity and passion form the base of the iceberg called writing! Add to that a dash of imagination and considerable wit, and you are there. The writer should also be empathetic towards the target readership. If he is not empathetic and sensitive enough to others, then he would not be able to strike a chord with his or her readers. And that, is surely not a sign of good writer. After all, this in not a geometry theorem that if you get the method correct with precision, the answer has to be correct.

At the end, to distinguish a good writer from not a very good one, this is what Mark Twain, a great author had said - "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."