It doesn’t matter whether you are new to writing or have been writing for some time; the one question that every writer has is whether or not they are a good writer a good writer. There are only a few writers who receive a definitive answer to this question.
The question is how you can tell whether or not you are a good writer and whether your writing is good or whether you should give up and find a different hobby or passion. Admittedly, it is nearly impossible to answer the question because writing is a subjective art as it is all a matter of opinion.
That said, there are some signs that you can look for that indicate that you are on the right track with your writing.
You Understand the Difference between Writing and Storytelling
The first sign that you are a good writer is that you know and understand the difference between writing and storytelling. At a minimum, you need to have a decent grasp of spelling, grammar, and general sentence construction to be considered a good writer.
You need to be able to convey a thought or idea coherently through a string of words. However, this is only the bare minimum. The thing that sets apart a talented writer from the crowd is that they know that the actual arrangement of the words is only one part of writing as an art form.
To be a good writer, you must have a clear story that you want to tell to your ideal readers. You will also need to be able to express your story effectively. Of course, writing allows you to communicate – but – the thing that allows you to touch and move readers is all about storytelling.
Now, you might want to pause and consider whether you are just a writer or a storyteller. Before you come up with an answer, you should know that the best writers are strong in both categories. Not only is their prose well-constructed and thoughtful on a line level, but they also have compelling stories to share and know how to translate them to the page.
You Get Inspired by and Admire other Writers
Another sign that you have the chops and are a good writer is when you admire other writers. We have one simple question for you: who are some of your favorite writers? If you cannot answer this question and you really have to think – it is a sign that you should likely spend some more time reading.
One of the best ways to become a better writer is to read often and widely. Reading and admiring another author’s work enables you to recognize what makes a story captivating and engaging, as you will get a better idea of what readers want and what makes a book stand out.
This way, by the time you write your book, you know what to do. If you are writing a children’s book and you have been doing your research and reading other books that fall in the same genre, then you know a fair share of things about what you want your book to look like. You might want to check where you can hire illustrators in the UK and ensure that your children’s books are attractive and captivating to young readers.
Now, if you are reading the work of others, you are in no way copying or plagiarizing another author’s style or tone, but in any art form, you learn from seeing others do it well before you put your spin on it. The thing is that no art is created in a vacuum as this isn’t how it should ideally be. You can become a part of the writing community by reading and mentally engaging with other stories.
Some of the best writers today – even some of the authors whom you admire certainly have their list of authors who inspire them to write and share their stories with the world.
You Get Meaningful Feedback
Another sign that could indicate that you are a good writer and that you have an amazing skillset is when you get meaningful feedback. This also happens to be a big sign. So, imagine you show someone your story, and you ask them what they think about it, and all they say is that they liked it or they didn’t like it – then this doesn’t tell you very much about your writing ability.
It is also quite possible that the person whom you shared your work with hasn’t really engaged deeply enough with your story to actually give you specific feedback, which is not a good sign either.
On the other hand, if you receive a meaningful response, such as “I really liked how you integrated this theme,” or “The plot twist that you integrated isn’t up to the mark because it feels unbelievable.” If you get feedback like this, then you must take it as a sign that your writing is good because it sparked a specific response. So, you will want to note that even if you receive constructive feedback that is similar to the examples that we just illustrated, this doesn’t at all indicate that you are a bad writer.
This kind of feedback is a favorable one as it indicates that someone has really engaged with your work for it to spark an idea of how to make it even stronger. This kind of feedback also means that you have a few things to work on, and like any other skill in the world, writing is a skill that always has room for improvement.
The simple fact that someone has been able to point to something specific in your story and then shared an opinion about it means that you are headed in the right direction; otherwise, they would be at a total loss for what to say, which could indicate that your story has failed to engage them in any way. Often, the longest and most intensive critiques are for the stories that someone is engaged with the most.
