How to build your own writing style in 13 practical steps

 I asked myself this question before writing a single letter of this article, and frankly, I don't know the answer! I don't know if you're really the right person for the job.

However, I am sure that you will benefit from reading this article, as my humble person has years of experience writing on websites and communication platforms.

Perhaps our meeting today is not the first, as you may have read one of my previous writings here on The Winners, and if you are really interested in writing and profiting from it, you have probably read one of the following articles:

Writing Digital Content (Your Guide to Become a Professional Content Writer)

How to write a marketing ad (your comprehensive practical guide)

How to earn money writing articles

How to profit from blogging online in 11 practical steps

15 Blogging Mistakes You Should Avoid

The best blogging platforms and how to choose the most suitable for you

Perhaps the above will intercede for me to spend your precious time with me, and if that is not enough, here are some of what you will find in this article:

Simple and practical steps that help you create and develop your writing style.

Important questions about writing for any professional to answer.

Platforms, information and tools to help you write professionally.

Simple and effective practical exercises to build a special writing style.

I will challenge you at the end of this article... Yes, I will challenge you and I don't think you will succeed!

This is not all, very soon I will present to you, dear reader, a surprise that will help you in the world of writing and profit from it … If you are one of those who are reading these lines now, you may be the first to benefit from them …. Especially if you read the whole article.

Now let me help you to build your own style of writing... And the beginning will be with two very important questions... Let's go!

1. Determine what is your goal for writing

The most important thing that makes a writer's style is his main goal... That's why I ask you; Why are you writing?

Why do you work in this very tiring field, which may not generate a lot of money for its owners, especially in its infancy?... Why?

Want to generate extra income for you from the Internet?

Would you like to publish a book and become an author one day?

Would you like to be famous and influential on social media?

You have a message you want to spread among people?

Want to use writing to promote your different services or products?

Do you have experiences that you would like to share with people?

All of these reasons are legitimate reasons and no one can criticize you for them, but the question here is whether the reason for which you write in general appears on your writing style.

For example, I am writing for the following reasons:

I would like everything I write and explain to be an ongoing charity that God will reward me for, God willing.

Writing is one of my sources of income.

I love explaining and interpreting information to people and sharing my simple experiences with them.

All of the above greatly influence my writing style. You will find me:

Use simple language.

Most of what I write are steps and lists, like this article.

It took quite a long time for my writing to be published (and this angers Mr. Magdy Kamil, the founder of the winners from me a lot 😅).

I do not want you to imitate me or imitate others... I just want you to think carefully about the motive behind what you write, and to make sure that this motive appears well in what you write.

Perhaps you are writing with the aim of promoting and marketing a specific product or service. This means that you will write in a very brief and specific manner that affects feelings in order to motivate the reader to make a decision.

And if, for example, you write with the aim of disseminating reliable scientific information … this means using a specific official style, while mentioning many sources and evidence for each piece of information you publish.

And so on... That is why, in this step, I want you to think carefully about the answer to this question, until you find a general style for you in writing, and then you begin to develop it.

2. Determine what is the purpose of what you are writing

After we talked about the general goal that drives you to write... Now it's time to talk about the specific goal of the piece of content you're writing now.

Each piece of content has a main objective that must be achieved. For example, the article you are reading now:

Its main goal is: the results of the search in Google for the main keyword (writing style).

Sub-objectives: Increase the reader's time on the site so that he browses more articles, which increases the profits of the site in general.

This goal influences my style of writing; As long as I write with the aim of topping the search results, this means:

Understand the basics and rules of SEO in general.

Exact search for keywords and similar words and use them in writing.

Knowing the researcher's intention (Search intent) that he thinks about during the search accurately, so that I can answer it in this article when he clicks on it in the search engines.

This process applies to any type of writing…whether you are writing a novel or want to write a social media post…there is always a purpose to the piece of content that defines the style.

For example, if you write on social media, you often want to reach the largest number of posts, and that pushes you to choose a sarcastic or defiant style, and raises many questions so that people can share it.

That is why you have to think carefully about each piece of content you write and ask yourself first what is the purpose of it, and after you finish writing, repeat the question in another way.

Will what you have written really achieve that goal, and here you will review, research and compare yourself with other owners of the same similar content, and all of this will make you build your own style of writing while you do not know.

3. Understand the nature of the platform on which you publish your writings

I do not want to prolong this step, because it is often clear to any writer, and in spite of that I liked to emphasize it because of its importance.

Any writer knows that the platform they publish on is a big factor. The article or blog published on a site is different from the Facebook and Twitter post.

Each platform has its own nature, and in order to understand any platform, you must know the following about it:

What is the average time a user spends on the platform in general?

What is the average time to read a piece of content on this platform most often?

Does this platform have too many distractions while reading?

What is the nature of the people who follow this platform?

To you

practical exercise; I want you to search for the answer to the previous questions on the Facebook platform and the LinkedIn platform, and I want you to compare the results yourself.

After that, I want you to write a post for each platform on the same topic, perhaps titled (5 tips to develop yourself and learn quickly), and then compare yourself between the two posts.

See for yourself and analyze the difference in your writing, and if you do not find a difference, then this means that you did not do this exercise well. Try again, make an effort, and research the nature of the posts that talk about the same topic on Facebook and LinkedIn.

4. Study the nature of the audience you target with your writings

The nature of the audience is one of the most important factors that determine the writer's style. Every word you write must be chosen very carefully in order to achieve its goal.

When you write to someone who works professionally and is over 35 years old, your writing will be different than when you write to a 17-year-old in the prime of his life.

You have to understand your audience well and know a lot about them:

the language they speak.

Age.

sex.

interests.

problems they face.

common goals and aspirations.

All of this will determine your writing style not only in terms of choosing the right words, but in terms of the subheadings themselves and how they are arranged.

That is why I strongly advise you to check out the “How to Create the Perfect Client Character” guide, because it explains everything you need to do in this step with pictures and practical examples.

This guide will make you completely change your writing style. This is what happened to me several years ago when I started writing professionally.

5. Read a lot because a writer is made of what he reads

If I ask you now what it is:

The last books I read.

Blogs you follow frequently.

The names of the top 5 writers and digital content creators that you follow constantly (of course, I am one of them 😁).

Can you answer?

Reading does not only broaden the horizon, but it also builds your awareness and perception while you do not know. Reading in various fields and topics will help you discover completely new information and ideas, and this is very necessary for any professional writer.

Not only that, as I mentioned earlier, the writer is made of what he reads. When you read a lot, you will learn about different styles of writing, one time you like a clever introduction, and another you like the way to explain a certain idea.

All of this will affect your writing style, especially if you take the next step.

6. Analyze everything you read properly

When you read any piece of content, whether it is a post on Facebook, an article, or an entire book, especially if the content affected you… ask yourself the following:

I wonder what made you read this content? Did someone recommend it to you, or did you find it in the search?

What made you keep reading? Did the writer pique your curiosity, or are you very interested in the subject, or does the writer provide you with new and different information and ideas?

What do you think of the introduction and headlines?

What sentences and phrases caught your eye?

When I read any piece of content I almost tear it out of the analysis, especially if it is good and useful to me, all of this helped me to build my own style of writing.

I remember that what was tiring me most about writing was the introduction... How do I write a good and attractive introduction that prompts the reader to read everything I write?

With a lot of reading and analysis of many writers in various fields, writing the introduction has become much easier than it was, and sometimes, contrary to what is expected, I write it before I even start writing the core of the topic.

That is why I advise you to do the same thing, read with the eyes of the editor, and then ask yourself as you read questions that help you understand the method and style of writing of the writer you are reading to, and with time and gaining experience it will not be enough for you to benefit from the writer's style.

You will edit it...

If you were in his position, you would ask yourself how you would write this introduction to be better, or this title to be more interesting, or this paragraph to be more clear.

If you have reached this level of reading and analysis, know that you have your own style of writing.

7. Collect all the ideas that come to your mind in one place

In order to implement the previous step in having a distinguished writing style in an effective practical way, you must write down all the notes that come to your mind about what you read.

This is where the tools and web apps come in that help you take these notes effectively and easily come back to them and benefit from them frequently.

Personally, I rely on tools:

A great Evernote browser add-on that makes me take notes on anything I read in an organized way that I can come back to at any time.

Notion is the best app for time management and database building.

The previous tools are very sufficient, and I advise you to use them, especially the first tool because it is simpler, and with the passage of time you will move to the notion tool, especially to build complete and organized databases for everything you read.

In these tools, I not only take notes about what I read, but also:

All the ideas that come to my mind about creating content.

Any sentences, phrases or useful statistics, and I divide them according to the topic in order to review them continuously.

I write some pieces of content that come to my mind at the time, whether on a computer or phone, so that I can use them at a later time.

I use it to summarize the most important pieces of content that I read frequently.

This method helped me a lot in developing my writing style and it still helps me, so I recommend it to you.

8. Enhance your personal experiences in your field

Personal experiences are very important, as most successful writers always share their personal experiences in what they write (as I am doing here with you in this article).

Distinguished writing style advice

This is the difference between an ordinary, traditional writer who collects some elements and ideas in an article, publication, or book, and a distinguished writer who has a special style that affects the same reader.

So you see someone writing about the problems of entrepreneurship, and he himself did not establish any project, even if it was as simple as selling candy to the neighbors.

Do not think that I am saying that you must have expertise and experience in everything you write about … No, this is not necessary at all

to launch.

But you must have several experiences that are somewhat related to the topics you write about, that you have experienced it, experienced it, and encountered difficulties with it.

That you were once in the place of the reader and feel what he feels, let me show you some examples of my humble person.

I never write on the following topics:

Traveling, how come I have not traveled outside my country except once.

Nutrition and physical health (I have not studied or tried any of these things, I only have basic information and limited experience in going to the gym intermittently).

Medical information (I am not a specialist and all my experiences with medical matters are the suffering of my family members and simple readings in the science related to the pharmaceutical industry, and this is not enough).

Believe me, I can write about these topics through research, analysis and simplification of some information, but these writings will not be distinguished at all.

Personal experiences are often the golden ink with which a professional writer writes. It is she who writes poignant phrases and important information that the reader benefits from.

That is why you have to enhance your personal experiences in the most important topics that you talk about, or even in life in general … Go out into the world and try and try. Do not make your profession only (writer) because this is not enough.

Your studies and scientific experiences that you gained in the past or will acquire in the future through contact with people in the labor market and on the Internet will make your writing style strong, influential and honest.

So be sure to promote these experiences and use them in what you write.

9. Choose one of your personal writing styles

There are many academic studies that explain different styles of writing, and in my experience I can simplify and summarize them in the following figures.

A person with experience and expertise.

The fictional character who shares an experience is just that.

The analytical personality that monitors a phenomenon or analyzes a specific idea.

In any piece of content you write, ask yourself which one of the three are you. Are you the owner of experience or knowledge that explains and explains a certain matter to the reader?

Or are you just someone sharing a story or experience on a particular topic? Or are you a critical and analytical person who asks an important question and is looking for an answer to share with the reader?

Each of these three personalities has a style of writing, in addition to what we talked about previously about the target reader’s personality and the platform on which it is published.

All of this shapes your writing style in every piece of content you write. You will discover this matter with time, especially if you apply the previous three steps.

All I want is for you to just keep in mind before you write any of the three, perhaps with time and experience mixing these styles into the same piece of content.

10. Write a lot on the same topic until you develop your style

When you write on the same topic, you will find yourself asking an important question. What is new that I will present or add to what I wrote previously? How am I going to write about the same ideas and key elements in a different style?

Here you will find yourself forced to search more for new ideas and style. You will find yourself speaking while writing in a different style. You will think of the reader in a new angle.

This step is very practical and very useful and helped me a lot in developing my skill as a writer although I really hated the idea that I would write again on the same topic.

I thought that my previous writing covered everything, but then I discovered that I was completely wrong, and all this made me develop my writing style.

11. Constantly analyze what you write

In order to build your own style of writing, you have to demolish what you write, meaning that you constantly analyze and change it.

I almost periodically read most of what I wrote, study it well and comment on it, and I will be honest with you, dear reader, and tell you that I am very rarely satisfied.

I often criticize what I write and say to myself:

How did you use this sentence?

This word is out of place. It would have been better to use such and such.

This paragraph is rather big.

This idea should have been longer.

This is not all, unlike analyzing and reviewing the content itself, you have to review and analyze the data to see if you have reached the goals you set for each piece of content.

Did you reach the first results in the search results?

What is the average time to read an article?

How many posts and comments?

How many book downloads?

Analysis, review and study of data are the most important elements of success in anything, let alone the world of digital content, which is a collection of data and statistics.

The more you do this step regularly, the more you will develop your writing style and become a successful and professional writer.

12. Look at the audience's reaction to what you write

Feedback and comments are not only one of the most important tools that help you evaluate your submission, but they are also a great tool to help you improve your writing style.

You may find the comments alerting you to certain points that you overlooked in writing, or you may see many questions about certain points that were not clear, and this means that the writing style was complicated.

Or maybe you see someone is confused and doesn't know what to do, which means that the content ideas weren't well organized.

Or maybe you will find wonderful positive comments that encourage you to write (such as the ones I constantly find from the wonderful winners visitors that they always leave on my humble articles).

Feedback (or as it is called feedback) is a great tool for developing any skill, let alone a skill like writing that depends on interacting and influencing the same reader.

13. Tell me 3 characteristics about my style of writing this article

Now it's your time... It's time for the most important practical exercise you have to do... Come on, tell me in the comments 3 characteristics you found in this article.

For example, you may talk about the character you used in writing (step 7), or about the words used and ideas, or even negative comments or unclear ideas.