This is a million-dollar question – quite literally, in many cases, as websites, marketing teams, and media outlets will spend a great deal of time and money on crafting high-quality, memorable written content.
But pinning down exactly what makes good writing can be elusive. What is it exactly that makes the critical difference between good writing and bad writing? What gives good writing its spark?
Leaving aside independent preferences and tastes, we can break down what makes a piece of writing truly excellent into three categories.
It comes as a surprise for many, but speaking and writing are very different skills. Having full fluency in spoken English does not necessarily guarantee that a person will be able to produce high-quality written content in English.
In addition to having a wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical formations, writers also need to have a sophisticated, nuanced understanding of tone, voice, and connotation (i.e., the “mood” or impression that different words create in a sentence beyond just their literal meaning).
Writers work very hard, often for years, developing their craft. Generally speaking, mastery of written English comes from:
However they develop their skills, it’s safe to say that good writing always starts with good writers.
If you’ve ever played Mad Libs, then you know that it’s easy to write a paragraph as a template and simply fill in the blanks with different nouns and adjectives for different subjects.
This is a common approach that many blogs, websites, and marketing teams take, but it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to quality and impact.
For readers, it’s generally easy to tell when a piece of writing has been copy-pasted and applied too many times for different purposes, and it results in a boring, unmemorable reading experience.
Conversely, writing that is crafted for a specific purpose contains that crucial spark of individuality and stylistic flair.
Different types of written content require vastly different approaches – after all, you wouldn’t expect a legal document to be written in the same style and tone as a listicle – and having a writer on your team who knows how to tailor their writing to fit your brand’s needs is a huge asset.
With so much sameness out there, having unique, individualized written content can make a crucial difference.
No person is an island, and very few writers can truly produce their best work alone. Getting thoughtful, constructive feedback from an experienced editorial team makes a huge difference and can help writers take their content from merely good to genuinely awesome.
Editors help writers produce great writing by:
While the relationship between writers and editors is often thought of as a one-way street, with writers taking orders from their editors, this is not necessarily the case. Great editors work in collaboration with writers, with both sides learning from each other to ensure that clients always get the best quality writing.
With so much content out there, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd.
Fortunately, that’s exactly what good writing does: it jumps off the page (or the screen) and pulls the reader in, offering him or her a fresh new perspective, a valuable source of information, or just an enjoyable reading experience.
Good writing also has practical applications, in that it can convey important, complex information in an easily understandable format. If you’ve ever tried to put together a piece of furniture, chances are you’ve already seen how difficult it can be if the written instructions are vague or unclear!
Good writing is writing that’s polished, individualized, and unique. It can help solve problems and communicate meaning in clear and memorable ways. Above all, it leaves the reader wanting more. It’s a critical tool in the toolbox of any blog, marketing agency, company, or content producer, and it can make that elusive, crucial difference in audience retention and brand awareness.
In short, while it can sometimes seem difficult to quantify, the power of good writing is not to be underestimated.
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