8 Best Writing Exercises to Improve Your Skills

Writing exercises work like any other exercises. They test your creative muscles, strengthen your ability, and wire your brain to think like the great content writer we know you can become!

In this post, we’ll look at eight top writing exercises to help you practice producing great content. Read on to find out more!

Why Should You Try Writing Exercises?

There are lots of benefits that flow from using writing exercises. After all, practice makes perfect – or at least a lot better! Even just 10 minutes a day can make a big difference and help you become a better writer. Writing exercises can help you:

• Build confidence and kick the dreaded imposter syndrome into oblivion. You’ve got this!
• Develop self-expression and your own unique voice 
• Enhance your understanding of the mechanics of writing
• Learn to empathize by writing from your readers’ viewpoint
• Overcome writer’s block

8 Exercises to Improve Your Writing Skills

Here at Knowadays, writing is what we live for! We also know how hard it can be to get started. But everyone has to start somewhere, and writing exercises can be a huge help to taking the first step on your writing journey. You could try:

1. Free writing 
2. Writing your reaction to a news story or a song
3. Doing some people-watching at a café and writing down what strikes you as memorable
4. Rewriting social media posts to improve them or give a different perspective
5. Writing a beginner’s guide to your favorite hobby
6. Writing a letter to your 16-year-old self, a relative, or your best friend
7. Keeping a journal and recording your feelings to significant events
8. Writing a persuasive piece of content

Let’s explore each of these exercises in more detail.

1. Free Writing

Free writing is where you let your stream of consciousness hit the page. Just write about whatever comes into your head. The sentences don’t need to be related – this is just about getting something onto the page. Short, punchy points about anything at all are fine here.

This exercise helps you overcome your fear of taking the first step. Once you’ve gotten a few words down, you’ll find that more will flow.

2. Write Your Reaction to a News Story or a Song

Read a news story or the lyrics of a great song. Write down how these make you feel and what they make you think about.

Doing this will flex your descriptive writing muscles and help you understand how content can tug at your heartstrings, push your rage button, or make you reach for your credit card.

3. Do Some People-Watching at a Café and Write Down What Strikes You as Memorable

As you sit and enjoy your coffee, take a good look around and deliberately notice how people are behaving and what their facial expressions and body language might be saying. Observe how they’re dressed and how they greet and leave their companions. Then write it all down, first in as much detail as you can, then just focusing on the most crucial or interesting things you’ve seen.

This will expand your powers of observation, extend your descriptive vocabulary, and help you focus on the most significant elements of your content.

4. Rewrite Social Media Posts to Improve Them or Give a Different Perspective

Take a range of social media content from your favorite sites and influencers or from organizations you’re not familiar with. Read them, mull over their message, and write it in your own words.

This helps you to write from a different perspective or for a different target audience.

5. Write a Beginner’s Guide to Your Favorite Hobby

This doesn’t need to be the ultimate, detailed guide. You could write the guide as a series of short social media posts. Try to enthuse and excite your readers – use strong verbs, wax lyrical, and let your passion shine through.

This writing exercise lets you practice creating attention-grabbing content that will engage your readers and keep them coming back for more.

6. Write a Letter to Your 16-Year-Old Self, a Relative or Your Best Friend

Write a warm and chatty letter about something you think they’ll enjoy. Focus on making it positive and let your fun, happy side shine through.

This writing exercise is great preparation for writing personable, approachable content. If your readers feel they know you and your lifestyle or your products and can relate to your content, they’ll be more receptive to your messages

7. Keep a Journal and Record Your Feelings to Significant Events

Journaling is a great way to hone the skills needed to put emotion into your copy. Your entries don’t need to be long or full of florid descriptions (though they can be, if that’s your style). Just concentrate on using words that describe how an event or personal contact has made you feel.

Again, this exercise is all about making connections with your readers through your content writing.

8. Write a Persuasive Piece of Content

Imagine you’re trying to entice someone to buy your favorite product – that could be an item of clothing, a cake, a motorbike, or a new album.

Ultimately, you want to increase your readership and your influence. Persuasive writing is key to that, whether you’re writing your own blog or creating content for clients.

Try looking at a product and analyzing its main features. Then, turn those features (e.g., the waterproofing on a coat or alphabet cards that are brightly colored) into customer benefits (e.g., “lets you stride out with confidence on the wettest day” and “catches your kids’ attention while you’re teaching them to read”).

This writing exercise helps you focus on why a customer would care about a product. Your content needs to identify and empathize with their pain points and show how the product solves their problem. Practicing writing this way helps you create content that draws your readers in and makes them feel understood and heard.

Becoming A Freelance Writer

Could a career as a freelance writer be a good fit for your skills? If so, take a look at our course, Becoming A Freelance Writer. It’ll teach you how to hone those skills and become a full-fledged professional wordsmith. You can even try it for free!