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How do you hone your skills?

No matter what you love to do, whether it be writing, sports, gardening, knitting, or one or more of the so many other amazing pursuits there are in life, what do you do to hone your skills?

I love to read about the art of writing. As with many other subjects, whether you are a professional, learning for enjoyment, or even personal growth, there is always so much to think about. It can be hard to decide which bits of your craft you need to concentrate on first and can be quite overwhelming. I don’t know about you but I prefer bite-sized chunks of information to analyze and absorb; things that I can actually remember and incorporate easily.

Videos via You Tube or other author websites, even instructional videos via courses that I have bought, can be helpful, and also not. If too much information is delivered too quickly it is hard to decide which bits to concentrate on. I find myself forgetting much of what I need to do as I write.

I do believe my writing has improved from when I first published 5 years ago. Ha, I would be disappointed to think it hasn’t, but I guess that’s a personal opinion!

The books that have helped me the most with writing craft have been:

To save the cat. Writes a Novel, Jessica Brody, & Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes. I particularly like RTB as the information is given in smaller chunks, and is clear and easy to implement.

A paperback by my writing desk also means if I’m struggling a bit for structure, I can flick through the pages to refocus myself and where I need the characters to get to next. 

Perhaps books aren’t your preferred way of learning. If I am practicing a more practical skill and need to jog my memory, for instance, with my karate katas, I prefer a video to books. In my humble opinion, practical skills flourish far better if they are taught in a practical fashion and the learner is given time to repeat those skills. That said, in many respects, writing is also such a skill. The more I remember to repeat a technique in my writing, the more it becomes part of what I do. 

What are your thoughts on improving your skills? Drop me a line and let me know what skills you try to improve. (If you can’t comment here, you can download the bloglovin’ app or follow me on there and comment.)

 

 

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