William Shakespeare is a writer we all know. In fact, most of those romantic lines you sometimes use on your partners were written by him; Yes, the same Shakespeare we were forced to read in our English and literature classes.
So, moving on from that…
William Shakespeare is popularly regarded today as one of the best English poets and dramatists of all time, and there’s a genuine reason for that: Shakespeare, if you didn’t understand why he’s so popular, is known worldwide for the great dexterity he seamlessly incorporated into most (if not all) of his texts. One of Shakespeare’s greatest writing feats is juxtaposing comedy with drama—a wide deviation from the norm of his time!
That’s not all!
Shakespeare, during his time, was also able to build, with a fair uniqueness, his own stories (and storylines) by following the ideas, plots, characters, genres, literary devices, and themes of the greatest writers of the classical literature.
Today, he still continues to influence (maybe indirectly) writers from many different parts of the world. This is why, in this short article today, you’ll also be learning how you can improve your own writing style and reach the level of Shakespeare.
Without further ado…
6 Tips To Improving Your Writing Style
Below are a few important tips you can follow to write a great article without help. You will have no need to use online writing services and ask the question, for example, “Is 99papers cheating?”, “Is it safe to use a writing service?”, “Write my paper for me, please!”
1. Be Unique
The first thing to know about Shakespeare is his express uniqueness.
The language (early modern English), which is one of the things that’s so special about him, was, at his time, simple. Shakespeare was known to have written for the peasants who were the major speakers of English at that time in England.
When you read Shakespeare’s plays, there’s one evidently unique feature you’ll notice. And, that’s the way he arranges the events and incidents contained in his works.
Beyond this, Shakespeare’s characters can also be said to forcefully express a peculiar dynamism and cannot easily be reduced (or broken down) to a single unit.
2. Know your audience
Every writer, no matter the genre, must know their audience, which in this case are the readers interested in their works. Without a deep, well-researched understanding of who your readers are (or should be). It’d be rather impossible, no matter how literarily skilled you are, to sway them with your words.
Shakespeare knew who his audience was, the English peasants, and he wrote specifically for them.
3. Make your characters real and relatable
Shakespeare would probably not be the great writer we know today if Hamlet, Romeo, Juliet, Rosalind, and other characters you can think of were stock and void.
Like I mentioned earlier, his characters were dynamic, and we, his readers, are able to easily relate to their experiences, even though they’re not exactly tuned up to our present reality.
So, if you must rise to reach that level Shakespeare is today, you must be willing and, most definitely, able to make real and relatable characters your readers can understand and interact with.
4. Be creative with your diction
Shakespeare wrote with such great talent and creativity that he was able to tremendously influence the language in which he wrote himself: the English language.
I’ll tell you why: during Shakespeare’s time, English was only a colloquial language, i.e. language of the common people. He did not solely rely on the standard languages of his time, like Latin and French. He, instead, decided to use a language that was, “unspecialized.”
In fact, we cannot talk about the standardization of English today without mentioning William. In all honesty, he did the most!
Being creative in your own writing doesn’t, however, mean you have to use a novel language. You can still be as unique as you can be with whatever language you decide to use. The main point is to write with images like Shakespeare, and not ordinary words and, FINGER SNAP!, you are already like the popular writer you’ve always imagined to yourself to be.
5. But don’t overdo it!
I guess this part is straightforward enough, but, for emphasis purposes, do not overdo it with your words and diction! Being creative doesn’t mean you should be way too cryptic, unreadable, and boring for your readers. Be simple!
Even in simplicity, there’s great creativity.
6. Acclimate yourself with the current trends of your time
Shakespeare was a writer of an age and also a writer for all time. Confusing, don’t worry, I’ll explain.
Shakespeare was a writer for an age because his writing shows he was a current personality. He knew what the trends around him were and was able to successfully infuse them into all his works.
Did I say he was a writer of all time, too? Well, yes, I did.
Shakespeare can still be read, maybe after translation, and understood today. Many of the issues, ideas, and many other things you can think of were written then and still current, even right at this moment.
So, acclimate yourself with the current trends and infuse in your writings in such a way that it spans all time.
Writing assignments is a big deal, and not everyone can master it. Being able to master this skill, however, can bring advantages such as critical thinking, reflecting, and the ability to express thoughts and ideas. These skills are essential at the workplace as well as in life and relationships. It shapes you as a person and lets you expose yourself through writing.
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