Hi folks! This is part 2 of the article that I posted last week. I hope the list that I came up with has helped you on your way to becoming a better writer! Let me know if you would like me to continue this list in more articles.

17. When in doubt, cite.

My AP Literature teacher used to say this quite often. When in preparation for college, I can’t stress enough how important it is for students to learn how to cite their sources and how to do it properly. No matter what college you attend, the citation process is something not to be ignored. There are strict regulations that students must adhere to when writing papers that require the use of different sources. Plagiarizing results in multiple negative consequences including expulsion if done continually. Depending on the level of the course, teachers may be lenient and will be certain to point out citation mistakes so they can be fixed. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t learn how to cite sources early on! Even citations that are typed incorrectly by accident can get you into trouble! Another important point to mention: even information that you may consider to be common sense will most likely need some sort of citation.

18. Ask for advice from as many people as you can.

Even if you feel like you’ll get the same advice from multiple people, I still highly suggest doing this. First of all, repetitive advice is most likely good advice. Secondly, asking for help in this way can open your eyes to things that you have never considered before. I have asked for advice from family members, friends, teachers, and professors. Out of all of the people that I have talked to over the years, I don’t think I got bad advice from any of them. Those people have been such a huge help to me and I promise that you can get amazing tips and tricks from people around you as well.

19. Always tell the truth.

J.K. Rowling wrote books about a boy who went to a school of witchcraft and wizardry, who battled a giant snake, who fought off flying, soul sucking beings, and who owned a cloak that made him invisible. Obviously, that is not truthful. But when you look deeper into the other themes that the Harry Potter series includes, you can begin to notice how relevant the story is. It is a story that exhibits friendship, love, family, a struggle to fit in, death, sadness, joy, prejudice, discrimination, and so on. So in a way, this story about witches and wizards really has captured the entire essence of human experience. Telling the truth is important for any type of writing that you do. Creative writing, including stories or poems that aren’t relatable or relevant may not attract an audience. Formal essays with false information can be misleading which weakens your argument. Even journalists should be truthful, for creating lies about people or situations can cause a lot of confusion for the general public.

20. Take some time to be away from your work.

I think it’s extremely helpful to walk away from your work when you get stuck or frustrated. No matter whether it’s for a few minutes or a few days, a distanced relationship between you and your writing can give you some time to reflect on what you have written so far verses what you still need to write. When forcing yourself to write when you’re tired or frustrated only allows you to set yourself up for producing sloppy work. Trust me, your piece won’t be offended if you leave it to sit alone for a while. It will still be there when you get back, as long as you remember to save!

21. Use words that you know.

While it is okay to expand your vocabulary, I think that people often tend to include more complex phrases in an attempt to show off their skills as writers. Using difficult terminology when you are familiar with the words is fine. However, it can be risky to do that when you don’t know what the words mean or how they should be used. Not only can doing so make a paper confusing to read, but it may also make the writer seem boastful of his or her skill level. For undergraduate and high school students especially, I advise you to stick with what you know in your word choice. Use a thesaurus and a dictionary to become familiar with other words before you decide to use them in a paper. I was once told that I had a great mindset in the ways that I presented my papers because I kept the word choice clear, simplistic, and effective. My professor had told me that evaluators appreciate that in an undergraduate student’s works.

22. More isn't always better.

Have you ever been told that even if you write a lot of pages it could still be a waste of your time if what makes up those pages is nothing but B.S.? If not, let me be the first to tell you. This hasn’t been an issue for me in my college career, but I’ve heard several horror stories about students who tried to submit a completely sloppy, not thought-out piece of work. If you have a certain page count that you have to get to, make sure you have enough information and resources to get you there. Don’t just start making up stuff as you go along just to get to the page count. A helpful tip to do that is to try to get at least one source per page. That way, you are certain to have enough to go off of when you are trying to write your paper. Even if you don’t have a specific page count to get to, always make sure that what you are saying in your writing has relevance. If you are trying to impress your professor with a large page count, make sure those pages aren’t filled with crap because I promise you, that won’t impress anyone.

23. It is okay to be proud of yourself.

Last semester, a professor of mine told the class to write a little letter to ourselves on a notecard explaining how proud we were of our own abilities to succeed in the class. It was a wonderful idea, but would you believe it if I told you that the little note that should have taken me a couple of minutes to write took up nearly ten minutes of my time? Before you think otherwise, this wasn’t because I had a lot to say of how proud I was of myself. It was because it felt so strange writing anything that dealt with self-pride and appreciation. Isn’t that ridiculous? I’m not saying that I have no self-esteem, but the pride that I do have for myself is normally something that I like to keep private. As a writer, I think it’s extremely important to learn to pat yourself on the back once and a while! If you write something that you know is great, hold your head high and say, “Yeah, that’s right, I wrote that!” Writing is tricky business and those who continue to do it deserve to be proud of themselves.

24. Do your research.

No matter if it is creative writing or formal writing, it’s for the best if you know what you’re writing about. I don’t mean that you should only write things that you’re familiar with. I mean that you’re going to have to research some things. This may seem obvious when talking about formal papers. I have never heard of anyone who successfully completed an entire argument piece without providing any sources to help aid the writer’s position. Of course you’re going to do research for formal papers, it’s a no brainer, really. However, it can even be useful when writing historical fiction pieces as well. In my sophomore year of high school, I had to write a piece about the Jonestown Massacre. Just to be sure I was getting the factual aspects correct, I did my research. I didn’t know much about that event prior to doing that assignment, but now I’m slightly glad that I read into it. Though what had happened then was horrifying and disgusting, in a way, it was intriguing to read about and learn how strong human influence can be in a restricted society. P.S. my teacher told me that my historical fiction piece was fabulous, which it probably wouldn’t have been had I not done my research.

25. When given an opportunity, take it.

For a writer to get his or her work known for a general audience is a huge step in becoming more confident. It may be scary to think about letting your work go to be viewed by the public, but trust me, it is so rewarding when you do so. Work towards getting your pieces published in whatever platform that is accessible to you. Personally, I am in the process of getting two papers published for an undergraduate research journal. Though there is no guarantee that my papers will be accepted, I still jumped on the opportunities as soon as they were offered to me. I can’t express how much confidence I gained just from hearing the kind comments that my professors left on my works. You should be grateful for the people who read your work, especially if they recognize the potential that you have before you see it in yourself. Opportunities like this are also great for getting you to the next stages in your writing career!

26. Make sure to have a solid structure.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. We should all be familiar with the basic structure of a well written academic paper. First comes the introduction with a clear thesis, followed by some body paragraphs of relevant information and reasoning, leaving the conclusion to come at the end. At a college level, you’ll need to include abstracts (brief summaries) as well, which come before the introduction paragraph. Throughout those basic paragraphs, though, you want to make show that the paper has decent fluidity from one explanation to the next. Adding transitional phrases between paragraphs helps a lot if you don’t want your structure to seem choppy.

27. Take some time to get inspired by nature.

Hippies and poets would love me for this one. I really do believe that doing this has helped me though. Just so you understand what I’m getting at, when I say, “Get inspired by nature,” I mean do so without being on your phone, tablet, or computer. It isn’t as difficult as it seems. If you want this tactic to work wonders, leave your phone in your pocket if you really need to bring it with you. Jot down things that you see around you in a notebook so that way, you don’t find yourself being in awe of our beautiful green world one minute and distracted by Instagram of Facebook the next. We’re all guilty of using our phones when they really aren’t needed, so don’t try to hide and claim that you would never do such a thing. Think about this: we may have unlimited access to anything we want at the touch of a button by going to the internet, right? But can you imagine how much we miss out on every day because of that? Things in nature that have been there since the beginning of time go unnoticed every single day and guess what? Those things are some of the best teachers that we can have in our lives. So please, take some time to look at the bigger picture sometimes. The inspiration you can get from it may be more miraculous than you expect.

28. Step outside of your comfort zone once and a while.

I’ve had to do this several times, the most recent being last semester when I had to take a poetry class that I was initially dreading. P.S. I ended up loving it. Anyway, stepping outside of your comfort zone allows you to broaden your ideas when it comes to things you want to write about. The difference between living life and experiencing life is that vulnerability is involved with the experience. Throwing yourself into situations that may make you feel uneasy is the key to your growth as a writer.

29. Don't let anyone tell you that your writing ambitions are invalid.

If I had a penny for every person that has told me that writing won’t get me far enough in life, I’d be so rich that I wouldn’t have to work a day in my life. Let me tell you something, the ability to write will always be a significant factor in what employers are seeking in the people that they hire. If you plan to use your writing skills to become a teacher, that is amazing, and I am proud of you. But to those of you who want to write and not teach, don’t feel pressured into becoming a teacher. Writing provides endless opportunities. The need for excellent writers is more strong than ever so don’t let anyone tell you that your skills and hard work don’t matter.

30. Try to get yourself out of the "perfectionist" mindset.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m the queen of the “perfectionist mindset”. In fact, I’m still trying to get out of that frame of mind myself. You need to allow yourself to make mistakes because you will make them, that much is inevitable. Being a perfectionist really isn’t helpful and it can actually prevent you from producing the amount of work that matches your potential. That’s because mistakes begin to instill fear into the mind. Never fear mistakes or criticism. Instead, let yourself laugh at the errors that you may make.

31. Recognize the power that your words have.

World leaders and other famous people aren’t the only ones who possess the power to make change. Your words have more power than you can imagine. I’m sure you’ve heard of that quote, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Therefore, as writers, we all have a responsibility to use our words in an effective way. The freedom to articulate how you feel through written words is something not to take for granted, for not everyone has that right. Use your words wisely to help create a better world.

32. Continue to write because you are worthy of doing it.

If you want to write, then go ahead and do so! I believe that you all can do great things in your journey as a writer. Even if it isn't your thing, I hope that some of these tips can help you better your skills. Like I said, writing is extremely significant. I hope that nothing comes in the way of the ambitions you wish to fulfill. If you do hit some bumps in the road, though, I hope that you realize that those struggles will only make you stronger as a writer and as a person. Keep up your amazing work and write, write, write!