The best and most efficient way to improve your writing is….

To help others with theirs.

This may feel counterintuitive if your life looks anything like mine (busy from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep). However, I believe that helping other writers only makes YOU a better writer.

I recently participated in a workshop for a short story anthology I submitted a story to. The workshop was a month long and every week we had to read two stories and critique them. Through that month, I became a better critiquer AND I think I became a better writer. Why?

It certainly wasn’t because I was editing all the time. It was because I was seeing errors that others made that I recognized! Because I do the same thing!

When I read, I can be guilty of what I’ll call ‘final draft syndrome.’ That means…