When writing, we tend to stay within our own comfort zone, and that hinders our writing life. When you write, you want to stretch yourself, to grow in your skills as a writer. You can’t do that if you always write the same thing, same style, same way.
To grow as a writer, you have to write outside of your comfort zone. And by this I mean, if you always write fantasy, try sci-fi. Try something new.
But there are a few different ways you can grow as a writer.
Write Short Stories
Writing short stories is my favorite way to challenge myself, step out of my comfort zone, and do something different.
I love experimenting with short stories because they are, well, short. You aren’t tied down to one thing for 60,000 plus words. You have maybe 2,000 to 10,000 words to work with, and you don’t have to stress about being “good”. When you don’t to aren’t tied down, you can do wonderful things with words, just for fun (and learning).
You can experiment with writing styles, character development, plot twists, voices, genres and just about anything else, because you aren’t stuck with it for ages. If you don’t like it, or if it sucks, you haven’t waisted years of your life on it, only a couple hours or days.
Writing short stories is also a great way to get to know yourself as a writer.
Just have fun, do whatever, and don’t look back. Just learn.
Change Genres
Sometimes, we get stuck in a habit. If you always write the same genre, it can be like that. You just fall into a habit of writing one genre, and then you stop challenging yourself to do something different. You just get stuck.
And when you get stuck in a pattern, that’s when you need to try something new. Try a new genre. Find an idea you really like, and run with it. By challenging yourself to write in a new genre, one you’ve never done, you can grow as a writer. Each genre has it’s own quirks and writing styles, and you grow as you explore them.
Try something new. Have fun with it.
Read
I truly believe that, besides writing, reading is the number one way to grow as a writer. Just read all the things. Read books in all genres, and all types of writing styles. Read advice blogs and articles to learn about the craft, the art, of writing. Go re-read your favorite books, and discover why they are so good.
Learn from books, and stories, and even movies (because you can learn a whole lot about story telling by watching movies).
But the number one way to grow as a writer is write. (I know, preposterous!)
Just write!
Do you have any ways you grow as a writer? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Write Tricks 
The last one, Just Write! rings true here. My daughter has taught her classes to get something down, even if it’s junk. Because it’s easier to edit something and make it better, than to have nothing at all and still be staring at a blank screen. Sometimes I’ll write a scene a couple of different times and then go back and compare them. Invariably there will be some statement in each one that is a little better than the others, so I combine the best parts and go with that.
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Great advice, to combine aspects of the same scene into the best version.
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