Tips on becoming a better writer are as good and inspirational as the daily tips for a happy, healthy and successful life. Since this month I’m busy with NANOWRIMO, I will post tips on becoming a better writer which can also apply to tips for a successful life.

What’s up in November? To me, it is the NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month), a writing challenge to finish a novel in 30 days with a word count of at least 50,000 words. It is not intended to be a final manuscript. It is a working first draft and most likely needs at least five edits or even ten edits until it’s considered ready for publication. It is a great writing exercise and develops discipline and a great habit of sitting on my butt and hitting the keyboards every day.

As I embark on another writing marathon in November at NANOWRIMO I would like to share some tips I learned along the way in my writing journey. Accompanying the tips are my favorite books which I read and recommend. Some are long novel like Hawaii but they are interesting books and you will learn something from them.

1.  First thing, you should do to be a better writer is to get a good dictionary. I have a Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary that I have been using for years. I have other dictionaries but I like this one the best.

Here is one of my favorite books. It’s quite lengthy but I learned a lot about Hawaii’s history. James Michener is a great writer and I came across plenty of words that I didn’t understand so I used my dictionary to look them up.