How to Become a Great Non-Native English Writer

Wondering how do you become a great non-native English writer? Read on to know how!

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Learning English is hard, I admit it. It’s full of complexities and rules that may seem sensical and non-sensical simultaneously. It’s just that hard, especially for non-natives like me who live in a third-world country: the Philippines.

Here in my country, though English is indeed hard to learn, the language is actually dignified. English is the second official language of my country and many Filipinos are experts in the language.

However, as non-natives, there’s just an invisible language mastery gap that separates non-natives from natives. I don’t really know what that gap is even today, but what I know is, non-natives can still be expert English writers.

As a professional freelance writer like me, I can attest to the fact that non-natives can be great English writers. And since you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume you’re a non-native who wants to get better at writing in English or you’re a follower of mine who just wants to celebrate my first published article here in Medium…

A word of advice though before you start reading down the tips I’ve prepared for you: mastering the art of English writing as a non-native is never an easy feat. It requires grit, persistence, consistency, and curiosity. We aren’t in an advantageous position and standing compared to natives when language mastery is in talks. So you need to work hard, study smart, and just love what you do.

Here are the tips I personally do to master and get better at English writing:

1. Practice

Practicing writing is totally underrated, and I mean it. When I was starting out writing as a hobby many years ago, I really didn’t practice my craft. The only practice I get is when I’m writing down something I want people to read, that’s it.

However, practicing your writing is definitely important. Now, you might think about how you can practice if there’s no one to guide you out or critique your writing skills… and I say it’s okay. Writing technologies exist today and they’re much more advanced than they were years ago, and you can treat…