Want to quickly improve your writing skills? You can do it. Just follow these four simple tips.

1. Read More

The simplest way to improve your writing skills is to read more. Although it doesn't matter much what you read, choose to read books, rather than reading online.

The more you read, the more comfortable you will become with the written word. Read for pleasure, as well as for instruction.

2. Learn an Easy Way to Outline

If you hate to outline, it's because you've never learned an effective method. Think of an outline as a simple list of material you want to cover. Your outline may be a list of words, of sentences, or of questions.

Consider using outlines in two ways. Firstly, create an initial outline (remember, it's just a list) of what you want to cover in the piece of writing. Secondly, create an outline once you've finished the piece.

Outlining work you've completed will help you to see lapses in logic, as well as to spot the things you've left out.

3. Separate Writing and Editing

If you can talk, you can write. If you find writing difficult, it's because you're trying to edit yourself as you write. This is impossible to do, because writing and editing use different parts of your brain.

You can't edit what you haven't written. If you sit staring at the computer screen, it's because you're trying to do two things at the same time.

When you're writing, just write, as if you were speaking to someone. Don't worry about whether it "makes sense", or is "good writing" -- that's what editing is for.

Follow your outline, and get words onto the computer screen.

A day later, you can revise. This is where editing comes in.

Professional writers are professionals because they do one thing at a time. You can do this too. You'll be amazed at how your writing improves once you learn to separate writing and editing.

4. Read Your Writing Aloud

Once you've completed a piece of writing, read it aloud, preferably into a voice recorder.

You'll spot awkward phrasing, jumps in logic, and much more -- even typographical errors. Try it.

Improving your writing skills is basically just a matter of practice. Use these four tips, and you'll be practicing the right things.