⑥ Proofread 校对

When you have finished writing your article and it seems nearly perfect to you, the next thing to do is to check it for typos, grammar mistakes, and just some plain weird sounding sentences.

The easiest way for checking for typos is to use a spellchecker, but checking for grammar mistakes is a lot trickier. What I do is that I usually check the grammar first in Microsoft Word or just play it by the ear, depending on how much you trust your own English language skills.

And of course, if you want to play it safe, you can always ask one of your English speaking friends to double check your article.

写完作文了，你觉得它看起来很完美，下一步便是检查有没有打错字、有没语法错误以及一些看起来就是怪怪的句子。

检查打字问题最简单的方式是使用拼写检查程序，但检查语法错误就繁杂得多。我通常先在Microsoft Word里检查语法或读出来用耳朵听，这取决于你对自己的英语语言技能有多大的自信。

当然，如果你想更放心，你也可以叫一个以英语为母语的朋友再帮你检查一次。

⑦ Have English-speaking friends who are not afraid to correct your mistakes 结交肯纠错的外国朋友

The best way to learn to sound like a native is to hang out with them as much as you can. By paying close attention to how they speak, you will learn the sayings they use, the slang, and even the jokes that they throw at you. All of this is important in making your English sound more natural and conversational rather than something learned from a book.

Instant messaging, e-mailing, or even chatting with them face to face, if possible, are all good ways to learn from friends. And the best part in all of this? You can do it while having a great time getting to know new, interesting people.

学习地道英文的最佳途径是多和英语母语者打交道。仔细观察他们的说话方式，你可以学到他们使用的说法、俚语，甚至是包括他们对你说的笑话。所有这些都是重要的帮助，让你的英语听起来更自然、更像日常对话，而不是从书本里学到的东西。

使用即时通信和电子邮件——如果可以的话，和他们面对面地交谈吧，这些都是向朋友学习的好方法。最大的好处？你可以一边学习，一边了解有趣的新朋友，这非常有意思。

⑧ Study spelling and grammar 学习拼写和语法

Yeah. I admit it, this doesn't sound like a lot of fun at all. But to achieve greatness, you have to put in some effort. And in the end, the reward of learning and becoming more confident with your writing is really worth it. Go find the books you were using on your English courses back in school, or if you can't find them, check if there are any good course books at the local library.

If you still want to go one step further, you can enroll to a language course. Just make sure to pick one that is mostly about creative writing because that will get you moving faster towards your goal.

是的，我承认这看上去一点都不有趣。不过，若想取得成就，你必须付出努力。到头来，学习的成果以及你在写作上的愈加自信完全值得这样的付出。找出学生时代的英语课本，假如找不到，不妨看看当地的图书馆有没有好的教科书。

假如你想更进一步，可以报读一门语言课程。要确保你选择的课程主要是讲创意写作的，因为那样可以助你更快地达成目标。

⑨ Commas and hyphens—the tricky buggers 逗号和连字符——两个棘手的家伙

Commas are hard. Hyphenation nearly impossible.

The good thing here is that not even the English speaking bloggers always get these things right. But does that mean you don't have to worry about them? No. If you want to be a great writer, you have to try to practice the hard things as well. All you can do is to learn about using them and then always double check your text to see if your punctuation is correct.

逗号非常难。连字符更是难如登天。

值得庆幸的是，即使是以英语为母语的博主也未必能正确使用这些符号。但那意味着你就无须为它们烦恼了吗？不。如果你想成为一名优秀的作者，你必须在这些难点上多加练习。你要做的就是学习使用方法，总是反复检查你的文章，看看你的标点符号是否正确。

⑩Relax 放松一点

Last comes the most important tip of all: Relax, and enjoy your writing. To be a great writer, you have to put in a lot of effort, but it's not going to happen overnight. So, while you are practicing, don't panic. Just write the best content you can with the skill set you have right now. Put it online on your own blog and learn more as you go.

Relax, have fun, and share your thoughts with the world!

最后是最重要的一点建议：放松一点，享受写作。要成为伟大的作家，你必须多加努力，而且不可能一蹴而就。因此，在练习的时候不要慌张。用你现有的技巧写出最好的文章吧。将它放到你自己的博客上，之后学习更多知识。（北外网院）