In which I pose two writing-related questions (with various related sub-queries).
First: what are your strengths when writing? What do you feel that you do well? Why do you do it well? How would you tell others that have trouble doing what you believe you do well?
Second: what are your weaknesses? What gives you difficulty? Why do you think that is? How can you improve this thing that gives you the shivering shits and the fretful fits?
(Writing can be about the language, but I’m also including storytelling in all this.)
I ask these things in part just to evaluate what we do, and how we do it.
I also ask because maybe, just maybe, you can help each other.
Community, and all that.
*hands out straitjackets and thorazine*
*locks the asylum doors*
DISCUSS.
Jana Denardo says:
I’ve been told I do dialog well. I find it very easy to craft what my characters want to say. On the other hand, description, which used to be easy for me when I was younger, has become my boogyman. I struggle with writing it and not ending up with the same sort of crap again and again.
November 2, 2014 — 9:42 PM
jademwong says:
RE descriptions: A thesaurus and Google might just be your new best friends. Maybe looking for synonyms of words you find yourself using a lot in your descriptions might help. Descriptions aren’t easy, and I usually find myself doing a lot of research on Google when I’m describing something. Google image pictures of what you’re trying to describe. It might challenge you to come up with words that better suit what you’re trying to go for.
November 2, 2014 — 10:25 PM
wagnerel says:
One thing to think about is whether or not your style requires lush description. Sometimes it’s all right to go a bit light, just focus on one or two salient details that your pov character would notice in the situation. Or if you’re writing omniscient, a couple of details that your reader really needs to know.
November 3, 2014 — 1:24 AM
Tina Hammond says:
My strength is probably twofold: 1.in my ability to get the story on paper with the first draft. My editor rarely recommends deletion of my chapters or huge blocks of a scene — granted I’m an Indie, but I have an excellent editor who’s not afraid to tell me I’m rambling, or a section doesn’t advance the story line. 2. Character-driven dialog — many readers have told me the conversation flows naturally. My weakness is the use of present and past tense, which may stem from over-thinking.
November 2, 2014 — 9:46 PM
Michelle Barker says:
I’ve also been told I write good dialogue. Might have something to do with years of musical training, but who knows? What I struggle with is generic gestures. Nodding, smiling, faces going red, lips pressing into a tight line. I seem to have trouble picturing my characters moving their bodies in ways that don’t sound stereotyped.
November 2, 2014 — 9:49 PM
A Citizen of the World says:
Re gestures:
Maybe start looking at what specific physical tics your characters might have that outwardly express what they could be feeling inwardly. E.g. biting nails when stressed. Diana Gabaldon’s Jamie Fraser has this tic there his fingers drum on his left thigh when he is stressed. It’s unnoticeable to most folks but his wife notes it.
November 2, 2014 — 10:06 PM
Beth Turnage says:
“What I struggle with is generic gestures. Nodding, smiling, faces going red, lips pressing into a tight line.” I found the book “The Emotional Thesaus” by Ackerman and Pulisi to be helpful with this.
November 2, 2014 — 11:59 PM
wagnerel says:
I have to think about this too. I worry that my characters are overusing “stock in trade” gestures, so they’re nodding like bobbleheads, or shrugging and grinning like idiots.
One thing is to simply cut some of those extraneous movements entirely. They’re not always needed at all.
Other times, you can think of other ways to introduce movement into a scene. Say two people are talking. Are they doing something while they talk? Sharing a meal? Sipping wine? Brushing a horse? Getting dressed? You don’t have to be constantly interrupting the dialog with gestures, but maybe a character swirls his wine glass and examines it, or takes a bite, chews and swallows, before he answers a question. Or maybe she has a nervous habit of pushing at her cuticles, or twirling the end of her braid between her fingers.
And take some comfort from the fact that many highly successful published authors have “stock in trade” gestures their characters fall back on too. I did a word count with the 15 most recent novels I read recently, and found out that characters sigh, nod, shrug, frown and grin a lot in most authors’ work.
November 3, 2014 — 1:31 AM
Erika Kelly says:
I’ll bet we all do this. In my first draft everyone is smiling, grinning, scowling, grimacing, and smirking. But I never stress over it because those are just placeholders. With each pass through the book I go deeper into the character until I realize he’s not really scowling at all. Because at some point he becomes real. He’s actually feeling/experiencing something right then. And that’s what we’re looking for–not a gesture but an authentic emotion. Then we have to find a way to physically express that emotion (and it’s not manifested in a smirk or grimace or scowl or grin!).
November 3, 2014 — 6:56 AM
tedra says:
I had the same problem! A few years ago I joined in this critiquing doo-hickey with a few other novice writers and this one woman (who I’ve only exchanged with once) said, why is your character always sighing. What’s wrong with her?
She was rude to say it that way buy she was right. I didn’t know what else to do with her. But it made me what to express ways of exasperation differently. I started people watching and best of all, I thought, if someone told me that or did this, what would my reaction be?
hope to see you at NaNo. @ wordscansingtoo
November 6, 2014 — 7:29 PM
A Citizen of the World says:
My strengths are dialogue and being really visual. This is why I write my first draft mostly in a screenplay format. I love, love, LOVE dialogue and dialogue is what helps me shape my characters. I think I’d have done my job if you can read a dialogue without any tags showing names and *still* tell which character is which.
My weakness is descriptive prose. Oh man, I get SO DAMN FRUSTRATED when I can see scenes in my mind’s eye – like a beautiful Technicolour vista unfolding in real time – and my fingers cannot keep up and my brain has to freeze-frame the scene while I work on how to best describe the action/emotion/surroundings.
Basically an issue of mind/imagination moving at warp speed vs exact language to spit it all out in the real world so everyone can picture the exact scene moving at a snail’s pace.
This drives me bananas. It really does.
November 2, 2014 — 9:53 PM
A Citizen of the World says:
Also, um, does anyone end up loving their world so much that they keep worldbuilding along the way and discovering new little things to add to that world and vowing to include it all and then discover that you’ve built this whole frickin’ world so huge that you’re running around going: “Ooooh! Must include this!” and “Oooh! That would be cool!” and discovering that your draft is slowly but surely becoming the size of Moby Dick and that won’t do?
November 2, 2014 — 10:02 PM
D.R.Sylvester says:
This. A thousand million times this.
I beat this by keeping notes rather than cramming every idea in its entirety, and sometimes if I have an idea mid-flow I just put it in the draft in ALLCAPS, and move on. If it’s gold you’ll pick it up and thread it through when you’re editing later.
November 2, 2014 — 11:29 PM
fadedglories says:
My sympathies Citizen. You’re describing me exactly. The only thing that helps me is a self-imposed word deadline. I tell myself I must write 5000 words before stopping to check details again, that way I do get something down on paper.
November 3, 2014 — 5:23 AM
A Citizen of the World says:
Thanks for the useful tips, guys! 🙂 Will try them out!
November 3, 2014 — 6:29 AM
gaeliceyes says:
Yes. So much yes. I had to stop myself and say, ok, you know what, write that down. You’ll just have to write a sequel if you want that detail revealed…
November 3, 2014 — 9:57 AM
A Citizen of the World says:
I actually moved one of the major supporting characters to the second book because of this.
Also, makes more sense anyway.
Yes, I’m still wrasslin’ with my first book and suddenly: “Oh look! I have material and new characters who will make their debut in the SECOND book in this SERIES!”
It has come to this. 😛
November 3, 2014 — 7:21 PM
Melissa Clare says:
Look at it this way: you’ve got awesome content for your blog or website.
November 3, 2014 — 12:41 PM
A Citizen of the World says:
Yes, I do scribble these down in my private writing blog (only my writing circle can read it and give feedback).
All those scraps of conversation and reams of research (that manifest in the form of pictures, links, and comments from me) has been amusing my fellow writers no end.
Thank goodness for tags so I can easily locate stuff…
November 3, 2014 — 7:24 PM
Maya Langston says:
I feel you, Citizen, I really do.
November 2, 2014 — 10:21 PM
mlhe says:
Time management is a strength and a weakness. I want to write all the time once I get started. Uh, well, time management is a weakness of the weakest sort. I **effing hate time! I want to read and write all the time—and then squeeze in that other stuff. OK, Mr. Wendig, I’m ready for my thorazine now.
November 2, 2014 — 9:54 PM
Carol McKenzie says:
First off, it’s usually difficult for me ever to say what I do well with regards to writing. But here it goes:
I write really good dialog. I’ve been told it reads as natural, that each character has their own voice. I’ve started writing much more dialog lately, simply because I was running into issues with telling over showing. Side note: health issues fuck with your brain, and for a time, I almost felt like I was learning to write all over again, so I was telling a great deal. Now I make my characters tell the story through dialog.
I’m not sure I can tell someone who struggles how to write dialog. I know I have a good ear for how people speak, their speech patterns, the cadence, inflections, all that stuff. I can mimic them, but it’s more than that. I think it comes with being able to inhabit each character and know on a gut level what they’d say, and how they’d say it.
I’ve also been told I write really complicated characters, and (I write romance, paranormal and just normal, all erotic) strong alpha male characters who aren’t alpha assholes. And anti-heros who are just so much fun to write, and who sometimes take over the story.
Advice on that? There are really creepy people who live in my head, and they beg to come live on the page. And the alpha males are just guys I’d want in my perfect fantasy world. I write them, and then take one or two characteristics and flip them, make them not so perfect, a little rough, no so nice at times. Smart asses, and not always with a heart of gold. But with a heart. Even the really nice guys have an edge.
Weaknesses? Um, saggy middle, and the inability to end a story. I know stories have to end, but I get caught up in this kind of thing where there’s one more scene, one more line of dialog, and a response, and another scene. I just can’t freaking end the things.
I write for a client, and she’d discovered how to exploit this weakness. She asks for second and third…sometimes fourth…parts to stories. “Here, Carol, this is the end of part one.” And then she dangles a shiny part two in front of me, and off I go. So I’m not sure I’ll ever get over that one.
My comma usage sucks. Always has, and I’m trying hard to learn to be less comma challenged. Luckily I have an editor who isn’t challenged, and a lovely woman who I have lined up for my own work, when it comes time to submit that to publishers.
November 2, 2014 — 9:56 PM
Lisa Oliver says:
I’m like Tina in that my strength is that I get my story down and done in one draft. Admittedly I edit every day, going over the previous day’s writing, but I only do one draft. The important thing for me in a story is that it flows, naturally, and that is something I think I learned from being an avid reader. In terms of weakness – heck, which one do you want. My biggest is that I can’t write for long periods of time, which means when I am doing the NaNo challenge, like this month, and I am trying to pump out 5K words a day minimum because I got it into my head to finish two projects this month, then I can be on my computer for up to twelve hours. Thank goodness I don’t have a day job 🙂
November 2, 2014 — 9:58 PM
boydstun215 says:
What I do well: Honestly, that’s a difficult one to answer because I need to work on everything. If nothing else, I’m versatile. I can comfortably write in a variety of styles and voices, and I’m always looking for ways to experiment here and there with theme, p.o.v., structure, chronology, and tone.
What I struggle with: Time management, of course, but as for the writing itself I have a tendency to let stories get to big. The stories start dictating the rules of engagement the bigger they get, and I end up with a backlog of ideas.
Oftentimes writing for me is like that scene where the bedraggled-looking office clerk is busily filling out paperwork, and the supervisor walks by and lays a large and demoralizing stack of folders on the clerk’s desk. “Have these to me by tomorrow,” he says. The irony, of course, is that I’m supposed to be the supervisor, but I feel a certain sense of obligation to my ideas, especially the good ones, so it’s hard for me to say no to them.
November 2, 2014 — 10:00 PM
R.L. Black says:
I’m glad you asked, Chuck.
My Strengths:
I write flash pretty well. I’m good at getting a decent story into a tight place. I feel like I do this well because I don’t like to carry on and on, and I don’t enjoy reading stories where the author carries on and on. I want to get to the point, tell the story, and get out.
I’m good with dark, strange stories. I think I’m good at writing them because they are my favorite kind of stories to read.
I’m great at beginnings and endings. Beginnings are easy for me because I’m really excited at the beginning, and endings, I usually know how it’s gonna end as soon as I start writing the story, so endings are easy.
I’m okay with my spelling and grammar. They were my favorite subjects in school, so I guess it comes easy. Yay!
My Weaknesses:
I have problems writing anything longer than a short story. Every novel I’ve ever started got stuck in the middle. I suck at middles.
I don’t do descriptions well. I don’t know, I just tend to skip them.
November 2, 2014 — 10:03 PM
boydstun215 says:
What is your strategy with flash fiction? Every time I start one of Chuck’s challenges it turns into a 4k – 7k behemoth, even though I tell myself every time that I’m sticking to a thousand.
November 3, 2014 — 3:31 AM
lpishere says:
I love playing with theme, characters and dialogue. Once I know what sort of meta comment I want to make, then characters and dialogue fall into place. Generally, however, plot sucks the soul right out of me It’s never complicated enough OR it’s too complicated for all the wrong reasons.
November 2, 2014 — 10:07 PM
eporter70 says:
What I do well: Characterization/dialog. Why do I do it well? Probably because I find most people sort of fascinating. I guess I would tell people to listen and…empathize . Why do OTHERS do what they do.
What I don’t do as well: plan/plot which leads to NOT finishing . How could I improve this? Expand/plan my ideas out before I start setting characters out with voices and problems.
November 2, 2014 — 10:15 PM
Maya Langston says:
I’ve started writing fiction again after about 6 years and I’m rusty as hell. However, I think one of my strengths is character development and plot. I’ve been told I have a knack for creating interesting conflict and getting my characters to squirm, yet still be able to suspend disbelief.
My advice on that is to view your characters as a person you’re getting to know. At first, they’re not going to reveal everything to you. Don’t rush them. Give them time to warm up to you, and you’ll learn knew things about them, things they don’t realize about themselves. Keep talking to them. And once you get to know them and their circumstances, then you’re better able to develop the plot. You’ll know where they need to go and what the most plausible, yet interesting, course of action will be for them. But remember they aren’t your friends. Show no mercy.
I swear, I’m not trying to sound all airy-fairy. But it works for me, weirdly enough. Sometimes, when I’m having issues, I speak aloud to them, which is really talking to myself, but hey. Preferably when no one else is around, too.
My weakness: Description and prose. For me it’s like pulling teeth because:
1. I want to get to the action
2. I haven’t found my ‘voice’ yet. I keep thinking that my voice is all lyrical and poetic, but when I re-read, it’s a train wreck. So I’m trying simple, direct prose, which I’m not a fan of, but it works so far. With the zero draft I’m working on for NaNoWriMo, I’m trying to get to a happy medium. The style varies from chapter to chapter, or even from passage to passage, And I’m having a blast. No pressure. This moment is a total learning experience and I’m determined to enjoy it. Editing is another story, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
November 2, 2014 — 10:19 PM
jdcrawfordauthor says:
Everyone says my dialogue is my greatest strength, but I can’tr really say what I do best. I tell people to listen to conversations and see how people talk and what sets their word choices apart form each other amongst other quirks like accents. I personally just turn my own mind off and let the characters talk amongst themselves, almost like MPD.
I think I could do better with settings and writing in uncommon formats like diary entries and things of that nature. I want those different approaches of first-person narration to feel natural, which would mean leaving out detail, but it’s always possible that missing detail can make the piece feel like swiss cheese but also say something about the character or plot, so it’s a matter of finding that balance to make such a thing work.
Overall, I want to improve my descriptions of imagery and learn how to just allow different ideas to have their chance to prove their worth–I often feel the need to plan out almost every word down to the punctuation before I even type, but writing should be a lot more free. Since I’m so determined to make it go my way, I end up giving myself writer’s block and the story can’t flow like it’s suffering severe constipation.
November 2, 2014 — 10:21 PM
Anthony Elmore says:
I get complements on dialogue and description, and some readers suggested I go into playwriting or scriptwriting. However, the also observe that I let dialog carry most of the freight at the expense of character development and plotting. Sometimes my plots are predictable and climaxes tend to fizzle.\
I’ve come far in the last few years, but my writing lacks that professional edge. Voice is not a problem, but keeping the audience enthused is.
November 2, 2014 — 10:24 PM
LuAnn Braley says:
Strength(s): I plan and organize writing well. When I purposely free-write without editing, I can get wonderfully quirky – like my inner child is getting out to play. Feeling quite free to use sentence fragments and bad grammar because I have the headache from hell right now. I like words and like to play with them.
Weakness(es): Procrastination, actually working the plan, I get distracted easily
Glad to hear about the straightjackets and thorazine. Wasn’t sure if this party was going to be BYOD (bring your own drugs), or what. Thanks for the heads up about the doors. Now I know to plan for that. *small, evil snicker*
November 2, 2014 — 10:26 PM
Peg says:
I write. In that I mean I can crank out the words, for instance this weekend I wrote 7200 words. I can sit and write even with my husband watching TV next to me and my son playing video games 5 ft away and my other son playing with his music toy behind me.I would tell people to never sit in front of a blank screen/paper. If you’re stuck, outline everything but the end of the story. Know exactly where you are going next.
If you’re stuck after outlining, go play solitaire, take a shower, go for a walk and just think about the next line you want to write. That’s all, just the next line. Rework it in your head 10x 2x 100x, but as soon as your shower/walk/solitaire game is over, go back and write that sentence down and then the next one after that and the next one after that.
My weakness is mechanics (punctuation/grammar/spelling). It makes me very insecure about my writing and so I never submit anything. I have dyslexia and although I am completely comfortable telling a story, creating strong characters with a unique voice and a strong plot, I can never remember where the commas go and so I write a novel and stick it in a file. I bought some punctuation books and I am trying to relearn everything I have forgotten since school.
November 2, 2014 — 10:34 PM
Fatma Alici says:
I have the worst time with mechanics myself. So far the best method I found is practice. I was even doing an 8th graders grammar lessons I found online. Humiliating, but true.
November 3, 2014 — 4:04 AM
Amaryllis says:
Participating in my first NaNoWriMo this month and ive been working my ass off all day. I’m really good at conceptualizing my narrative and knowing where I want my story to go although the only stories ive written so far are all short vignettes or scripts. When you put the gun to my head I know im able to write tight and write well for a senior in high school. All and all putting words on paper is my issue. I dont write enough because It isnt a habit ive made. Its not that I dont know what I want to write but rather my obcessive compulsive tendancies kick into overdrive when I see a blank doc or piece of paper. Its literally me wetting myself over chisling black scrap ings onto dead tree pulp. Ive found though that writing my drafts like a script helps though uwu,
November 2, 2014 — 10:35 PM
Amaryllis says:
For people that do struggle conceptualizing stories Id really just turn into what you like in media and distill those ideas into characters. Then again I watch wayyy too much anime…
November 2, 2014 — 10:38 PM
Patti says:
I love this suggestion! I found a character this way – he was a doctor who did house calls to casinos, prescribing uppers, downers, inners and outers and made (actual) house calls to private homes – he killed up to nine people (overdosed) and prior to this was a jail house doctor performing surgery he wasn’t trained for, killing three or four more…he never lost his license through his entire killing spree until he was caught dispensing …I loved this character; he’s been inside my head for seven years or more, but I have yet to figure out a plot for him…hence, my weakness: plots and sub-plots.
My strengths are in detail, description and finding characters.
I started trying to write stories during an article writing class and have found fragments of plots and ideas floating in my head more freely, but getting them up and out are an entirely different matter.
November 3, 2014 — 7:09 AM
curtisedmonds says:
I was going to say dialogue, but EVERYONE ELSE is saying that. So I have to go to my next strength, which is BRINGING THE FUNNY. Part of that is just making characters say funny things, but it’s also putting characters in funny situations and seeing how they react. Funny helps make your book interesting and memorable and enjoyable. Don’t be afraid to bring the funny.
Weaknesses? I am a walking bundle of weaknesses. I couldn’t write a fight scene to save my neighbor’s dog’s life. I don’t describe what people look like very well. I struggle with anything that’s not first-person narration. And I’m at the point where the time I’m spending marketing my books (the new one comes out Tuesday) is just killing my desire to write anything else.
November 2, 2014 — 10:50 PM
Miranda says:
I have no idea. I’m probably too new to have any strengths. Everything is weakness so far, lol.
November 2, 2014 — 10:58 PM
Wickedjulia says:
I’m with Miranda. Everything feels like a weakness. One thing that drives me nuts is not knowing when to let an idea go. I have one idea that I have written and rewritten 7 times and I feel like I am just missing the mark over and over again.
November 2, 2014 — 11:02 PM
Jimmie says:
My strength is coming up with the broad concept. I can build from a title to a rough plot and even a rudimentary outline. Sometimes, I can drop a rough idea of a scene into the outline.
My weakness is everything else. I may be a rotten writer. I’m probably just scared spitless of writing something that stinks like a week-old carcass on a Georgia roadside in high summer. Might as well find out this month if I can overcome the latter and figure out of the former is true. 🙂
November 2, 2014 — 11:41 PM
wagnerel says:
I think we all feel this way sometimes. The only advice I have is to give yourself permission to write something that smells like week-old carcass. Because a rotten first draft can be polished into a less rotten second one, and an even better third one and so on. Few writers, especially newer ones, churn out scintillating prose on their first go round.
November 3, 2014 — 1:34 AM
S.H. Mansouri says:
Strengths: Description and exposition. Weakness: Plotting and outlining. A lot of dialogue champs here and I hear it’s easy for a lot of people. I’d say, to those that have trouble with description, sit back and put yourself in the shoes (or bare feet) of the character and take it all in. What do you smell, see, touch? How is the lighting? What does the atmosphere feel like? Sounds simple, but a step back helps me a lot. As far as my weakness goes; I instantly resist plotting or outlining at length. I only know the climax and what should happen in a single chapter. The feeling that outlining is mechanical and lacks spontaneity is counter to progress–I know–but it looms over me anytime I try and “prepare.” Great comments everyone. I’ll take whatever help I can get.
November 2, 2014 — 11:56 PM
Christopher Robin Negelein says:
Strengths:
World Building, Action Scenes and Believable Characters.
Advice:
World Building – Add in the details that include the other senses. Have your characters give their own impressions of the atmosphere around them.
Actions Scenes – Don’t be afraid to choreograph them, to pantomine them — within reason — to get a better sense of physical space. Rooms and places are filled with stuff. Does the wet grass make footing slippery? Does a lamp post look solid enough to lean on when exhausted?
Believable Characters: Decouple your characters from your plot. They should be motivated by their motivations, not plotted out by plot. People say more with their body language than they do with their words.
Weakness:
Grammar — I have a learning disability that makes me a crappy self-editor. I also habitually leave out words and articles. The only thing I can really do is do repeated re-edits and try to get additional help when I can.
November 3, 2014 — 12:11 AM
Beth Turnage says:
I do the leave out word thing, and that is a pain. One of my writing buddies from my online critique group suggested reading the story out loud word for word. While time consuming, it works. But for grammar and general editing help I use an online program call Pro-Writing Aid. Relatively inexpensive, it is well worth the money. You might find it helpful.
November 3, 2014 — 12:39 AM
Christopher Robin Negelein says:
I’ll check it out.
November 3, 2014 — 10:06 PM
Chris Lites says:
well: Prose, dialogue, action, big ideas
need improvement: sympathetic characters, overly complex ideas and story. I need to simplify.
November 3, 2014 — 12:31 AM
mat says:
Well I think my strengths are: dialogue, characterisation, and concisness (if that’s a word?)
My weaknesses include but are not limited to: plotting, outlining, and endings.
I”ve always been a believer in just starting to write and seeing where it takes me, and deliberately not outlining first – because once I’ve written an outline I don’t feel the need to write the story. However recently I’ve noticed around here people saying that they write really basic one line per chapter/beat outlines and that it really helps. I might try this…
November 3, 2014 — 12:46 AM
ktbenbrook says:
coming up with cool plot lines, and interesting scenarios that challenge my characters is my str.
weakness is getting all this stuff out of my head and actually down on the page.
November 3, 2014 — 1:05 AM
wagnerel says:
I’ve been told by enough people I’m good at dialogue, emotions, characterization and setting that I believe them for the most part. I know who my characters are, how they talk, and how they think and feel. But I struggle some with transitions. My current novel projects are in a fairly deep limited third, where I am a stickler for not wanting to use an external-sounding narrator (want the narrative to reflect the voice and perspectives of the character). So sometimes I get comments from readers at the start of a new chapter or scene that they’re not sure where they are right off, or how much time has elapsed or what’s transpired since the end of the last chapter or scene with that pov.
When I try to start with a more “omni style” zoomed out summary, “The next two weeks passed slowly, as Tom…” I sometimes have trouble figuring out when and how to get the narrative camera in close again without its feeling clunky and abrupt.
November 3, 2014 — 1:22 AM
gaeliceyes says:
I feel you wagnerel. This is me all over.
November 3, 2014 — 10:07 AM
Jacey Bedford says:
I can usually keep all the threads in my novel clear in my head (yes, yes, I do make notes, too, but what’s in the head is vital). If I put the thing away for weeks or months, coming back to it is so difficult. Working consistently helps to keep it all fresh. Maybe I don’t need to write _every_ day, but damn near it or (if it’s not a writing day) keep plot-wrangling in my brain.
Re clear prose and dialogue. READ IT OUT LOUD to yourself. Yes, I know talking to yourself is the first sign… but do it. Your mouth trips over things your silent reading brain might never notice.
November 3, 2014 — 1:28 AM
wizki says:
I like writing dialogue, both spoken and internal–thinking about it, that’s how most of my stories unfold. I think I lend characters nice flavor through dialogue, probably because I like people and spend a lot of time talking with my friends, family etc. I also have a massive amount of internal dialogue going on all the time, so it’s easy to get that out on the page I guess.
Action, however, is the bane of my existence. Rare is the time when I look at an action-oriented scene I’ve written and think, “Yeah–I felt that in my gut.” Where does this action tone-deafness come from? Likely because I have no real sense of space or direction–I cannot read a map, and can’t even describe where I am (in a room, etc.) in relation to other things if asked. Lucky I don’t drive!
Lastly, endings are an absolute MUST in my writing. I usually figure out the ending to a story before I know the rest of the plot–for better or for worse, I write toward that ending.
Great question, Chuck!
November 3, 2014 — 1:38 AM
tedra says:
My strengths are scenes, characterizations and dialogue. I can shoot characters out as fast as a toddler can run. I can also make scenes up in my head just as fast. I do it everyday at work for this new book I want to write but since I’m still in process with one, I just have fun with my imagination. Stories are much more loose that way anyway. I also people watch. I have had really great job opportunities that allow me to interact with everyone, and I mean everyone, so I have a vast intellect on different cultures and backgrounds. And I love it.
My weaknesses are actually writing. I would rather plot out the story or research whatever for the story. I know its just my fear of actually succeeding in this writing world that holds me back. Lol. Another weakness is grammar and tense usage. I hear a story one way but when you’re used to reading past tense, its all that comes out on paper.
But I’m working on my issues as we speak. Not the grammar part but I do still have my college grammar book. Its a really nice cheat. I’ll give you the name if you like, if anyone needs help. But I’m trying to write everyday even if its only a sentence or two and to edit my work for tense, now that I’ve decided (with current WIP) what tense I want. Its really a habit thing I believe. You just have to keep correcting yourself till you get it right.
November 3, 2014 — 1:39 AM
familyfieldguide says:
Tedra, I can appreciate your preference for plotting and researching over doing the actual writing. But don’t discount the importance of knowing your subject well. My WIP is a book set in a foreign country. It’s hard as hell, weaving cultural nuance and description into story. I believe in authenticity, otherwise, the story cannot be believed, and certainly won’t be taken seriously. Grammar and tenses happen to be one of my strengths. Even so, I recommend plowing through your story at all costs. Sorting through tenses, making them parallel, etc., can happen in your second draft. Or at least after you’ve hashed out a few chapters. To me, getting a few chapters down and bending that arc are more important than sitting over the computer fretting over past perfect. Having said that, I also work on improving every day, and can see the difference in my writing since I began this book, which may or may not be a MG novel. LOL!
November 3, 2014 — 10:05 AM
tedra says:
Thank you. I used to really bug over the tense thing. I thought, some writer I am, I can’t even use the write grammar. Can anybody else tell? Do I sound like a newbie? Of course yes, but I have learned not to care about that in my first drafts. Though I still will edit when I go over the work but if I miss it, I’m like okay, I’ll fix it later.
I’ve found myself going to past tense a couple times during this nano process, even after I’ve read it before closing up for the day and going back the next day, upset with myself because I missed it. Its a process but thank you for making me feel better about it. Are you doing NaNo this year? My username is wordscandingtoo if you are.
November 6, 2014 — 7:22 PM
Patricia Harvey says:
Tedra, I just changed my log-in name, so hopefully you will be able to see who commented under Family Field Guide, which is my parenting blog.
November 3, 2014 — 10:09 AM
Pee Dee says:
Strength: believable characters. I get that comment time and again, so I’ll claim it.
Weakness: after decades of studying and working in academia and management, it sometimes sounds like I’ve swallowed a dictionary, although I try to edit harshly in the second draft.
Solution: in the header of the first draft I type WORDS AREN’T BRAINS. This is a good reminder at the top of every page. At the end of each chapter I run it through the Fog Index. It’s a good first flush, and then I beat anything left with a squeaky rubber mallet and a heavy copy of Wittgenstein’s ‘Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus’.
November 3, 2014 — 1:52 AM
Dark Matter Zine says:
My strengths: editing. I’ve done it for school (distinctions and high distinctions in a Professional Writing and Editing associate degree) and I’ve just edited 2 short stories that will be online very soon, FOR FREE. These stories rock. Not entirely due to my awesomeness: the authors rock and they played really well in a team 😉
My weakness: self-confidence. I’ve written bits of a novel. I’ve been assessed by a teacher who considers Literature and Literature modes of writing to be the only acceptable mode of writing (metaphors, sensory images as interiority, do not use tacky things like thoughts and feelings!). The end result is I was planning to at least seriously advance my draft, possibly finish a first draft over the holidays but now I’ve lost confidence. I don’t want to write existential angst so… is there a place for me? Maybe not.
November 3, 2014 — 3:15 AM
shelton keys dunning says:
Okay, so I took the thorazine, and now I’m stuck in greyscale and I’m all itchy and some dude in a parka is yelling at me about standing on the icebergs. Anyone else become a penguin? No? Hmm.
Oh, the questions. Right. Stuff I do well: My characters aren’t too weak and my settings aren’t overdone. I can end chapters with little cliffhangers so readers decide to forgo bedtime for another chapter. I layer plots and subplots in very natural ways.
Weaknesses: Focus. I’ve got way too many irons in the fire. I’ve got thirteen different novels I’m working on right now, and none of them are the one I should be writing on. I also tend to rewrite and tweak and scrub and rewrite again, not the first draft, but when I put my “editing” hat on, it’s hard for me to stop entirely.
And that’s all I can think of for the moment. Time to put the jacket on.
November 3, 2014 — 3:18 AM
enabity says:
I’m not going to share my strengths or my weaknesses, because I don’t know how relevant they are. I’ve found that the best person to look for advice on improving isn’t the person with the best skill in something you want to get better at. The best person to consult is the person that has figured out how to improve the most. Those are quite often two different things.
Instead, I’m going to share two techniques that have improved the writing process for me.
The first technique I’ve found to be useful is to completely rewrite when editing. Quite literally, I open the work in progress while I rewrite it in a different document. My writing can be less than smooth, so this is helpful. It also decreases the resistance to change something. I also go back and start a rewrite when I get stuck in order to regain story momentum. When I rewrite, it may be a chapter, multiple chapters or the whole manuscript.
The second technique I use is analogous to top down programming. The notion is that the product is a series of steps. Each step consists of smaller steps on down a tree of sub-steps. Sometimes, there is a really long branch that you don’t want to travel all of the way down because you will lose sight of where you’re going or you’re not sure what it looks like yet. When writing a story, this might mean that a particular chapter or scene or set of dialogue gets summarized, then the writer moves on. In some ways, this can be viewed as a dynamic outline that benefits from the details that are immediately clear. Write what you can see, skip what you can’t, improve it all on the next trip through.
November 3, 2014 — 3:23 AM
Patricia Harvey says:
Enabity, you speak sooth. You DO want to seek advice from the person who has improved the most. Because they will be able to tell you how they did it. When my daughter – the ballet teacher – was a college dance major, she worked at such a mindful level, isolating everything she needed to do to improve and taking her professors’ corrections to heart, that she became an excellent teacher. Because she really worked at improving her ballet technique, her young students now say it is a relief to have someone who can tell them specifically what they must do to achieve better results. The same can be said of good a writing teacher.
I also save my writing – whatever I’m working on – in a new document every day. This allows me to review, make obvious corrections, note details requiring research, and flag things I want to go back to later on. Going back over sections, as you do, is very helpful to me, as well. I can see if I am bending the story arc enough or becoming too episodic, or whether I have ended a chapter in the “right” place, or let the tension drop, etc.
When I look back at some of the early writing I did on my WIP, I realize I was doing your exact process, summarizing and then moving on. The scenes were not fully fleshed out at first. Your description of the “top-down” programming technique makes so much sense!
November 3, 2014 — 10:39 AM
enabity says:
Thank you for sharing your perspective. My realization regarding who to learn from came from sports as well, which intersects with your daughter’s experience. I’ve learned more from other athletes that were not the most talented, just the most talented at getting better. Also, looking at coaching, the best players almost never get into coaching. Talent is most definitely not correlated with ability to teach.
I’m also glad to know that I’m not the only one doing things the way I do. It tells me that I’m not completely crazy, or at least not uncommonly crazy.
November 4, 2014 — 2:41 AM
Fatma Alici says:
Things I’m good at:
Action scenes. I honestly I don’t have to think about them much and almost always they come out quick, and heart racing.
Advice – Keep things simple. Short sentences. (See what I did there?). Save descriptions for impact. Like chopping off someone’s head. Or, getting shot in the gut. Don’t try to say exactly everything that happens. “I swiped his blade away” is better than “I tilt my arm, the blade deflects off it. I slide the side ready to stop his next blow.” Yeah, that’s accurate but it sloooows everything down. In an action scene you have gotta keep pace UP.
Character Development. I can easily come with a character understand their motivations, where they are going, and really get into them. Sometimes this translates to good dialog. More often it translates into making related characters once I find a way to rejigger them.
Advice – Whether you write epics, romances, first, second, third, multi view points, write a character journal. No one has to read it. Say what they would do on a typical morning. Define an important moment in their life. Once you get into their heads you can then understand where their going.
Things I’m terrible at:
Mechanics. I fragment sentences constantly. Which you can see in my post here. I have no idea what a a comma is for. Other than some kind of self imposed torture. I forget small words constantly.
Emotions. I get emotions. I have them, I think. But, often I cannot always get them to translate into writing.
I’ve been working on both these things. They are still really hard. Mechanics aspect seems to only improve at a crawl. Emotions thing seems to help when I stop trying to subtle.
November 3, 2014 — 4:01 AM
tedra says:
That is some good advice you mentioned there. Its free and I will take it.
November 6, 2014 — 7:41 PM
Fatma Alici says:
I’m glad to be of help.
November 6, 2014 — 7:46 PM
tedra says:
Don’t stress over the emotions. I used to do it all the time. We’re used to seeing it in our head, thinking we’ve gotten down on paper but its not there. It happens. Just in your read-back of the previous days work, just think, hey how did he respond to losing his sister or how did she feel to wield a sword for the first time.
I started doing it by adding it as one of my specifics to look for during my editing period and that really helped.
hope to see you over at NaNo @ wordscansingtoo
November 6, 2014 — 7:48 PM
Katherine Hetzel says:
My strength – writing stories that kids enjoy. So much so that after my first self-pubbed book started selling (Granny Rainbow), I was told in no uncertain terms that more of the same was wanted. I listened to my readers (and their parents!) and book 2 is currently at the editing stage and due for self-pub early next year…
My weakness – writing a novel where the main character doesn’t develop as a person. I have a tendency to write a series of exciting things that happen TO the character but never actually leave a visible mark on the character’s character, if that makes sense. When I made this discovery earlier this year, I planned my newest project using a character arc for the first time ever… The proof will be in the finished story. Which I’ve yet to write.
November 3, 2014 — 4:05 AM
fadedglories says:
Are you writing novels for adults, but perhaps using child-like characters?
A character can be fully formed, with loads of back-story that you know inside out but haven’t told the reader. This full-blown personality can still have his world smashed apart by what happens in the plot. When shit happens to him you can then leak out some of his history in his reactions to crisis.
November 3, 2014 — 8:21 AM
Patricia Harvey says:
Something I learned in my fiction writing course: In order for the MC to grow and become the hero of his own story, he must have strong enough story goal at the outset. (Not something someone else wants for him, or things that simply happen TO him.) To achieve this, the writer must turn the MC’s world upside down and put him in enough trouble right in the beginning. Then he needs a series of setbacks as he works toward that story goal. Without the MC taking action on his own behalf, and working to resolve his problem, he will not grow and change. So you can see how just letting things happen to the MC is kind of deadly. This is all completely possible, and most desirable, in children’s writing. The emotional connection that happens between the MC and the reader intensifies as the MC reveals his reactions and emotions through dialogue and body language in the process of overcoming obstacles – whatever they may be.
November 3, 2014 — 11:01 AM
addy95 says:
I believe (and hope) that my strength is creation. I am working on a fantasy piece and instead of going for elves and dwarf and all that, I have created my own little species as it were. I love creating the world and the characters behind it and try my best to be able to write a whole book on a minor character if I so choose to.
As for my weakness, it’s the actual writing. I try my best to fire out a chapter per session, its short but I am just creating the foundations. I would be pondering on an amazing scene, it can be full of drama, suspense and action but as soon as I start writing it I feel sluggish and doubt my abilities.
But hey, I shall persist, I shall finish it and I will get some feedback from something other than my self-doubting, pain in the neck brain.
November 3, 2014 — 4:57 AM
fadedglories says:
I think my flash and shorts fiction is pretty good.
I haven’t succeeded in completing a single novel yet because I suffer from knowledge addiction.
I worry that a reader will pick up on some inaccuracy or other and throw my book aside in disgust.
Ok this is a procrastination technique I know it is, unfortunately I’ve been writing 12+ years and have six unfinished novels to show for it. Maybe I should stick to short stories and just dig up stuff for fun.
Unless of course anyone wants to hire a good researcher??????? A good cheap researcher??????
November 3, 2014 — 5:32 AM
Lisa Oliver says:
You could try writing something set in an alternate world – then all of the facts would be of your own making 🙂 I wrote non-fiction for years and have only been writing fiction for a year – but the fiction is a lot of fun and as I write paranormal books my research for the everyday things is minimal, but still fun for me.
November 3, 2014 — 5:36 AM
A Citizen of the World says:
Maybe try writing it scene by scene? Scenes can be the length of a short story. Then when you have a pile of scenes, link them together. That’s how I’m doing it – bite-sized pieces that add up into a novel.
Caveat: You’ll have to have an outline to keep you on track (I have one that looks like JK Rowling’s chart, except it’s done as an Excel spreadsheet) so you know which scene goes where and who’s doing what in which storyline. So this tip would work if you were more of a planner than a pantser.
With what I’ve written above about trying to stuff as many cool worldbuilding details into my novel, the Excel spreadsheet/timeline has saved me from an even worse pickle than I already am in right now.
November 3, 2014 — 6:28 AM
fadedglories says:
Thanks fellow labourers.
November 3, 2014 — 8:10 AM
basilisksam says:
My strength is that I can keep going and solve problems as I go. I can write to a strict outline but I find that just writing without knowing beforehand what my characters are going to do usually works better for me. Plus I am constantly surprised at things that happen when I write this way.
My weakness is endings. If all I had to write was beginnings and middles I’d be fine. Perhaps I should get together with someone who writes good endings but has trouble with middles.
November 3, 2014 — 6:06 AM
fadedglories says:
Endings have been tough for me too, mainly because I don’t want things to end at all.
I find that jotting down several alternate endings, at least three maybe more and weirder, then letting them stew for a while helps me choose one to go with.
November 3, 2014 — 8:14 AM
severina96 says:
I think what I can do best is write about feelings. Maybe because I get so involved with my characters that I sort of become them and that helps me to figure out what they think. Besides, I love writing what my characters think so that helps too.
What I really need to work on is description. Sometimes I get so involved with my characters and whats happening and dialogue that I forget to describe whats around them. And when I try to include it, it always sounds wrong to me, and it frustrates me that people won’t get exactly the image that I have in my head when they read it. (Anyone got any tips?)
November 3, 2014 — 6:51 AM
percykerry923 says:
My strength: Prose, description, dialog, I can finish a story on time once I start- I don’t believe in writer’s block.
My weaknesses: Excessive exposition; sometimes I tell more than I show.
November 3, 2014 — 7:13 AM
MakeLifeMemorable says:
Strength that I’m really appreciating right now: subconscious metaphor, layered, mind-fuckery. Meaning I plot and plan then leave some room to breathe and my brain does this magical thing, it might be an innocuous line, then three chapters later, BAM! it was actually a clever metaphor/mirror/whatever. I don’t understand it myself, and in don’t feel in control of it, but I enjoy the hell out of it
November 3, 2014 — 7:32 AM
Robert Sadler says:
STRENGTH:
Endings. I’ve written two novels, a few short stories, and about a dozen flash fictions, and I feel that I can nail an ending and make it satisfying with both closure and openness.
TIP:
I know many people have trouble with endings, and I think successful ones come from planning. It’s tough to “wing it” (as Stephen King is known to do, which results in many dud endings). I think you need to have your ending in mind, and focus on building the story to give it the maximum impact. For example, if you know the main character is going to sacrifice him/herself to save their child, you better make sure the story builds up their relationship to give that ending the strength it needs. That’s just a random example, but you get the gist. (Note: M. Night Shyamalan twists do not make for a good ending. Big twists can work, and many do, but they need to have meat to them.)
WEAKNESS:
My first drafts always contain too much exposition. The good thing is that I’m aware of it, so my second draft contains a lot of editing toward smoothing out the information given to the reader (which in many cases is a matter of deleting and leaving the reader to fill in the obvious blanks).
TIP:
Be on the lookout for exposition. It ceases to be a problem if you can recognize it and fix it.
November 3, 2014 — 8:31 AM
fadedglories says:
I just remembered a hang-up.
At some point a couple of my characters will end up screwing each other. I have no problem writing the emotional aspects, but I don’t enjoy graphic detail. I tend to write something that leads right up to the act and then close the door.
I don’t actually know if this is a problem. Is it?????
November 3, 2014 — 8:33 AM
amishoko says:
I think it depends on the story you’re writing. For some readers, they might feel short changed; others might not care.
But sex scenes don’t have to be graphic. I write a great deal of stories with strong erotic elements, and I’ve toned down the graphic details over the past year, without sacrificing the quality of the scenes. Some of the best scenes I’ve written are the shortest, with very little graphic detail. But they pack a huge amount of erotic heat.
In fact, if you can capture the emotions of the scene, that’s the key element. The mechanics of sex, what thing goes in which spot, everyone knows how that works. But what we don’t know…and only you can show us…is how those characters feel.
So instead of closing the door on the graphic parts, just keep going with the emotions. You might want to practice writing a sex scene with just the emotions of the characters, and then sketch in the barest of details, those that you’re comfortable with.
November 3, 2014 — 8:43 AM
fadedglories says:
Thanks for your thoughts. I think that’s a great way for me to go.
November 3, 2014 — 11:31 AM
Ashlynn says:
My strong points — character building. It’s what I do best. I know my characters forward, backwards and inside out. It is a joy to be to get to know them, find out what makes them tick and what they really want out of life. Very fave part of writing for me. I do extensive work on them before I write a word. And all my stories are character driven. The story blooms from who and what they are. — actually just wrote a blog about that today, before I got to this one.
Weakness — grammar. Oh, how I hate you! I’ve tried to learn. Trust me. I’m a writer, I should know this stuff. But it just flies right over my damn head. My solution? Have crit partners and an editor who can fix it for me. lol
November 3, 2014 — 8:47 AM
gaeliceyes says:
Strong point – Dialogue. I love good dialogue. It makes or breaks a character. I could describe a character with blue hair, glowing green eyes, and a limp, but the quickfire conversation back and forth between him and a befuddled patrolman will give you more insight than three pages worth of description. In fact, most often I start a scene with the conversation. Even if it’s only a few back and forth responses, not even a whole conversation yet, that’s what I start with. The actions, posture, and atmosphere of the whole scene will expand from there.
Weakness – That bridge in the story between one great/crucial to the story scene and the next. I have a heroine who was just attacked by a mob of green aliens. And I know the next important part of the story is when she seeks refuge in a free-floating gypsy space colony, but connecting the two is so darn hard. I usually end up writing mundane activities, like they had breakfast and then hopped in their spaceship and sped away, and I know it’s a lousy transition. Those transitions man…..I struggle with them.
November 3, 2014 — 9:52 AM
Christopher Robin Negelein says:
Oh boy I used to have this problem, still do. It can be caused by a few different things:
– Set piece syndrome: You have “story” that revolves around several cool scenes that end in an astounding climax. It’s sort of a visual based version of plot-itis, with it’s usual attendant problems.
– The Most Interesting Man (or other gender) in The World: You might have one lone hero who develops no real ties with other characters in the story. If you don’t have a few fascinating side characters in your book, then you’re closer to fairy tale than novel. A “boring” dinner can be riveting reading if the characters are engaging enough.
– Mental (World Building) masturbation: It takes details to build a world, but sometimes we get lost in those details. Do you really have to state that it took 56 hours and 33 seconds to fly there, or can we just get there at the “speed of plot” and move the story along?
– Boring is Boring: Elmore Leonard, the king of dialogue, often said “Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.” If the “logistics” scene of eating breakfast doesn’t serve to show a bit more of the characters and their relationships or keep the story wheels greased, then just say “Two weeks later, Capt. Spacer watched as the gypsy space colony floated by her view-port.”
November 3, 2014 — 11:14 PM
mamacrow says:
my strength – ideas. I have never had any problem whatsoever with ideas, I am always flooding with them.
Not sure why, but I’ve always loved stories and have always read a lot, enjoyed a huge diverse amount of literature, comics, cartoons, films and tv, so maybe that’s a tip – read and watch a lot!
my weakness – i’d say finishing but having (finally) written and complete four books in the last 12 months I’d say I’ve cracked that, so I’d say I’m too verbose, my language is TOO rich. i’m slightly addicted to variants of dialogue tags for example, and I know I’ve got to squash that out of myself.
November 3, 2014 — 9:59 AM
am kennedy says:
I am good at the narration and the flow of scenes together. I think I write really good visual scenes that have just enough ‘real life’ in them to pull you in.
I get really stuck with the plot of it, the thousands of decisions characters need to make to move their plot to climax. I can do short stories, but when the plot becomes complex and there’s a hundred strings of things I need to hold on to I feel like I can’t get the story to the place I want it to be.
November 3, 2014 — 10:06 AM
Khaver Siddiqi (@thekarachikid) says:
Okay let’s start with weaknesses because they are easy.
1. Discipline. It is so tough not to be distracted. So difficult to concentrate and focus. To have the ability that lets you sit in a chair (or stand) in front of a blank document or empty page and start smearing your words all over the place, that’s a talent that I do not have. And I need to work on it.
2. Insecurities. This is a big one. So I’m in front of the screen, the paper; fuck, what if I wrote something that’s stupid? What if it doesn’t make sense! What if? What if? What if?
Strengths.
1. I think I can read my own stuff with out being biased and realizing what to take out and what to keep. For the most part. Self-editing is tough and I’m not very good at it but I do consider it one of my strengths. Being a copy writer in the past helped me a lot in that sense. I just edited this post about 7 times in the space of 15 minutes.
2. Dialogue. I have been a fan of dialogue ever since I started watching shows like The West Wing & MASH. Giving my characters the voices that they will need is supremely important in a story. And not every character should have the voice of their writer, in fact it is the story that has the writer’s voice which is like the back up vocals to the voices of the characters.
November 3, 2014 — 10:08 AM
mangacat201 says:
Hmm… ok, I’m limiting myself to two of each because otherwise I won’t stop the oncoming self-praise-self-smackdown volcano.
Strength: I would say one of my strengths or at least something that I always like about my own stuff is ‘atmospheric writing’ … I always feel accomplished when I’m able to translate an image (might be actual real life stuff I see outside, might be the blood and guts inside of a twisted human psyche) into words by way of creating something that will help establish the scene and setting for the reader as well as evoke a certain emotion with the reading, hence atmosphere.
Weakness: I ramble. No truly, I do spectacularly well getting lost in descriptions of this and that, little background knickknacks that hold my attention or foreshadowing plot points that are fifty steps ahead in a middle of a scene where the pace should be all action and high octane and my ambling about in the precious word sphere takes out the tempo like nobody’s business and then I don’t even know where I was going anymore. Notice how I managed to make that sentence go on for four lines and encompass three different thoughts along the way? I ramble. (Also, a friend of mine would say comments, but meeh, I write in two languages with three different sets of spelling rules. Sue me, but that’s what betas/editors are for)
On a different note, I feel like this fits in here, even though it’s not necessarily a strength, nor a weakness, but more of an observation. I’ve written stuff since I was old enough to figure out I couldn’t only read story and fill the holes in my head with interpretation or alternatives, but also write them down. Consequently, because I’m easily excitable about good story, a lot of my writing is fanfiction and it has given me ample experience in lots of writerly craft going from borderline mary-sue self-inserts to meta philosophizing disguised as character study. It’s taught me to slip into hundreds of voices, characters, settings and make them as close to the original as possible and sometimes take them as far away from the original as possible without losing the threat completely just to see how AU you could make something (see Samuel Beckett’s ‘Breath’ as the experiment of minimalism in literary convention). I’ve plopped familiar characters into unfamiliar settings and populated known fictional universes with new people. But now that I’m actually branching out more into the original direction for fiction, I find myself eerily competent in some ways and frustratingly amateur in others, like for example trying to describe an original character in a way that it doesn’t feel like just telling what they look like, when you’re used to dropping a name and everyone reading being very clear on physical appearance and basic character traits in an instant. It’s interesting to watch myself navigating untested waters when I feel like I’ve Magellan’ed my way around the globe once or twice already. And fun, definitely fun.
November 3, 2014 — 10:13 AM