Having been asked my strengths in my writing, I imagine the whole list of my weaknesses. I have decided to look at the areas I excel at with writing to keep my mind on the positives. There is a time to explore where we need to improve by all means. When I begin a project, I want to be in the best frame of mind that I can be. This is the way I overcome my inner critic that loves to mess with us all. Undermining our confidence, making us edit as we go or making us just plain give up, the inner critic is a tricky little bugger. Looking for the areas I excel, in my mind, means that I am better at somethings and not at others. I don't envision that long list of things that I am weak at or all the mistakes I have and will make throughout the project. The only thing before me is knowing I will hit my expectations in certain areas.
The process of writing is so solitary. I can believe anything I want about my writing. I could believe I am worse than any other writer out there or my characters have no depth or any one of a hundred other lies. The delusions are the job of that critic. I shut that critic up. Every time I write, the urge to self-edit or rewrite things as I go never appears. I excel at deciding to follow my heart and mind as I "vomit" the story onto the page. This is the only way I have been able to get the full story written.
Writing by the seat of my pants is another of those positive things. With an idea, beginning and end in mind, I sit before my laptop and just go for it. Do I end up where I am going? Not always. Do things unfold as I imagined? Not usually. Do I surprise myself during the process? Absolutely! There is nothing more exciting then writing along and getting to the end of the scene then thinking "I never saw that coming". I let my characters talk and write their own stories. Not every person can write this way or wants to "allow" the characters to "speak". I am excellent at it.
The last thing I would like to touch upon is my characters. Having let many people read my different pieces, I am told that I capture the characters well. Their dialogue is great. And my stories really are character driven. It is a great pleasure to close my eyes and really see as my main character sees. The visions contained in that moment shape the story. I step into their bodies and think as I imagine they do. When writing young adult novels, this is important. No teenager wants to read about a 15 year old who talks and acts like she's 25. It doesn't work. For me, the key to this skill is reading. I devour book and book from great young adult authors. I see the depth they instill in their characters and the actions they take. Excelling in this area is the single most important thing to me as a write.
It has been a joy to share with you the areas I excel at as a writer. To look at my weakness now would only stunt the progress on my current project. Weaknesses are best enjoyed during editing. Silence your inner critic and write your story as best as you can. It is time to continue with "vomiting" my story onto paper.
This post was inspired my the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. The tour includes more than 20 other authors who share their experiences with each topic. September's topic is "What are my writing strength?". Check back tomorrow for the strengths of G R Colorado.
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