Monday, I talked about knowing your weakness and asked others to participate and share their own weaknesses.
Man, what was I thinking? That had to be my most depressing post! But I also learned from it. Everyone who so boldly commented with their own pitfalls are all people I’d consider good friends and great writers.
To want to be writers, to believe we have a story worth sharing, takes a good amount of arrogance, but it also takes humbleness to make something worthy of another person’s reading time. It’s probably why we’re all a little crazy. We have to be in order to balance out the insecurities and the awesomeness that comes packaged in one writer.
So today, I thought we’d let loose and share our strengths! Go on and brag. No self effacing, no buts, no insecurities. Brag about your writing strengths. What can you do like no other?
(This post possibly might be a copy cat of Lisa Kilian’s Bragging Rights feature on What Not to do as a Writer that she now does every Friday. Perhaps. If you haven’t bragged at her blog, you probably should. And it’s weekly!)
Write Your Own Story 
N.M. Martinez
First off, first post, yeah! (See how much arrogance I have? I’m calling first post on my own blog. What an ass!)
My strengths include: creating realistic, multi-dimentional characters without judgment (they aren’t good or bad in my eyes, so the reader can feel free to decide!), making characters that exist outside of the story which creates a world full of stories to tell.
And the story I’m going to share will be awesome because of these strengths. It will most likely be a series not like anything you’ve read before. 🙂
Edit to add: You know what I left off? (Lisa just reminded me of it) I’m also awesome at first person. Each voice I write, when I wrte in first person, is unique and distinct. And without resorting to any sort of trickery too. It’s like my multiple personalities come out.
N.M. Martinez
And apparently I’m also going to like this post too. I didn’t realize that I could like my own posts, but I’m going to like this one just to be thorough. 😀
Amy Rose Davis
I just love you! 🙂
I think I have a strength for creating vivid, realistic characters who don’t all sound the same and aren’t Mary Sues or perfect White Hat Heroes or evil Moustache Twirling Villains. (I think the complexity of the villains will become more obvious in book two.)
I also think I have a pretty good knack for dialogue. I sure do love to write it!
This is a great post, becaue it is REALLY hard for us as writers to admit that we might be good at something. We all think we have to be so self-deprecating. That’s just a load of s***. 🙂
N.M. Martinez
God, do I love your characters. I was all set to really hate Braedon from the very beginning and then I fell in love with him. I’m still in love with him. *sigh* And I’m picky about characters because I think I’m a know it all about what makes a good one. (See above)
I think sometimes it’s just a matter of what day you get us on. Do painters and musicians get this way? Writers spend so much time inside their own head. We have no way of knowing until the story, novel, or poem is complete whether someone will like it. That’s a freakin’ lot of pressure!
Amy Rose Davis
LOL. Good, because that’s exactly what I was hoping for with Braedan! 🙂 He’s grown on me a lot, too.
I think you’re right about how it depends on the day, but I know when there are days I’m feeling pretty good about things, I’m kind of hesitant to say so. It’s like there’s this filter that cautions me not to brag or be too sure of myself, especially if something is just a draft.
But then… Why on earth would I want to read something an author couldn’t even really brag about or appreciate? You know? I mean, if I don’t like it, or if I feel like I have to say, “well, it sucks, but here it is,” then why would I expect anyone else to read it?
Hmmm…. You’ve given me food for thought….. Good stuff….
N.M. Martinez
You’ve given me some food for thought too! You make an excellent point about an author being able to brag and appreciate their own work. That’s definitely an important sales technique. I can’t sell it if I don’t believe in it, and if I don’t believe in it, the person I’m talking to won’t either.
I’m hesitant to brag some days too, but I seriously think that’s just because of experience. The second I brag about something, something bad happens to teach me a lesson and keep me humble.
Amy Rose Davis
Well, maybe it’s the difference between bragging and being confident?
I need to take more lessons from The Man. He has the confidence thing down pat. It’s good being married to a guy who’s in sales, because he says something similar to what you’re saying about the sales aspect of it. You definitely have to believe in what you’re selling.
JA Murphy
I have to stick my nose in here and say ditto on Braedon!
Yes, painters and musicians do get this way as well as poets and a lot of other creative types. The vacilating between arrogance and self-doubt/self-loathing, between loving and hating our work seems to go hand-in-hand with the creative genes. How many painters over the centuries have died as underappreciated paupers only to have their works now worth millions?
Amy Rose Davis
LOL. It so funny about him–someone else said the same thing, and told me she preferred him to Connor because he was sweeter, more thoughtful, and funnier. The funny thing is… I think of Braedan as the kind of guy I’d be friends with, but not a guy I’d be attracted to (aside from his looks and those blue eyes that always vex Igraine). But once I got over myself with the drool factor, he’d probably end up being a guy I’d have a beer with down at the pub.
But then, Braedan is a beta, in a lot of ways. And the things that make him a beta also make him more willing to engage people as a leader, I think. Like, he’s better at building consensus and he thinks things through a little more.
My weakness is still Connor, though. I have such a thing for alpha males. 🙂
T. E. Waters
Hmm, I’d say characters, but I know I’m bad at writing certain character types… Wait, you said no buts. XD
I guess my strength is ummmm, mood. Yeah, let’s go with that. I’m pretty good at setting a particular mood for each scene, so when I find myself writing something that lacks feeling or is fairly pedestrian, I know immediately that something’s fundamentally wrong with the scene.
N.M. Martinez
No buts. 😡
Mood is a good one and very important. I think you can accomplish a lot with the right mood. Also that’s pretty handy that you use it as an indicator of something wrong in a scene. Clever!
JA Murphy
You would have to post this the day after I took a chainsaw to my manuscript! *lol*
Okay, my strengths. Difficult, but not impossible.
I think that I’m a pretty good technician – spelling, grammar, punctuation (except for an unhealthy love of semicolons). I am told that the training modules I write are clear and easy to understand even for those who have no background in finance. I can “translate” depending on the audience I am writing for.
N.M. Martinez
Yes. That’s probably the perfect time to do it. That’s when you need the reminder.
Oooh, that’s good. That’s another important one. You know, you’re also really good at politics and strategy. That’s possibly born from your technician side.
Lisa Kilian
My strength is in my ability to network with people. (Keep in mind, I do write fiction, but I’d also like to get into magazine writing.)
So networking for me is an essential skill and I’m really good at it. Which is pretty cool considering I used to be so shy. 🙂
As for fiction, I say my strength there is my voice. My narrative fiction pops — even if the stories don’t always make sense. Ha! At least the characters sound good. 🙂
Thank you NM!
N.M. Martinez
Networking is an essential and very valuable asset. And you are amazing at it too.
You know, sometimes I think shy people are the perfects ones for social networking really because they know what it’s like to be uncomfortable and they know how to make a person feel welcome.
Oh hey, that’s a good one. Voice. Your voice is what will draw a reader in. Just look at your blog.
And I forgot to say, You can call me Nina. 🙂
Lisa Kilian
OMG NINA IS A CHARACTER IN MY STORY. AND SHE’S AWESOME.
Renee
This is hard! 😦
Hmmm… I’m going to probably have to say sheer guts. I’m willing to write about things that many people wouldn’t touch with a fifty-foot pole. In fact, I’m something of a closet controversy whore 😛
N.M. Martinez
OH! Hey that’s a good one. SO TRUE. You write about stuff that can easily be turned into down right sensationalism, but it’s never that way. You give each character their time to speak, and add layers and layers to them. Just look at Searle.
Laura
Knowing your strengths as a writer is much more important than I used to give it credit for. Because ideally, you want to be writing the kinds of stories that will play to your strengths, rather than smother them. And it probably wasn’t until I started writing LH and getting all that feedback that I even really knew what my strengths were. Then suddenly I was hearing all over the place exactly which things I was good at.
Okay, so people have told me this before, so I don’t feel too arrogant saying it here. My strengths are in character-storytelling, especially in terms of relationships between people, friends, and lovers. I make up engaging and lovable imaginary people and make them fight and do terrible things to each other… in bathrooms? lol! 😉
Another strength that I’ve had to develop, in that respect, is the ability not to protect them. And that was certainly not a strength I started with, but it took lots and lots of work. Now I let them fail, betray each other, hurt each other irreparably, mess up their lives to the point of being unfixable. It’s really, REALLY hard to build up a character so true and realistic and lovable, and then smash their reality into a million pieces, lol! But damn if it doesn’t make for a good story! 😉
N.M. Martinez
So true, it is so important. And sharing stories online is how I figured out my own strengths too. See, I can’t see anything wrong with sharing stories online.
Yes, you write the most amazing stories on personal relationships. Everyone assumes that means romantic, but no, you’re strong when it comes to any sort of relationship and I admire that about you. I love when you get groups of friends together in your stories.
And I remember you saying that before. You have done really well in that regard. Your poor characters, but they’ll only be better people for it. (Well, probably in a way, lol.)
Karyn Gerrard
I would say my strength is plotting and male characters. Thanks to sim stories, and feedback, I figured it out. Plotting comes fairly easy to me, it just pours out. I am a pantser, and thrive on it.
It was wonderful to see an editor agree with me on the 2 above points. Not to blow my own horn, but hell yeah, I will:
‘The hero has incredible depth and a strong voice, story is stylistically sound and well plotted’
*beaming*
Amy Rose Davis
Man, I love unsolicited comments like that. I’d be beaming, too. How lovely for you, Karyn. 🙂
N.M. Martinez
lol, please do toot your horn! That’s the point of this post.
Wow, what a wonderful thing to be told!
Kiri
Strengths…. hmmm.
I read a lot. I absorb a lot. I think a lot. I am eternally curious.
These may not seem like writing strengths but they are. Because each of them inspire and infect my writing. And a lot of times I write because of a what-if that’s popped up.
But it’s hard to say what my strengths are, cause it really does feel like inappropriate tooting of my horn when most/some of you haven’t read any of my work anyways (cause it’s not online).
N.M. Martinez
Why would it feel inappropriate tooting your own horn? The important thing is to know what you can do, that may even be what you like to do. And no one else needs to have seen it. I’ll take you at your word.
I think when you know what you can do and what you like to do, it’s likely that you’ll buff up that area when you’re working on something, if that makes sense.
Lisa Nowak
I’m good with voice, particularly teenage boy voices.
While I’m not into long, flowery descriptions, I kick butt at description through metaphor. I write about racing and I’ve been called “the queen of automotive metaphor.” I’ve also been told my metaphors are something one reader looked forward to “like bits of chocolate to be savored.” You gotta love compliments like that.
I’m good with characters. It’s very easy for me to get into their heads. I write in first person, and it’s almost like I’m “wearing” the character when I’m writing from his or her POV.
My dialog always gets compliments. It’s weird because I can hear my characters’ voices in my head. It’s like the voice is there before I even think of what the person is going to say.
I’m good at torturing my characters. I’ve heard writers say how hard it is for them to put their characters in difficult situation, but it doesn’t bother me at all.
N.M. Martinez
Look at you! I LOVE this list. You know why? Because it’s so clear that you know what your strengths are and you’re not afraid to say it. I think that’s wonderful and a great sign!
I can’t wait for your first book to be out!
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