Welcome to 40 Days of 3 Questions!
For the next few weeks, meet here every morning with a notebook or document to answer three questions about writing, about your status quo as a writer, or about the writing life. You can answer briefly and go about your day, or you can use this as a warm up exercise before your regular writing schedule. Whatever works for you, works for me.
Day 10 Questions
- What is your strongest skill as a writer?
- What are your weaker areas?
- What are you doing to show off or strengthen these skills?
You may post answers in comments or keep your thoughts private–your choice!
And here is today’s pretty picture:
Ramona DeFelice Long 
You really get me thinking quite early these days…and with only a sip or two of coffee! I think today’s questions have been the hardest for me to answer. You see, because of answer number two (my greatest weakness is lack of self confidence), answer number one is a struggle for me. I imagine that my strength would be my loveof telling stories and understanding how one should flow. Showing up for sprint and writing every day is what I do to improve. Writing every day has always been difficult for me because I have to convince myself my words are good and important.
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Kim, I think we insecure authors don’t really know our strengths until someone else–a reader–points them out to us.
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Amen to that!
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1.) What is your strongest skill as a writer? Manipulating a large cast of characters.
What are your weaker areas? Continuity — I constantly leave folks in another room.
What are you doing to show off or strengthen these skills? My series has many characters and each have a development arc for each book.
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I think my strength is my ability to create characters with some depth. At least that’s what I’ve been told (see my reply to Kim’s comment above!) My weakness, or at least the aspect of my fiction that gives me the most grief is writing action scenes. They’re so hard! (insert whining voice) As for what I do about it is I read. And when I find an author who does action scenes well (gets me swept up in the story so that I feel a part of it instead of feeling that I’m reading about an action sequence), I study every word, every nuance to try to figure out HOW HE DID THAT.
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What is your strongest skill as a writer? Characters and place ( at least, I think and hope)
What are your weaker areas? Suspense/plotting. The structural part of mystery writing
What are you doing to show off or strengthen these skills? Try to keep learning. Read other writers thoughts on that issue. Analyze how others do it. Watch for the spots that drag and remind myself: I can fix it. I can. I can 🙂
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What is your strongest skill as a writer? I’ve been told (see Annette’s comment above) I’m good with characterization and dialog.
What are your weaker areas? Based on comments from my editor, I’d have to say setting/place, especially making it enrich the story.
What are you doing to show off or strengthen these skills? First, I’ve taken a couple classes on “setting as character” and I get feedback from my critique group. Also, when I read something that makes a great use of setting, like Annette I try to pull it apart to see how the author did it and hopefully incorporate some of those techniques in my own writing.
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What is your strongest skill as a writer? I think the language part of writing is my greatest strength.
What are your weaker areas? I am the opposite of Kim. I am not a natural story-teller. First drafts are my nightmare as I try to figure out “what happened.”
What are you doing to show off or strengthen these skills? Writing, writing, writing, writing.
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What is your strongest skill as a writer?
Setting, characterization, and language.
What are your weaker areas?
I struggle most with plot, with figuring out what these wonderful characters do next.
What are you doing to show off or strengthen these skills?
Read, write, worry.
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***What is your strongest skill as a writer?
Characters and dialog seem to be what people say I’m good at. Since I enjoy creating new characters and love to get them talking, that’s a good thing.
***What are your weaker areas?
I always worry that I haven’t done enough with the messy middle. Haven’t developed things as much as I could have. I guess that means plot is s shortfall?
***What are you doing to show off or strengthen these skills?
I take classes in plotting and tension to search for techniques and remedies. Something besides dropping another body when I’m outta gas. That might be getting old for my readers.
BTW, I tried to post a day late for Day 9, but couldn’t do it. I did answer the questions, though. These are all so good! Thanks, Ramona
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What is your strongest skill as a writer? I really don’t know. Maybe persistence, but that’s impacted by struggling with craft and the process and feeling insecure about what I produce. I just don’t want to let go of this.
What are your weaker areas? I am a novice at the craft – what to do to get the story done. I also know I need to just keep on doing it. I definitely won’t get better if I don’t. I’d say all areas are pretty weak!
What are you doing to show off or strengthen these skills? I’m taking classes and reading books. Unfortunately, sometimes I don’t “get” the information in the book which is frustrating. I did read a piece of advice in the last book I read which makes a lot of sense to me and I am going to experiment with doing it. I am a typical adult learner.
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What is your strongest skill as a writer? Not sure. Dialog?
What are your weaker areas? Self discipline. Plotting. Writing 2,000 words a day is almost impossible to me.
What are you doing to show off or strengthen these skills? Bitching and moaning and squirming in my chair. Over eating.
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Strongest skill: Dialogue.
Weakest area: Plotting/Inventiveness
How I’m showing off or strengthening these skills: My characters talk a lot. I don’t know what to do about the others
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Strengths—Dialogue, at least I hope so. Complex plots.
Weaknesses—Complexity can also be a problem. My plots are sometimes too complicated. I start out with too many characters and waste time and energy before eliminating them.
To strengthen my skills, I’m trying to use red herrings and develop more suspense, while simplifying my approach.
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