Absolute Vanilla has just tagged me for a writing meme created by Patrick at Writing Life. If I accept this task the instructions are:
“Make a list of five strengths that you possess as a writer/artist. It’s not really bragging, it’s an honest assessment (forced upon you by this darn meme). Please resist the urge to enumerate your weaknesses, or even mention them in contrast to each strong point you list. Tag four other writers or artists whom you’d like to see share their strengths.
“
It sounded a little like mission impossible to me at first because I didn’t think that I could come up with four other people to tag. Then I looked at my blogroll and decided that I could. So there’s no escape for me I suppose. Damn! It would have been much easier for me come up with a list of weaknesses like, for instance my poor spe – oops! Not supposed to say. Never mynd, but it is eggstremely bad tho.
Okay. Mission accepted and I’ve even got my pointed ears on. What? He only has pointed ears in Star Trek? Oh. Sorry. Anyway I came up with one strength straight away; the rest took a lot of thinking about. I’m not sure if I was doing it right, but after a partially successful Vulcan mind-meld with the canary I have managed to come up with the other four.
(1) Persistence. It doesn’t matter how many rejections I get I just keep on submitting and keep on writing. I might not be the best writer in the world and I might have had to reinforce the bedroom floor to withstand the weight of all those thanks, but no thanks letters, but I am one persistent dude.
(2) I read a lot. I think this is important. Heck, some of the books I have read have even been about writing, and I have read many times that it is very important for writers to read a lot and when I am reading I do notice how sentences have been structured etc, perhaps growing shorter and shorter as the pace of a story increases, or consisting of just one word to make a point.
(3) Willing to learn. I could fill a book with the things that I don’t know. Fortunately for me other people have already done this and so I can try and benefit from their labours. One of the most boring books I ever read was on grammar, but I knew that I had a problem in that area. To be honest I think I still have things to learn and will continue to try and improve in that area. Or any area.
(4) Like Vanilla (who tagged me, probably aided and abetted by the Atyllah) I also enjoy playing with words and like to use them in one context while I am really talking about another. It is hard for me to explain this here, but it is something that I am aware that I do and I do it a lot.
(5) I try to mix a little light in with the dark and add humour, eroticism and love (yeah the ‘L’ word) into the old word stews when I write them. Contrast is important. You can’t fully appreciate daytime without having nighttimes to compare it to (and vice-versa). If the sun hung high and still in the sky for 24 hours a day and every one of those days it was summer and you never had to go to work, it would get old real soon. You would be bored. Maybe you spend all winter looking forward to summer or most of the year dreaming of that holiday you are saving up for. If everyday was a holiday, and the only breeze was always warm, what would you have to look forward to? Contrast is important and I see it in all of the best stories: The mammoth struggle of one man’s rise from poverty to riches. The long unrequited love that is finally rewarded. That poor sad soul that has been wronged all of her life and then finally takes solace in the ways of the chainsaw (hey, come on, you know the kind of stuff I read).
Anyway that’s me done. I’m off for a cup of coffee. It’s thirsty work doing this meme stuff and I’m spiting feathers.
Oh, nearly forgot I tag (mean smile) Deborah Woehr, Michael from Notes from A Darkened Room, Andrea from Ghost Stories and Ben from Literacity.