My five writing strengths
October 7, 2007 at 10:22 AM
by Ashleigh
Charlotte wrote an interesting piece on her blog about her writing strengths.
An interesting and far more logically put together piece of work than I could produce, but then we all write differently, right?
Here are mine:
1. I write like I talk.
Fast, non-stop, no editing, as much information as possible in as short a time as possible.
Lots of mixed metaphor, grammatical errors, languages interspersed with each other.
This is an advantage and a disadvantage.
Sometimes it comes easily and I write and it just flows.
Other times it seems to stagnate and I start to edit myself and I lose my voice.
2. I write what I know.
I think this ties into the 'stranger than fiction' bit of Charlotte's five strengths.
People are endlessly fascinating. All you have to do is listen to them and you have a wealth of material. The things that happen to some people are things you wouldn't believe.
Even if they happened in the movies where no-one ever goes to the toilet and even Tom Cruise is tall.
3. I have little patience with my work.
I'm not going to edit, reedit, mess around, fiddle, arse endlessly with the thing because it's not right.
For me that path leads to certain doom and chewing of pencils, throwing of things at the computer and a lifetime spent playing around on MSN instead of actually working.
So, to steal a phrase, I just do it.
4. On paper/screen I am free to be.
I am more superficial in the flesh. Always smiling, charming, helping, being a A type personality.
On paper I can be more bitchy, more emotional, less 'verkrampt'.
I've been seeing a therapist and only now, in session 4, does she get to see the 'real' me.
You, on the other hand are more unfortunate.
This is the real me!
5. I can set a scene.
Not as well as some other people and sometimes points 1 & 2 above get in the way. I mean, how do you describe a steamy sex scene in the front seat of a car when you haven't actually done that in the last 15 years?
How do you pull up every lusty thought you ever had and encapsulate it into the front seat of a car and then describe it without needing a cold shower?
How do you describe a murder?
How do you pull all the murderous thoughts you ever had about the little old lady in your building who is consistently rude to you and never holds the lift when you come running with armfuls of groceries?
And then, you need to apply those thoughts and feelings to a imaginary character in a book you're writing where you still don't know what the characters are actually doing.
How do you do this?
With difficulty.
I suppose this is where imagination comes into play.
Hopefully not every author goes out and experiences everything they write about otherwise the world would be rampant with serial killers, rapists, murderers, illicit love affairs, sordid breakups ...
Wait a minute.
Isn't it?
It's all those writers going wild and getting material for their work!
Charlotte, I knew it was you! All that gadding about in Berlin!
Other writers I'd like to ask to play along, because I know you guys are out there doing naughty things so you can write about them:
Mr Smooth-talking Penis at Citizen of the Month
Ms Blonde but Bright
Mr Invading Holland
Oh, and PS. I got the job. I start 22 october. I would love love love to talk about it here, but Church and State must be kept apart. I would not like to be dooced before actually even starting work.
Oh, and PPS. It's autumn and it's pretty outside! Go outside. Come on, go. Yes you. GO!
Oh, and last PPS. I have no photos for this post. So go look at my Blogfather's* gorgeous photos of his trip to Wales.
* My Blogfather because he hosts this impressive load of bullshit on his server.
Comments
Teehee!!! I just knew it! Congrats Girl, you rock!
Congrats on your new job!!!!
Maybe your therapist should read your blog.... that would save a lot of time and money ;-)
Congratulations on the new job! May it be fabulous and all you want.
I would agree with your writing strengths. Your voice is individual, fresh and lively. Keep on writing, Ash.
I love your voice! Although I love writing more than anything, I suffer from a complete lack of faith in myself when it comes to writing fiction. I've been talking about it for so long that I appear to have given myself performance anxiety :) I'm reading Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard right now and I despair of ever beign able to describe anything as beautifully as Kiran Desai does.
And congrats on the new job!!
I love your writing, and I'm always telling you to write some stories -- not for your blog. But if you do that, you're going to have to change your attitude to #3. You need patience to write and rewrite because that's the only way you're going to learn what you really wanted to say in the beginning.
October 8, 2007 8:22 PM