Your strengths and weaknesses

seun · Oct 19, 2006

What do you think are your writing strengths and weaknesses? I would say I'm pretty good at getting into the undercurrents of the story and characters. I like to look at motivation and examine the driving force behind events.

On the other hand, I have a tendency to describe scenes and locations in too much detail. My girlfriend has pointed this out to me several times. I'll describe where people are in relation to others and what else is in a scene when it's not neccesary.

KTC · Oct 19, 2006

I write wicked awesome dialogue...or so I've been told. I'm quite proud of my dialogue...moreso than any other aspect of my writing.

EDIT to include weakness...oops. Forgot. lol. I think my biggest weakness is character movement through a scene.

Allynegirl · Oct 19, 2006

I think my strength is dialogue - after I have gone back through and taken out those stupid cliches, that is.

My weakness - just doing it. I overthink my work and it goes nowhere. I will write a scene and stew over it for a week or more. Pretty hard to get the story finished that way.

My weakness when I actually get something written - description.

travelgal · Oct 19, 2006

Hey, seun, good question.

I'd only had a few crits on two chapters of one novel.

Strengths: Voice, world building, same as you about undercurrents and characters.

Weakness; Cramming too many alien concepts in inappropiate places; ambigious phrases, spelling. I tend to leave out description, too. Then again, my novel is long, (140k) and description is the first thing to go.

Gwenzilla · Oct 19, 2006

I'm really good at getting inside characters' skins and making them alive and individual in every detail. I have a strong, precise voice and the ability to build feelings into scenes with very little effort.

I absolutely, categorically suck at action. My first two novels didn't actually have, um, plots. This third one has action and a linear plotline only because I forced myself to do it.

Chisem · Oct 19, 2006

Thanks for a question that has caused a great deal of thought and consternation since I've written two unpublished novels that are psychological thrillers.
Weakness: I'm still wresling with POV, although I think it's down for the count. There is a tendency to have too many tag lines, he writes feverently. And there is a tad too much description from time to time. (Thank goodness for editing, which is a special joy to me, and I guess that's a strength.) Sometimes I have a tendency to be a tad lazy. And dialogue gives me fits at times. I'm still trying to determine the difference between real dialogue such as in daily conversation, novel dialogue which is designed to move the story forward, dialogue found in a play, and dialogue found in a non-fiction book. And finally the understanding of what is horror, thriller and literature, although I always thought Frankenstein and Dracula were considered literature.

Strength: Unique characters filled with foibles, fears and heroics, strong emotional tone that sucks the reader into the very existance of the characters and their emotions, fairly good plots that come with blood, sweat and tears (although I do tend to steal many plot points from real life).

Other than all this I don't have any concerns.

CaroGirl · Oct 19, 2006

Strength: Character development. I'm good at drawing realistic (I hope empathetic) characters that are pretty well rounded.

Weakness: Plot development. I get muddled really easily. Even though my WIP is character-driven, I still need to have a semblance of a plot and I often lose the threads or simply don't know in what order things should go to be most effective.

Andre_Laurent · Oct 19, 2006

Action good.

Description bad. As I edit, I see that I didn't bother with much in the description department.

Amiton · Oct 19, 2006

Just working from my own opinions, I think the strongest aspect of my writing is the technical aspect - grammar and sentence structure.

I think my biggest weaknesses are that I (inadvertantly) use an excessive vocabulary for average readers, and I think my storytelling ability needs work.

Amiton.

seun · Oct 19, 2006

Hard question, isn't it?

I'm good at sticking in subtle references to my other works and making sure it's for a reason rather than just a smug joke. In my first drafts, I have a horrible habit of using far too many nods and shrugs.

Norman D Gutter · Oct 19, 2006

My problem is I seem to be less discriminating in my reading enjoyment than editors and perhaps other readers. As a reader, I don't have a problem with head hopping. I don't mind weaker verbs supported by adverbs. And I tend to love description over action. Since I write what I would like to read, that gives me a product that is un-sellable today, and the editing is a nightmare as I search for all those things and weed them out.

NDG

stormie · Oct 19, 2006

My strengths and weaknesses at writing a novel or short story go hand-in-hand: There are times when I get so wrapped up in the characters and/or the scene, that I can't let go and end up wandering around the house (and hopefully not outside) muttering to myself, engrossed in the story.

NeuroFizz · Oct 19, 2006

I don't feel comfortable evaluating the quality of my own writing in these terms. I'll leave it to others. In a general sense, as a writer:

Strength: I finish what I start.

Weakness: I am divided--my job requires the same kind of creative input as writing fiction, and provides the same kinds of joys, so I have no reason to make writing number one in my life. It's a juggle of two equals. That scale is tipped toward the job, though, since I am conscientious enough to give my job the attention it deserves as it provides me with a comfortable living (and allows me to squeeze in writing).

arkady · Oct 19, 2006

NeuroFizz said:
I don't feel comfortable evaluating the quality of my own writing in these terms. I'll leave it to others. In a general sense, as a writer:

Strength: I finish what I start.

I'm with you on this one, Neuro. As far as I'm concerned, only an agent has the final say on what my strengths and weaknesses may be. Beta readers, critique groups and one's own judgment are valuable, but they aren't the ones who shop manuscripts around to publishers -- or not.

Elektra · Oct 19, 2006

My stregnth is in thinking about details in every direction, to make sure there aren't any plotholes. I hate plotholes.

My weakness? Description. I just don't add it, on fear that it'll bog down the dialogue.

jbal · Oct 19, 2006

Well, I'm just subjectively evaluating myself, so who knows how accurate this is, but here goes.
strength: I think I have a pretty good grasp of mood and atmosphere.
weakness: too many to list. Too many dialogue tags, and a tendency to get wrapped up in mundanities that don't advance the story.

Azure Skye · Oct 19, 2006

My own opinion:

Strengths: Dialogue and character development

Weaknesses: Description and I, like CaroGirl, get muddled with my plot. Not to say I don't have one, I just worry if I'm being consistent and finding where the holes are.

Jenan Mac · Oct 19, 2006

From what I've been told (vis-a-vis the novel I'm shopping now), my characters are real, the voice is good, and my writing is pretty tight. And thanks to a tenth-grade English teacher, subtle foreshadowing isn't hard to do at all.
But dialogue is difficult for me, though it's getting a little easier, and sometimes I need to flesh things out in more detail. There's tight... and then occasionally, there's anorexic.

Sesselja · Oct 19, 2006

At the moment I cannot think of any strengths.

Weaknesses:
- Horrible dialogue
- Rushing trough the story
- Inept at editing and revision/rewriting
- Too samey sentence structures.

Why am I doing this to myself? Why can't I just stop this writing-malarky?

John61480 · Oct 19, 2006

I think my strength is cohesiveness. I can make a chapter or chapter scene really thorough with regards to story and action.

But my dreaded weakness is not knowing what the hell I'm writing next. Even after I have written a scene that I have spent much time on, I am then stumped for what happens next. I know the plot (somewhat), but I never am able to come up with where I want to go in terms of plot progression. (By the way, I don't outline—which could be the problem.)

Del · Oct 19, 2006

Strengths: logic (what would really work, what wouldn't), continuity, description.

Weakness: Not knowing my weaknesses. I have to rely on others to tell me where my work fails.

Rivana · Oct 19, 2006

good: dialogue, emotions, characterization, comming up with plots, poetic and moving lines.

bad: finishing a story, describing stuff (I mostly just keep to thoughts, dialogue and actions), getting from a-c in the plot. the b is a *****. ;-)

san_remo_ave · Oct 19, 2006

I think my strength is editing. My first pass is always an ick-fest, but once I get something down (no matter how horrid) in editing it polishes up, blossoms and glows.

I think my biggest weakness is procrastination. There's always something else drawing me away from my writing. I suffer from severe-avoidance-syndrome. And since my first draft stuff is always so painful, I find I'm avoiding getting it down, despite knowing it'll clean up just fine in the end.

Nutty, huh?

janetbellinger · Oct 19, 2006

My strength is the ability to correct my weaknesses.
My weakness is fear of doing it "wrong."

Carrie in PA · Oct 19, 2006

One Strength of (hopefully) Many: My absolute love of this language
One Weakness of (definitely) Many: Procrastinating too much

Your strengths and weaknesses

Horror Man

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Wax the Cat

Rarely a leaf on the wind

Living the dream

Horror Man

Engineer Sonneteer

storm central

The grad students did it

Don't Call Me Sweetheart

Huh?

The Deadliest Bunny

Sesselja

The Elements of Style

Sky isn't falling, ground is rising

Walks in the shades.

Back at it

Write All The Words!