I was tagged for this meme by Charlotte, and I am, like everyone who has done it, more than a little afraid. Deep breath. Jump.
The meme is self-explanatory: you name five strengths in your writing. Self-explanatory, yes; easy, no.
- I write quickly. Although this might not sound like any kind of strength at all, I think it is. When I have a clear writing goal in mind and a few minutes of time, I can easily compose 1,500 words or more in an hour.
- I write synesthetically. When I write, I can feel the words–their textures, their shapes, their tastes. A really good sentence fills my mouth the same way the first bite of thick, chewy, fresh from the oven brownie fills it. I can feel the words melt together and each ingredient–the butter, the flour, the melted semisweet chocolate, the eggs–contributes something to the sensation.
- I write fairly clean copy. I do need to revise, but my first drafts are usually strong. Major revisions–the tear it down and toss it out sort–are relatively rare.
- I try to be true to my voice. To go back to my cooking metaphor, I know that I am baking brownies or chocolate chip cookies and not Roasted Scottish Langoustines with Lemongrass Melon Velouté, Cured Lomo, Minted Yogurt Dressing. I’m not even sure what a Velouté is, but I am sure that a brownie is probably better for me. My voice is my voice, and I like it.
- I know enough to let the guys in the basement do their work. A little less than a year ago, when I was just getting going on my novel, I thought about Stephen King’s notion that the guys in the basement–or the unconscious–do a lot of the heavy work of creating, hauling ideas around, banging out metaphors, forging figures of speech, and welding symbols. I try to let my basement guys drag a lot of the stuff out into the light before I get them to step back and let the guys upstairs do their magic.
And that’s five. If you have not done this meme yet, consider yourself tagged.
It’s a great exercise, isn’t it? I think these are all excellent strengths.
How’s the Amazon application coming along?
What I love about your blog is that it really makes me think! Your mentioning synesthesia sent me in a whole new domain I had no idea about! Since you taught me something today, I’d like to reciprocate and let you know that velouté means nothing more than creamy soup…
I am so enjoying people’s answers to this! I think it is a real strength to write quickly. I do not. I’m happy to get a thousand words in a day if I can, and it often doesn’t happen. I used to be much better at writing clean copy too, but lately, as I think my voice is changing, I’ve been redrafting a fair amount. Great strengths, hobgoblin!
Oh, I love your answer to number 4 (maybe because I can so relate to it, both with writing AND cooking/baking?).
Guys in the basement! I love that!
Wish I could write quickly…
This was a fun one!
I don’t think I could do this meme…because I don’t like to focus on my strengths…but maybe i will try it, and maybe i can come up with 2 or 3 things…