Strengths and weaknesses

» Posted on Apr 6, 2006 in Blog | Comments Off on Strengths and weaknesses

As a teacher I often look at a student’s strengths and weaknesses in order to help them succeed. The other day someone on a loop I’m on asked about what was everyone’s strength and weakness in their writing. Right now I would say a weakness was wanting to play instead of writing. Instead of doing my blog, I should be working on my proposal. But do you see me doing that? NO! It’s spring and I’ve got a bad case of spring fever. Is there a doctor out there who can help me? How about a cure for spring fever? I think some researcher should apply for a government grant and work on that.

Seriously, my strengths in writing are plotting and brainstorming ideas. I’m just waiting for my strength to kick in with this new story. My weakness (notice only one because we are gonna ignore all the others) is description. I have to go back into a story and make myself add description. I’m working on this. I analyze how others do it and look at the use of certain words to impart what I want but keep it brief. There is a part of me that feels too much description will slow down the pacing. I like a fast read.

What are your strengths and weaknesses in writing? How do you work on improving your weaknesses? As a teacher I work with students to maximize their strengths and to work around their weaknesses. So as writing we need to do the same thing. Every writer has a weakness. Yes, she should continue to work on that weakness, but why not develop a story that showcases her strength.