5 strengths as a writer

My dear, talented friend Wanderlust Scarlett has tagged me to talk about my five biggest strengths as a writer. Oh dear.

As fellow writer Jon so astutely observed in Scarlett's comment section, this will be quite a task for writers as "[e]very writer thinks they're crap!" Let's see what we can come up with.

1. Word selection. I'll never forget when my 10th grade creative writing teacher praised a piece that I had written about giving my dog a bath. He loved that I chose the verb "scurried" and the phrase "dime-sized portion" and told me that I had a knack for choosing the exact right word/phrase at the right time. That has stuck with me, and I've made it a personal challenge to pinpoint the precise word I need and not settle for a workable but blah impostor. Thanks Mr. I!

2. Creativity. Yes, I have a vivid imagination, but sticking to the word theme, I like to make up words (particularly if silly puns are involved--hi Scarlett!) or just put them together in a way that no one else has. An example? "Workable but blah" above. It may not be grammatically correct, but I think it works.

My writer's license is a broad one because I feel that the language is mine to play with, and if it gets my point across, well, a little grammar slide every now and again isn't going to put in me in Writers' Purgatory (not for too long, anyway).

By the way, I word-play in Italian now too, at least in speech. Last night I told P he is "ossoso" (oh-SOH-soh) which is my made-up Italian word for "bony." You see, "osso" is bone, and "oso" is a common adjective ending in Italian (e.g., vento=wind; ventoso=windy). The real Italian word is "ossuto" but doesn't "ossoso" just roll off your tongue?

3. Unpretentious/honest. I write like I'm talking to you, and I've had many people tell me how much they enjoy reading my emails and letters because of this. So I have to think I'm doing something "write." Hah! Seriously though, these two concepts go together for me personally because being unpretentious *is* honest for me--that's just the way I am whether I'm writing or not.

One of my favorite college professors, a Virginia Woolf scholar which only made her even cooler in my mind, wrote on one of my papers that "the reader feels like she's in good hands." I didn't really get it at the time, but I knew it was a good thing and I've never forgotten it. I always want my readers to feel that, and so that's what I try to achieve.

4. Organized and logical progression. Who would have thought that going to law school would have made me a better writer? I joke with people that they actually tried to beat all the good writing habits out of me, but of course that's not (entirely) true. In reality, I learned to deeply analyze issues from every angle, look for holes at every turn, and then exploit tiny cracks in logic and make them seem like huge gaps. I also learned to present arguments one baby step at a time, spelling out for the reader exactly what you want him to know when you want him to know it.

When I put it that way, it almost makes sense that writers take a turn through law school, doesn't it? Well, that's because I'm conveniently leaving out the rest, but I do think it helped me to organize my thoughts and present them in a way that makes sense--crucial for any writer.

5. Passion for the written word. I'm blessed to be the kind of person who can do a lot of things pretty well--but in order for me to really succeed at something, I have to enjoy it. Or, to paraphrase Dicky Fox in Jerry Maguire, if my heart's not in it, my head doesn't matter.

I have a true passion for expression through words, and this enables me to write better, to *want* to write better every single day. I want to make people think, feel, or otherwise react to what I write, and it fills my heart with joy whenever I succeed. I truly love writing, and I think that shows in the final product.

So there are my five biggest strengths as a writer according to me, and now I'm going to tag five of my favorite blogging writers who I think would benefit from this exercise:

1. David of witnessing am i
2. Nova of distraction no. 99
3. Christina of The (Mis)Adventures of a Single City Chick
4. Jessica of In Search of Dessert
5. Maht of The Moon Topples

Come on writers! Let's look on the positive for once instead of dwelling on how hard it is to really make it in this business. I can't wait to read your strengths (if you need ideas, just email me because I've been reading you!).

And while we're talking about writing, there's an exciting new project over at The Shameless Lions Writing Circle--a group short story! Leonardo and I are *very* excited to take part, so I hope you'll follow our progress!