Finding the Strength in Your Writing Weakness

Are you a storyteller or a wordsmith? 

I've noticed lately in my reading that some people truly excel at story, like Frank Baum of Wizard of Oz fame, or Rick Riordan of the Percy Jackson series; and others weave words like master artisans in the households of kings, like Libba Bray of Going Bovine and A Great and Terrible Beauty, or Gayle Forman of If I Stay, or my critique partners. ;)

Of course, it would be nice to have it all, but nobody starts out that way. That's why we call writing our craft.

So which part of our craft is your strong suit? Storytelling, with its plot structure, twists, and revelations? Or wordsmithing (how can that not be a real word?), with its heart-piercing phraseology and dew-from-heaven gloriousness?

It's an important question because the answer can tell you where you need to focus your practice. 

Me, for instance. I've got wordplay down to an art. Okay not really, but I became a writer because people told me I write well, not because people said I come up with the most air-tight plots ever. So I fall in with the wordsmith lot. For me, this means my current focus has to be plot. And not just plot. Storytelling includes characterization and setting, so you can see I have my work cut out for me.

My 3-year-old is a wordsmith already. Aw!

Knowing where my strengths lie as a writer gives me focus, but it also reminds me to allow myself a little failure in my weak areas. 

It's okay if my first draft is filled with plot holes. For me, revision is less about crafting perfect sentences and more about re-imagining the story... over and over again, until it all fits. And, of course, since this is my cross to bear I think storytelling is much harder than spinning beautiful phrases. Which is more difficult for you?

Now you know what to work on this weekend.

Originally published on Operation Awesome in December, 2010.

The Crux of Great Writing: Moderation in All Things

I've been ruminating (love that word) on what makes good, easy-to-read, beautiful writing. Mostly, this is due to my own current stage in the writing process: revising a manuscript for the third time. I think I've fixed most of the big-picture ideas, and now have only to work on issues of style and voice.

Style according to French writer and filmmaker Alain Robbe-Gillet:
"The true writer has nothing to say. What counts is the way he says it."

and

Voice according to English novelist and clergyman Laurence Sterne:
"Writing, when properly managed, is but a different name for conversation."

One how-to article will tell you to show actions creatively, while another author might be convinced that internal monologue is the way to filter just about everything your point-of-view character is experiencing.

One writing manual will extol the virtues of simplicity in language, while another will preach fresh and inventive prose as the only way to stand out from the crowd.

The way we choose to say our theme, our character's thoughts, his actions, and our villain's dastardly deeds--it all comes down to choices.

So as far as your word choice goes...

Use the word said. Just not too much.

And use the word dastardly. But only once.

Use conjunctions, commas, double-dashes, and sentence fragments. for. dramatic. effect.

Just don't do these things ad nauseam. Moderation in all things.

Above all, be true to your own voice, and to the voice of each character. After all, we write to share. The language needs to facilitate that, never inhibit it.

Focus on writing the tightest plot, most relatable characters, and on telling the story that lives in your head. Then revise it. Ask others to read it, and hope their insights will help you realize that you typed "blustering" when you meant "blistering", or "said" when you meant "screeched". But don't anguish over the perfect language. I fervently believe that voice and style are things picked up like accents and slang--through communication. So read and write. Write and read. And stop stressing about perfect words. They don't exist. There are only people, personalities, and preferences.

Isn't it wonderful?