Beginning a new year tends to motivate people to get organized, start new projects, or finish ones they’ve ignored for far too long. It’s a great time to make plans. The trouble comes when it becomes clear that goals are harder to reach than expected.
If you find yourself so discouraged and you’re inches away from throwing in the towel, it might be time to consider a new perspective.
As writers, we tend to focus on the problems in our writing, which is a necessary thing, but what if we focused on the positive instead?
Constantly focusing on weaknesses and ignore abilities is a disservice to our readers and ourselves. Don’t neglect your strong points, the parts you do well.
Where Do You Excel?
Take an assessment.
What is it about your writing that shines?
Are you great at story concepts and plot?
Can you produce snappy dialogue?
Are you a lyrical writer?
Do you create characters that your critique partners and beta readers love? Perhaps you’re good at comedy or evoking an emotional connection with readers.
What are the elements of writing that you enjoy the most?
These are the things that make your voice unique, those natural talents, and it’s easier to improve in those areas than others and make your writing stand out. If you don’t know what your areas of excellence are, consider what your critique partners and beta readers consistently praise.
Instead of trying to be exceptional at all the different skills, aim for mastery of basic storytelling. Then work at continuing improvement in the areas you already love and are proficient in.
What About the Other Stuff?
Am I saying to ignore the weak spots in your writing? Not at all. But you can’t do everything. Bring the basic storytelling skills up to an acceptable level. Learn basic story structure, understand GMC, how to create interesting characters, and how to write dialogue that is clear, along with the other bare bones every story needs. Once an author has achieved a measure of competency in all the necessary areas, it’s fine to lean into strengths.
When You’re Stuck
Are you stuck at a certain aspect of your story? For whatever reason it’s worked before, but this time, the story or chapter refuses to come into focus. Instead of fixating on what’s wrong, look at what worked before. What made that piece of writing stand out?
Too much focus on the things we feel we are doing wrong gums up the works.
Lean Into Your Gift
Not everyone can write poetic descriptions. Comedy may never come easy to you. Not everyone will produce a high-octane tale. Some folks always end up with a quiet story, even after brainstorming ideas for weeks. Maybe those writers were never meant to write the stories that remain elusive no matter what they try. Maybe they were meant to show the world their own unique stories.
Focus on the positives and what you love about writing, the parts of the creative process that draw you. Instead of attempting to write like someone else just because they are popular or successful, let your voice onto the page. Continue to hone skills, improving the most real and beautiful parts of your gift, and see what happens.
Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.
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2 Comments
Excellent post, Donna. It’s hard not to focus on our weaknesses but we all have strengths and as you mention, those are the things that gives us our unique voice.
We are unique individuals and bring much to the table. It’s easy to forget that sometimes.