Self-evaluation time

[Siana Blackwood]

I just saw this on Chuck Wendig's Terribleminds and I decided to bring it here.

So, time for some deep and dark introspection. As Mr Wendig says, it's good to evaluate ourselves as writers sometimes. I'll also add that it can be good to evaluate yourself where your fellow writers can see you.

Things to do:

1) Somewhere private to you (your computer, a notebook etc.), answer the 6 questions at the bottom of this post. Go into as much detail as you can.

2) Either post your complete answers or an edited version of your answers in this thread. Add a comment for (at least) the poster before you. Positive comments only, please.

4) Even after you've posted your answers, come back to read other MarNo'ers answers and offer help and advice. You can even respond to other people's answers if you choose not to post your own.

(Optional) You can also post your answers in the comments section of this Terribleminds post: Time Again For Your Penmonkey Evaluations


The Questions

a) What’s your greatest strength / skill in terms of writing/storytelling?

b) What’s your greatest weakness in writing/storytelling? What gives you the most trouble?

c) How many books or other projects have you actually finished? What did you do with them?

d) Best writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. really helped you)

e) Worst writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. didn’t help at all, may have hurt)

f) One piece of advice you’d give other writers?

[Siana Blackwood]

Because 'money where your mouth is' etc. I'll go first.

a) What’s your greatest strength / skill in terms of writing/storytelling?

I'm going to claim 'characters' as my strength for now. Having finally started to learn how to edit, I've discovered that quite a lot of things can be fixed. Descriptions are easy to add later. Whole chunks of space and time can be created, deleted and re-purposed. As long as I have a character willing to sit in the storyteller's comfy chair, I can make a story.

(There's a flip side to this, though. I have a couple of things I'd like to improve with editing, but they were written before my style became so character-centric. It's possible that the only answer there is to start again from scratch. I'd like to find a less extreme solution, but... yeah, nothing yet.)

b) What’s your greatest weakness in writing/storytelling? What gives you the most trouble?

And here I thought 'greatest strengths' was going to be the hardest question. My first reaction here was 'self-doubt', but then after thinking about it for a minute I wondered if the answer should be 'overthinking' or 'second-guessing'. Those aren't directly writing/storytelling weaknesses, though. Do I want a psychological answer or a craft one?

Actually, I can answer this in two parts.

The writing/storytelling thing that gives me the most trouble is the physical environment. One of my completed first drafts is a 'quest' story that on more recent inspection is physically impossible unless the characters have magic horses that can run at about the speed of an express train and have a similar need for rest. Most of the time the problem isn't that extreme (largely because I've taken to using much smaller worlds since then), but I always seem to end up with a combination of 'white box syndrome' and a stack of physical impossibilities. Fortunately, I've discovered that these things can be fixed later.

My greatest weakness is probably that I always seem to give the voice of self-doubt room in my head. In combination with the bad writing advice in question e, I've let my own self-sabotaging impulses destroy a lot of stuff I really wish I'd written. This is part of why I'm writing a new first draft at the moment - as much as I'm interested in the idea, I'm driven by the need to prove 'writer' is still a thing I can call myself.

c) How many books or other projects have you actually finished? What did you do with them?

Depends what we call finished. If writing a first draft counts as finished, then I have either 17 or 18 finished novels and 3 finished short stories. If finished means 'written, edited, beta-read, edited again and possibly ready for submission', the number plummets and I'd hesitate to claim even one. Answer for 'what did you do with them?' is the same either way - sitting on the hard drive waiting to find out if I can figure out where to go next.

d) Best writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. really helped you)

I want to link to a post on Terribleminds, but somebody went and put a naughty word in the URL, so I can't . Here's a link to a search that gets you to the post instead: how story rebels against expectation. The one you're looking for is called "F-- The Straight Line: how story rebels against expectation".

Short version: When the path seems well-lit, kill the lights and wander into darkness.

e) Worst writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. didn’t help at all, may have hurt)

The absolute worst writing advice I've ever been given is this: all pantsers are really planners. They're just either lazy or in denial.
This advice has two really bad things about it. First, it's not true. Second, you can't defend yourself against it. As soon as someone trots out that little piece of wisdom, anyone who tries to argue against it is accepting the labels of 'lazy' and 'in denial'.

There are as many ways to write a story as there are writers. See question f for how to deal with this.

f) One piece of advice you’d give other writers?

Don't listen to advice?

Just kidding... sort of.

The thing I'd really say is this: if what you're doing gets words on the page, stick at it. The only time you should go looking for different ways to work is when you're unhappy with the results you're getting.

-----

Come on, guys - I don't want to be here all by myself. I'm pretty familiar with my own problems and I'm working through them. This thread isn't supposed to be just a 'Siana complains' thread.

[Agent Double Oh Zero]

Yeah, yeah. The art of the monolithic forum post takes time! XD

Ahhhh, yeeeeeeees, now that you see the behemoth below me, do you quail in fear at having to read the thing? Yep, this is the EDITED version. >:-D

---

You're getting better, Siana. You may second guess yourself still (who doesn't?), but I've noticed that you're able to give your drafts more of a chance now. Also, some of the things that you doubt about your writing are, as you said, things that can be fixed -- but they're also what makes your writing your own. So maybe you have to do several passes to get descriptions down, but the result is a dreamy quality to the environment which reads like vignettes into the character's head (as someone else, can't remember who, stated). Your characters' voices are indeed individuated and strong, and in terms of POV, regarding the aforementioned descriptions, I've noticed that most of yours are through your character's eyes, and not just generic word vomit, which is good.

You'll always doubt yourself (who doesn't?), but don't let it cripple your style. It's never as bad as you fear. :-)

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The Questions

a) What’s your greatest strength / skill in terms of writing/storytelling?

Coming up with "fascinating" idea combinations that people seem to want to read. Okay, well, I'm a spec writer, so that's my job. Honestly, it would have to be for others to say. I haven't written much that was even remotely good enough to be shared. That's...a work in progress. People seem to like my descriptions, though. I dunno. I would have to ask people who've seen my writing, and there aren't many. XD

Edit: Oh! I remember one thing! Apparently I am good at dialogue.

b) What’s your greatest weakness in writing/storytelling? What gives you the most trouble?

Making something concrete out of those abstract ideas -- coming up with all the little details that actually implement it, and which make the world and people real, and which help to build up the plot, thus making it interesting. I suppose what this really stems from is an inability to find out where to begin. If I begin wrong, everything falls apart into nebulous fuzz, because there's no base for anything. Plot. I suck at plot, because I don't actually know how to build it up. I can't 100% pants it, because then I waste a lot of words with my characters getting into pointless circling arguments. I have to learn to recognize when that happens, and learn to build up rather than sideways. I suppose a thing that isn't really weakness, but which contributes to weakness, is that I have to know all aspects of a thing as I write it. I can't complete a draft using only dialogue. Therefore, early drafts aren't even stories. They're a chaotic collection of sentences, because the story is still forming.

That said, I think a lot of the resulting flailing due to the nebulousness comes from the fact that I'm too self-conscious at times. I love getting feedback, but when it comes to actual writing, I'm terrified of taking the leap and messing it up, so I subconsciously cripple my subconscious. Thus, I get nowhere.

c) How many books or other projects have you actually finished? What did you do with them?

Depends on what you define as finished. Edited, beta'd, polished...er...1. I don't even know if that counts, because it's a short story of less than 200 words which I wrote for fun. First draft...1 short story. Chaos drafts (which can hardly be called 'complete' in any sense)...2. As for what I did with them, the chaos drafts are in hibernation for now. I just finished the short story. After having received feedback from several people, I'm going to pick it up again after I finish my current short story, Lest We Remember.

d) Best writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. really helped you)

Write something every day, and finish what you start.

Start small.

Work smarter, not harder.

Okay, that's three, but each played a role.

e) Worst writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. didn’t help at all, may have hurt)

"You should write short stories for children." [paraphrased - fluffy bunnies and puppies.]

*gag*

Sorry, mom. (My mom hates SFF as much as I love it.)

REAL worst piece of advice, though (not my mother's): writer's block doesn't exist. Those who say they have it are just being lazy and whiny, and probably aren't writing every day.

Well, I have to say that believing that led me to spend a lot of time in the Chasm of Despair. I followed the formula. I wrote every day. I wasn't making progress. I wrote thousands of words, and the story wasn't moving forward. It didn't have any structure. I'd leave the draft alone, and then come back to it, and find that while I still loved the idea, it was a formless mass of scene snippets that went nowhere, and I had no idea how to fix it. As I often complained, I couldn't string two sentences together coherently. For a period of about two years, I lost the joy in writing I used to feel as a teenager because of it.

Writer's block is a very real thing, even if words are pouring out onto the page.. There's such a thing as not knowing that you're going about it all wrong, or knowing it, but not knowing what you're doing wrong, even when you back off and leave it alone. As important as writing every day to build up a critical mass of words was the other facet of learning how to handle being blocked. Finding myself forced by sheer terror to finish a short story taught me that I was 1) going about my planning all wrong (and what actually worked) and 2) I didn't know when to kill my darlings, nor did I know how to figure out what those were.

Figuring out what that darling is is very tough for me. Often it's an idea that's burrowed into the heart of the bunny like a sentient alien parasitic spore, because I've gotten too attached. At this point, it helps to outline the *entire* idea to someone else, and see where they get stuck. Selectively slashing and snipping at the gappy bits is a far better tool than burning everything. I realize that this isn't much of a description of the solution I found, but I suspect the 'how' will vary with each work. In the case of the short story I finished, a friend asked a critical question: 'why does your story need x?' Then I got rid of x, and it came together. Truth to tell, x came back, but in a much more subtle and awesome form. This happens a lot, but the short story was a microcosm of my overall tendencies over the past years. But I digress. Future journeys will reveal how to actually go about applying what I did to longer works, and on my own. (5k is one thing. I can hardly dump a 120k draft on some poor sucker and ask for plot holes on the level that I had with the story.) It appears, though that the key is to really put myself in the spot of the reader, and ask myself questions that I, as the author, wouldn't think about. I need to learn how to do this.

f) One piece of advice you’d give other writers?

Should I, the unpublished writer and owner of only one finished first draft, really be giving advice to other writers?

I'll instead just mention one very important thing I've learned. Write smarter, not harder. Sometimes it's just not worth writing an entire draft to find out whether your approach (approach, NOT idea. No idea is dumb. Implementation, however, can stray.) works.

Start small. (Yes, my mother was right in this respect.) An idea, a central idea, doesn't have inherent size. If you come up with an epic idea that you're struggling with, shrink it down. Strip away the world, and all the characters. In other words, all your darlings. Find the heart of the story -- the twist, the point you're trying to make, and write a short story about it. If you're already writing a short story, turn it into a very tiny story.

Even if you naturally write longer works, and short stories aren't really your thing, don't think you're selling your idea short (no pun intended). You're merely clearing away the distraction, for now. On the small scale, when you have to prioritize, flaws float much more easily to the surface. Another reason is, you can finish a small story much more easily. If you're having trouble, you'll see it much more easily.

Most importantly, finish it and polish it. Outlines tell. Stories show. If you find your showing doesn't work, you'll know right there it's something to fix, and the smaller scale will make it easier to spot. There -- even if you don't publish it, you now have a finished microcosm of your epic, complete with nascent possibilities, and with the gnarliest kinks ironed out.

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Edit 2: Oh god, how many times have I said I won't post on forums after 1AM? Seriously, I don't need drugs. I just need to be sleepy, for the crazed run-ons to kick in.

Man, I ised to be able to go until 4AM. The perks of being an unemployed college student. XD Now that I have a job I start having to dothis thing called "going to bed...at NIGHT."

[butterflywings]

Hm. Me?
a) What’s your greatest strength / skill in terms of writing/storytelling?

I know I suck. That has to count for something. I mean - at least I won't be making people suffer through my work until it isn't quite so horrible, right?

b) What’s your greatest weakness in writing/storytelling? What gives you the most trouble?

Describing things. I hate taking focus off what is happening to add what it looks like. I can do this in the right frame of mind, but not on first draft. Or - rarely on first draft. It annoys me that I can't do both, but the story comes first.

c) How many books or other projects have you actually finished? What did you do with them?

I have never finished anything. I do have some really short stories done, but all I've done is polish them up a bit, type them out, and then shove them in a "finished" chapter of my novel entitled "Scramble" where I keep all the bunnies occupied by tying their plots in short, concise, sentences stating their intent to become full fledged stories.

d) Best writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. really helped you)

Not advice as much as a saying that gives me inspiration to write even what I find insane. "I go to seek a great perhaps."

e) Worst writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. didn’t help at all, may have hurt)

Chekhov's gun. Seriously, I believe in paring down the WC, but does every word need to have meaning toward the plot? How can you have a plot twist without a few extra "guns" lying around making room for a sequel?

f) One piece of advice you’d give other writers?

Write the story you want to read. I guess I got that from somewhere.... It comes down to - you aren't going to be better than everyone out there, you don't know everything in the world, but you can write a story that you, as a reader, would want to sit down and read. That's the story you need to write. If it interests you it will be worth finishing. If you enjoy reading it, it is worth sharing.


- Now to get to that point!

[Siana Blackwood]

Mar 5, 2014 3:18:39 GMT -5 butterflywings said:

a) What’s your greatest strength / skill in terms of writing/storytelling?

I know I suck. That has to count for something. I mean - at least I won't be making people suffer through my work until it isn't quite so horrible, right?

b) What’s your greatest weakness in writing/storytelling? What gives you the most trouble?

Describing things. I hate taking focus off what is happening to add what it looks like. I can do this in the right frame of mind, but not on first draft. Or - rarely on first draft. It annoys me that I can't do both, but the story comes first.

I think I need to send you back to try question 'a' again, because I don't believe you. Do you have good ideas? Interesting characters? Correct grammar? Otherwise you're going to have to join me and identify the Demon of Self-Doubt as your greatest weakness.

As for question 'b'... There's nothing wrong with doing multiple drafts. First draft might be just the bones of the story. Then in the second draft the only thing you worry about is getting the POV right. Then the next draft is for descriptions, or for writing up a whole lot of the bad guy's story and figuring out how to tie it in. That's just an example, but it's just as 'right' as trying to get the whole story perfect in a single pass. If anyone has told you that the first draft has to be perfect, better add that to the 'worst writing advice' section.

(PS: talking cat and something to do with roses. The good/bad thing about archives .)

[butterflywings]

Yes, let me join with the "Demon of Self-Doubt." Actually, I have gotten feedback. "It's great!" only works once. After that you know the person is just being overly nice. Especially when they never ask to read anything again... LOL

How about - I have great nightmares that I can almost translate into words that string into nearly cohesive sentences?

ARGH! the archives bit back! LOL

edit:
I liked the cat one. It was fun to write, even if I couldn't imagine anything else after that scene