Identify what you’re good at and grow stronger.
That’s right. We stand a little taller and walk with confidence when we’re proud of something. So play to your strong stuff.
It’s also important to think about our weaknesses.
Me, my biggest weakness is tenses. I mix up the present and past tense all the time. Can’t help it so I’ve learned to accept this as a flaw and seek out help from grammar experts. Oh spelling, I’m terrible at spelling. Thank God for spell check.
A strength, imagination. I have a vivid imagination. Some of the crap that pops in my mind would get me committed to a state institution if I shared it all. LOL
But another weakness I have is finishing the damn story.
I’ve dozens of story starts, but like a coon dog with a good nose, I run off every time the wind blows a scent my way. There are dozens of files on my computer and several notebooks lying around with story ideas. Sigh…
So how does knowing all of this help make me a better writer?
We can write to our strengths if we know what they are.
In the article below by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod suggests that once we identify our weaknesses we can find workarounds or get help.
Becoming a writer: Why knowing your strengths and weaknesses MATTERS by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod
She gives a long list to get you started. I’ve shared a couple of my weakness and strengths, now what about you?
After you read her article, let me know what you think.
Did you find a strength or weakness on her list?
What is your writing strength?
Care to confess a weakness?
Talk to me – I love reading your comments.
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PS: If you’re in the McKinney area, stop by. I’d love to meet you.
Jean's Writing 
Thanks for sharing this really authentic post. Our imaginations are so powerful. I have a poetry blog here on WordPress and today’s post is about imagination in case you have time to look? Have a good afternoon, Sam 🙂
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Thanks Sam. I try to be myself here. Of course I’ll pop over and visit. 🙂
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Thank you!
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Thanks for posting this. It was fun and informative. Looking over Jennifer’s list I had a whole bunch of weaknesses- marketing being a big one! A strength? Research. 🙂
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Oh yeah, marketing gives me hives. But I’m with you Carol, I love research. When I get my teeth into a project I can get lost for hours. LOL
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One of my weaknesses is getting tenses mixed up, it haunts me and sometimes just can’t see it. Also when I finish a story I think it’s terrible. I am learning to stop that now, self-sabotage.
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I too am my worst critic. Thank God for editors and good beta readers. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog.
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Reblogged this on When Angels Fly.
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Reblogged this on Words Can Inspire the World.
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I have problems finishing a story too but not until I get into the middle of it.
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Oh yeah the swampy middle. That’s what I call the middle of my stories. Where it gets so thick and murky my characters begin to sink in the mud. LOL
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Calling it the swamp is perfect. 😀
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Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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I appreciate the link for Becoming a Better Writer. I am going to check it out. My weaknesses as a writer sound very similar to yours. Tense, spelling and not finishing my stories or ideas (of which I have many). Love the Racoon analogy, it is sooooo accurate for me as well! Now to to check out my writing strengths. Great idea to look at both what we do well and what we don’t do so well with when writing.
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I think we beat ourselves up too much with our weakness and forget we do have strengths. It’s important to remember those writing strengths and play to them.:-)
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Thanks for a good post, as always Jean! I have trouble with punctuation- em dash? Oxford comma? Any comma? Everything else, I feel I am solid. Have a great day.
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Comma, comma oh yeah, those are devils. LOL
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I really have no idea if I have any strengths in writing, only thing I’m pretty good at is Spelling. The reason is I was taught by Nuns who gave emphasis on phonetics. 🙂
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I consider spelling a strength. Spell check has spoiled me. 🙂
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