Five Strengths Meme

Sojourness tagged me for this meme. I have to name five of my strengths as a writer/artist. I'm horrible. Absolutely detestably vile at picking out the GOOD things about my writing. I'm a cynic of the highest order. But, it makes me try hard!

I have a good ear. I can generally tell if something "sounds right." This has served me very well in my academic writing to date, and I hope it carries over into my fiction.

I'm a great notetaker. That is to say, I don't lose a lot of ideas because I'm always prepared to catch them before they flitter away. And I'm getting MUCH better at actually writing and fleshing out the ideas. It's taken me 26 years, but at least I'm on the up and up.

I write in a spare prose style. I've always admired those who could write something affecting and thoughtful in few words or without overly ornate stylings. Apparently it's rubbed off because that's how my writing keeps coming out.

I like to play with form. This is probably a byproduct of my literary studies. I totally love Modernism and Postmodernism, and those sensibilities have rubbed off in the way that I play with narrative form and look for innovative ways to structure a story.

I'm versatile. I like to think that while a spare prose style comes easily, I can shift to something more "ornate" if it suits the story I'm telling. I'm working on a collection of short stories right now, and I hope that they are all distinctive when I'm finished.

I tag: whoever wants to play!