Strengths and Weaknesses

[EternalSunset0]

Just opening up another topic for some discussion. As authors, what do you think are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? It can be anything, from your choice of words to your diligence in promoting your work.

Come flex and self-depreciate all you want. I'm all ears, and I feel that it's a cool topic to open while we all procrastinate.

 

[BenJepheneT]

I know exactly what I want to write, I just don't feel like it.

 

[SailusGebel]

My greatest strength is obviously finding new reasons to postpone my writing. As for my weaknesses, does writing count?

 

[NotaNuffian]

My plot runs in my head like an anime made from the best studio (I let you decide), the action scenes are flashy af and the dialogues grade A.

And just like when I draw, the entire thing turns into shit when I write, which is why I will never post it here in SH.

 

[Mysticant]

My greatest strength and weakness is procrastination......wait, that's bad.

 

[EternalSunset0]

My plot runs in my head like an anime made from the best studio (I let you decide), the action scenes are flashy af and the dialogues grade A.

And just like when I draw, the entire thing turns into shit when I write, which is why I will never post it here in SH.

Now I want to read it.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Now I want to read it.

I don't, after some reruns in my head, I understand it as some angsty xianxia BS that has the european medieval coat of paint on.

Really goes to show how I myself as a whisical (indecisive) person.

 

[Reisinling]

Updating regularly.


BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh, I'm so funny. So humor I guess? :D

 

[yansusustories]

I think my two greatest strengths would be being a fast writer (I write at least 3.5k a day so I could write a whole novel or volume in a month or two if I only had one project) and not needing to plan too much because things usually manage to fall in place almost by themselves.
As for weaknesses, the biggest is probably that I can be rather disorganized which isn't helped by the fact that I pick up a ton of stuff to do. Like, I currently have several (10+) novels lying around that just need one final edit but I don't have the time because I'm writing six or seven projects at the same time already. The oldest of those drafts is from 2019 already so yes, this has been an ongoing problem. I'm slowly trying to tackle it by finishing some novels and then setting time aside but knowing myself, it'll be hard not to pick up new things before I'm ready.
Another weakness is probably my lacking English vocabulary. I can usually express what I want to but I have to acknowledge that I'm limited there. My grammar is likely off as well in quite a few cases but that's not something I can solve in a day either and the other problem is more urgent imho so I'll work on that first.

 

[Emi_the_Fairy]

I think my two greatest strengths would be being a fast writer (I write at least 3.5k a day so I could write a whole novel or volume in a month or two if I only had one project) and not needing to plan too much because things usually manage to fall in place almost by themselves.
As for weaknesses, the biggest is probably that I can be rather disorganized which isn't helped by the fact that I pick up a ton of stuff to do. Like, I currently have several (10+) novels lying around that just need one final edit but I don't have the time because I'm writing six or seven projects at the same time already. The oldest of those drafts is from 2019 already so yes, this has been an ongoing problem. I'm slowly trying to tackle it by finishing some novels and then setting time aside but knowing myself, it'll be hard not to pick up new things before I'm ready.
Another weakness is probably my lacking English vocabulary. I can usually express what I want to but I have to acknowledge that I'm limited there. My grammar is likely off as well in quite a few cases but that's not something I can solve in a day either and the other problem is more urgent imho so I'll work on that first.

I feel this so much. I have like four projects I'm actively working on, and one of those is like a bundle of like four itself. It doesn't help that they kinda intermingle in places since they're a shared universe.

I find myself getting into weird ruts sometimes where I just keep using one word a lot. It's often a good word or phrase, but then I use it like four times in a chapter and I then I forget to use said words and phrases at other good moments.

As for some strengths, I've gotten pretty good at writing some super solid emotional moments that I enjoy reading back, and I'm getting better at connecting them together.

 

[yansusustories]

I find myself getting into weird ruts sometimes where I just keep using one word a lot. It's often a good word or phrase, but then I use it like four times in a chapter and I then I forget to use said words and phrases at other good moments.

That is me after learning a new word

 

[Emi_the_Fairy]

That is me after learning a new word

It's like it just tumble in your head like a good song, then gets lost in your playlist the next month. It's so not fair!

 

[BenJepheneT]

I think my two greatest strengths would be being a fast writer (I write at least 3.5k a day so I could write a whole novel or volume in a month or two if I only had one project) and not needing to plan too much because things usually manage to fall in place almost by themselves.
As for weaknesses, the biggest is probably that I can be rather disorganized which isn't helped by the fact that I pick up a ton of stuff to do. Like, I currently have several (10+) novels lying around that just need one final edit but I don't have the time because I'm writing six or seven projects at the same time already. The oldest of those drafts is from 2019 already so yes, this has been an ongoing problem. I'm slowly trying to tackle it by finishing some novels and then setting time aside but knowing myself, it'll be hard not to pick up new things before I'm ready.
Another weakness is probably my lacking English vocabulary. I can usually express what I want to but I have to acknowledge that I'm limited there. My grammar is likely off as well in quite a few cases but that's not something I can solve in a day either and the other problem is more urgent imho so I'll work on that first.

Fuck man, I have the antithesis of those things.

I write slow. The MOST I can manage is 1,2k words per day. My usual output is 500, with intermissions in between days to further plan shit out. It doesn't help that my chapters hit an average of 8k words, which means I can only really put out a chapter biweekly, and that's if I'm consistent. It also doesn't help that I have severe OCD when writing. I edit AS I write. This means I can't just put down whatever it is the character is doing then edit them after. I create the prose and the tone in my head before I write them down. There are times where I sit down in front of the PC just sulking in my head before putting down a paragraph because I can't physically make myself write down a plain placeholder and go back to it when I'm done with the chapter. I'm known for forgetting things IRL, and this is one of the things I DON'T want to forget editing, and thus I edit on the spot. I only do one final edit when I'm done with the chapter, and that's just for grammar and stuff.

I only have two ongoing projects, with a few in the backburner of my head. I can't move on from something unless it's done, which stops me from making a new project. Whether that's a good thing or not, it's up to you. I can commit to a project and put full focus into it, but I can't deny that it gets boring sometimes.

For grammar, I actively limit myself from using two words at once. If you go to my browser history, among the porn tabs and the YouTube funny compilations you will see shit like weakness synonym or define fast or swift antonym or other words for gasping. I actively find different words of the same meaning just so you wouldn't read them in the same sentence. I can usually sustain this with my own vocabulary but other times where I have to use the word rigid and rough in different manners, I will find myself tearing my head apart to find a replacement, only to end with some stupid metaphor or analogy like as smooth as a turtle's shell or like grazing your fingers across sandpaper.

 

[yansusustories]

I DON'T want to forget editing, and thus I edit on the spot. I only do one final edit when I'm done with the chapter, and that's just for grammar and stuff.

Yeah, forgetting to edit ... I feel that I actually do several rounds of editing. While writing, I usually don't since I'm not even looking at the screen but I do one after the chapter is finished/before I post it online. Then depending on how shitty it is, there might be a big revision (only had to do this once so far though, and am planning one more for another project) and then I edit again after the whole project is finished where I cut out some fluff, add some details where necessary, and hopefully catch myself repeating words as well so I can fix that. I do that one on paper since it helps with catching typos. I might do some more editing while I transfer the changes to the document as well. The paper process is the one I usually push off. It just takes so fricking long to go through a whole project

 

[Emi_the_Fairy]

Yeah, forgetting to edit ... I feel that I actually do several rounds of editing. While writing, I usually don't since I'm not even looking at the screen but I do one after the chapter is finished/before I post it online. Then depending on how shitty it is, there might be a big revision (only had to do this once so far though, and am planning one more for another project) and then I edit again after the whole project is finished where I cut out some fluff, add some details where necessary, and hopefully catch myself repeating words as well so I can fix that. I do that one on paper since it helps with catching typos. I might do some more editing while I transfer the changes to the document as well. The paper process is the one I usually push off. It just takes so fricking long to go through a whole project

Editing sucks, it's harder since it's so easy to overlook stuff since you already know the flow of it.

I'm the type who won't start posting a story until it's all finished and sharing with friends for feedback to work out any issues. Editing particularly sucks for me since the word processor I use seems to have a poor word bank, so words get flagged that shouldn't be, and I wind up ignoring it.

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

My greatest strength is that no matter what novel I plan on doing, materials always come from my head which I can easily place and replace any part and easily make any plot into a what I write. Even if I lack any details I made, I can just use the internet for gathering the details and added them to my vocabulary. So, no matter what novel I plan on tackling, any genres I want to try or even create out of thin air, materials are already provided and only needed my brain capacity to unload any of them into my writing style.

I would put procrastination as my weakness but on a serious note....

My greatest weakness as well,I have two which makes my brain capacity into obselete. I have short term memory and short attention span. Whenever I try to start becoming creative, i need my brain to remember the materials I gathered inside my head but unable to completely use them due to my brain completely forgetting everything I know. And to top it all off, everytime I could gather my thoughts, I have short term memory that completely negates any chance of me remembering what ideas I need to do any stuff. Basically a cycle of forgetting, remembering, forgetting again what am I doing, short circuit and fall in a deep state of forgetting who I actually am, restart myself anf begin to gather my thoughts, remembering something and repeat.

And no, I am not kidding that I would actually short circuit as I once to argue with a person about his life choices and because of how airheaded he was and how dense he is, my brain fried some of my brain cells(which weren't a lot to begin with) and ended up becoming daze for a few minutes of being in an endless loop of forgetting my own existance and remembering who I was. Which is the reason why I kinda write as to gather my thoughts before I actually go braindead from losing too many of my braincells that I could even be sleep deprived when I had slep for more than 12 hours.

 

[EternalSunset0]

Editing sucks, it's harder since it's so easy to overlook stuff since you already know the flow of it.

I'm the type who won't start posting a story until it's all finished and sharing with friends for feedback to work out any issues. Editing particularly sucks for me since the word processor I use seems to have a poor word bank, so words get flagged that shouldn't be, and I wind up ignoring it.

I actually find editing fun because my process is that I do what Ben does. But after putting all the chapters in a volume together, I tend to find out certain inconsistencies (ie. a person claiming that he would handle a booth, but five chapters later, I wrote a different person in there, stuff like that) that allow me to smoothen things out even more.

Yay for finish everything before posting

I'll probably have a lot more embarrassing mistakes like the one I mentioned if I had to do what most people do and write chapter by chapter. I can also write myself into holes, and the gap between chapters will be jarring.

 

[Emi_the_Fairy]

I actually find editing fun because my process is that I do what Ben does. But after putting all the chapters in a volume together, I tend to find out certain inconsistencies (ie. a person claiming that he would handle a booth, but five chapters later, I wrote a different person in there, stuff like that) that allow me to smoothen things out even more.

Yay for finish everything before posting

I'll probably have a lot more embarrassing mistakes like the one I mentioned if I had to do what most people do and write chapter by chapter. I can also write myself into holes, and the gap between chapters will be jarring.

I think it's both fun and sucks at the same time

It's fun going back through your writing and finding mistakes which may wind up spurring of more ideas. It can be really funny seeing the mistakes you make and what not.

It just sucks because it's so easy for things to slip through. Like I had a repeated sentence that was pointed out to me in my story a bit ago, and through both my readings and my test readers it was never caught.

 

[EternalSunset0]

It just sucks because it's so easy for things to slip through. Like I had a repeated sentence that was pointed out to me in my story a bit ago, and through both my readings and my test readers it was never caught.

Yeah this happens quite regularly with me, too. Good thing comments on the site help me fix them.

 

[TotallyHuman]

I get bored and tired too easily, making my commitment to a single story basically nonexistent. I always bite more than I (or probably 99.99% of anybody) can possibly chew. I don't really understand how humans think, so my characters end up being either too forced or too flat or simply inconsistent and there are few of them. I can never find the energy or willpower to proofread what I write properly, so my chapters are riddled with typos.