How Do You Rate as a Writer?

Posted on June 30th, 2007 by Leisa
Filed under: BookWise Benefits, Writing

Polls have shown that 81% of American’s want to write a book some day. I’m one of them. Are you? How would you rate yourself as a writer?

Today I stumbled upon Today I stumbled upon A Guide to Becoming a Better Writer: 15 Practical Tips.

Last week, I started last week taking a BookWise writing course from the New York Times best selling author Richard Paul Evans and am anxious to see how my writing will improve during the next year. So I’m starting out by seeing how I am doing on the fifteen areas and then I’ll
rank myself in a year.

The Fifteen Steps

Read great writers ~ (A-) This one is easy. I’m always reading the words of the great writers. Now I find myself paying more attention to the way the author describes things, the word order, and the language he or she uses. I want to read more fiction.
Write a lot ~ (C+) I don’t do so well on this one. I certainly don’t write as much as I would like. So many of the books I want to write will have to wait until my children are grown.
Write down ideas, all the time ~ (B) That I do. But still I forget a lot of my ideas because they aren’t written down. The difficult part is to keep the ideas organized so I can find the ideas on similar topics when I needed them. So I’ve recently tried writing the ideas down on 3 x 5 cards, with the subject matter on the top right hand corner. I’m hoping that
will keep me a little better organized.
Creating a Writing Ritual ~ Wow – (F) I fail here. I’m having a hard time currently creating a ritual out of anything.
Just write ~ (B+) I generally do well in this area. That first blank page doesn’t usually scare me. It’s usually the 3^rdpage, about half way down, that all of the sudden seems to stare back.
Eliminate distractions ~ (D) Nearly failing in that area as well. I’m a busy mom that educates here children and home, volunteers, and runs a business. With kids home all the time there are always distractions.
Plan then write ~ (B) Yes, for the most part I do that, but my plan is constantly changing and evolving. Interestingly, Richard Paul Evans said he rarely makes an outline or detailed plan, but that he knows that is very unusual.
Experiment ~ (B-) I’ll have to do more experimenting. I usually follow the same Leisa Watkins style, but experiment in writing on different topics.
Revise ~ (B-) I thought I did well in this area, atleast until Richard says he usually revises his novels over 800 times. Perhaps, that is one of the primary reasons he has had some many books on the New York Times Best Seller List. Last week I would have given me a B+.
Be concise ~ (B).
Use Powerful Sentences ~ (B-) But, I’m getting better at this. As the original article said, I find this is much easier in the revision stage. I can write great sentences the first time, but the powerful sentence comes during the revision stage.
Get Feedback ~ (B) Yes, and no. I should do better in this area.
Put Yourself Out There ~ (B) That’s the advantage of blogs. What may have gone in my notebook at home can now be put “out there” for the world to see. But that can be such a disadvantage as well. Blogs are quick and rarely include much revision. People are often to
hasty in their writing and don’t consider the long-term consequences of a
quick blog posting.
Learn to be conversational ~ (B-) Conversational tone is something I need to work on. I don’t believe I’m a stiff writer that writes over the heads of others, but still I believe I can definitely improve in this area.
Start and End Strong ~ (B+) With most my writing I want people to think about their lives in a different way. And the easiest way to do that is with a strong beginning that gets them thinking, followed by a strong ending that keeps them thinking. I feel I generally do fairly well in this area.