What is your biggest weakness and greatest strength as a writer?

1. 94

   Seeker7posted 7 years ago

   What is your biggest weakness and greatest strength as a writer?
   
   My biggest weakness is spelling and word transferring - I do have to be careful! For example with word transferring, if I'm typing too fast I often type 'there' instead of 'their' and so on. My biggest strength I guess is that I love to write and so hopefully this enthusiasm comes through in my hubs!
   
   Do you have a main weakness and a main strength as a writer?

   replyreport
2. 0

   JThomp42posted 7 years ago

   Hi Seeker,
          I must agree, I think my biggest weakness is definitely punctuation and also grammar at times. As far as my strengths, I do not see any. As I am my worst critic, I always think things I write can be better.

   replyreport
   1. 94

      Seeker7posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I've read one of your hubs just now and you have quite a few strengths + you make them very interesting!

      replyreport
   2. 0

      JThomp42posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you so much Seeker!

      replyreport
3. 62

   Dee aka Nonnaposted 7 years ago

   What a good question.  One that is making me think..... I agree with what has been mentioned.  I know I suffer with these as weaknesses.  I also doubt myself, my message, my ability, and I often take on way too much.  My biggest strength is my absolute love for the craft knowing that words have power and being able to put that power on paper if for no one other than myself.  I often think that if I reach just one other person all is right with the world.
   
   Thank Seeker7 for asking this question.  I am reading this in the AM...so it is giving me a great start to my day.

   replyreport
   1. 94

      Seeker7posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for a lovely response and being so honest. I think as writers - whether it's fiction or non-fiction we are all too hard on ourselves. I think though that, like yourself, when we have a love of writing this will come through in our words.

      replyreport
4. 79

   lburmasterposted 7 years ago

   Strength, I adore characters and can make an interesting story. However, my weaknesses include writers block, getting in the mood for writing, lack of planning, and my phobia of finishing a story.

   replyreport
   1. 94

      Seeker7posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I know what you mean about getting in the mood for writing - somedays I really have to make myself sit down and write, even if it's just a load of crap!

      replyreport
5. 61

   KT Banksposted 7 years ago

   I'm a much better story teller, than I am a writer.  I wish I could just write the story and have someone else clean it up, kind of like the already famous writers do, lol.
   
   I have also found something that surprises me. I am a better writer when I'm not so happy with my life. When things are going well, I can't seem to find the time to write as much.

   replyreport
   1. 80

      jandeeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Wow ! You are lucky,the writing is zilch,the story is the  thing ! I think,anyway..

      replyreport
6. 60

   duffsmomposted 7 years ago

   My strength (in my own mind anyway) is descriptive passages. I love writing them, my weakness, however, is dialogue. I absolutely fail at writing believably dialogue which is huge when you want to write fiction.
   
   And my biggest weakness of all is discipline!

   replyreport
7. 94

   M. T. Dremerposted 7 years ago

   I think my biggest strength is also my biggest weakness, and that is my editing. I'm so incredibly hard on myself that I almost always produce a polished product. However, it takes me so long to get to that polished product that I feel like I've wasted valuable time I could have been doing something else. Case and point; I spent eight years writing and revising a fantasy novel. Only after I got to the part where I could submit it to the publishing industry did I realize that a well edited manuscript isn't a guarantee of success. And now I'm terrified to edit a new project because I don't want it to take eight years again. I edit absolutely everything I write, including things as trivial as facebook status updates or text messages. I think I might have OCD.

   replyreport
   1. 94

      Seeker7posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I think we can all get caught up with overdoing it on the editing side and it takes so much of the enjoyement out of writing. But do you think your exessive editing is a sign of lack of confidence with you?

      replyreport
   2. 80

      jandeeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      You also have a sense of humour.......

      replyreport
   3. 0

      KEPitzposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Seeker7, that's my issue. I edit to excess and can't seem to get anything solid written down because I'm always trying to... oh hell... I don't even know what I'm trying to do, but whatever it is, it just never seems good enough.

      replyreport
   4. 94

      M. T. Dremerposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely; I do lack confidence. And I also have an irrational fear of being misinterpreted. As if, not knowing which direction the character is looking will somehow ruin the book. Sometimes I like my writing, but I usually revert when I reread it.

      replyreport
8. 83

   junksellerposted 7 years ago

   My biggest strength is coming up ideas. I've got enough ideas jotted down to keep me busy for a hundred years I think.
   
   My weakness is in finishing a product. I'm great at thumping out rough drafts but I have trouble finishing anything. I get obsessive about every little word, detail, phrase, etc. I think I have about 20 half-finished hubs collecting dust in my queue, for example. What's frustrating is that the closer I theoretically get to the end, the farther away I always feel from it. Like a vertigo dolly zoom.

   replyreport
   1. 94

      Seeker7posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Well, I'm glad there's someone else like me. I start off hubs really buzzed up and - like yourself - get halfway through and I lose all focus. So yes, I also have loads of hubs started but yet to finish.

      replyreport
9. 82

   Diana Leeposted 7 years ago

   My weakness is I have to be in a certain mood to write anything worth reading.  My strong points come from being a life long dreamer with fantasies and a big imagination. I seldom run out of story ideas, but I have to be tuned in on how I wish to present them.

   replyreport
   1. 94

      Seeker7posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I agree, the mood can be a disatrous thing for writers and also burn out!

      replyreport
10. 0

    KEPitzposted 7 years ago

    Greatest strength: I have a story to be told, I have the vision in my head. I have something unique to share.
    Greatest weakness: I second guess myself and self-edit so much that I can't seem to ever get anything written down! It's a weird kind of writer's block or something. Frustrating...

    replyreport
    1. 94

       Seeker7posted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, I've noticed quite a few of you guys who write fiction tend to be very hard on yourselves - I write non-fiction and for me this is much, much easier than fiction.

       replyreport
11. 77

    Faith A Mullenposted 7 years ago

    My greatest weakness in writing is my speed, which is slow. I am working on writing faster, but I tend to over think and over edit while writing first drafts.
    
    My greatest strength is probably my love of writing, which keeps me working harder to improve.

    replyreport
    1. 94

       Seeker7posted 7 years agoin reply to this

       I'm also a slow writer so and have worked quite hard to continue to speed up - sometimes it works other times I seem to go back to slow mode.

       replyreport
12. 77

    ytsenohposted 7 years ago

    Good question.  My main weakness as a writer is writing fiction unless it is imposed in poetry.  My main strengths evolve around non-fiction and research and time management with my writing.  Writing is such a passion for me that I don't allow myself to procrastinate on researching any topic, especially the book I've been focused on developing.  My weakness, if it is a weakness, is being a perfectionist; however, because I'm a perfectionist, I'm strong in edits and proofreading, but the latter I use routinely in the law firm I am employed.

    replyreport
    1. 94

       Seeker7posted 7 years agoin reply to this

       I would agree and say that being a perfectionist isn't a weakness at all and obviously helps you to develop and produce quality work.

       replyreport
13. 81

    Lisa Wiltonposted 7 years ago

    My biggest weakness is my inability to use inventive descriptive prose. I always feel that I am being too forced or pretentious when I try to describe scenes in that way. My biggest strength is (apparently) my ability to create worlds and characters that are interesting. I just need to use more interesting metaphors!

    replyreport
14. 0

    Larry Wallposted 7 years ago

    My biggest weakness is that I am a lousy speller.
    
    My strongest point is my speed. Once i have the basic idea in mind, it does not take me long to write a hub, a letter, news release, position paper, etc.
    
    I once had a case where five people attended a meeting with a state official and came back to the office to write a letter to restate the agreements that had been reached. They could not get past, "Dear Mr. XXXX. I was asked to come in. They explain to me the decisions that were reached. I produced the letter in less than 15 minutes. All five were from out of town. They were able to get earlier flights and avoid staying in hotels over night. Collectively I saved those companies thousands of dollars. on meals, hotel nights, rental cars, etc. They were all flying Southwestern out of New Orleans, which has hourly flights and no penaltiy for changing tickets.

    replyreport
15. 60

    AMAZING THINKERposted 7 years ago

    Strengths? let me see...
    I am awesome, I have brain, I have hands, I can write..lol..I wouldn't be a writer if I couldn't , common sense, great thoughts etc etc.
    Weaknesses?
    Its really hard to understand me, you have to be like very very smart OR a dummy and I don't know, I'll let you know when I find them.
    Good question by the way, keep up the good work...

    replyreport
16. 76

    m abdullah javedposted 6 years ago

    Biggest weakness selection of topic and greatest strength, can write very fast, its God's grace.

    replyreport
17. 92

    Niko Linniposted 5 years ago

    For me it's starting and getting myself to keep going. But once I do I can usually just keep it going. Unfortunately real life loves to knock me off my grove. My other weakness is just starting the actual piece. Sometimes it's difficult to think of how to open things.

    replyreport
18. 91

    unvrsoposted 5 years ago

    weaknesses;
    
    Too many interest besides writing which may interfere when wanting to write
    
    lack of imagination and concentration
    
    strenghts;
    
    Lots of personal experiences and if possible travel

    replyreport
19. 91

    Bills Placeposted 4 years ago

    For me, I think my biggest weakness would be time management. I want to be able to write more, for different sources, but between running my business, family time and a few hours of sleep I lack the time to do anything with my ideas.
    
    My biggest strength, I think is self-motivation. Without being self-motivated I probably wouldn't be able to get half the stuff I do done in a day.

    replyreport
20. 60

    stas karimovposted 4 years ago

    My greatest strength as a writer - I have written two books "Why all the people suffer" and "How to achieve a life without problems."
    My biggest weakness is the Moscow publishing house refused to publish my books. I came to America. And I can not write an article on this website. I do not understand how to write title for an article! This site is too complicated for foreigners.

    replyreport
21. 71

    Larry Fishposted 3 years ago

    My biggest weakness is that I often let my mind wander to far away from what I am writing about. That is good when I am writing one of my fiction novels, but in writing an article I often have to go back and bring my thoughts back to reality. I often have that problem of switching 'there' and 'their', I have to be very careful about that. When I write my novels on MS Word I use the program, Grammarly, which has been a great asset in finding my mistakes.

    replyreport
22. 60

    emma78posted 2 years ago

    I sometimes think I know what a word means but I really don't and I use the word incorrectly. I also get similar words mixed up.

    replyreport
23. 93

    celeste inscribedposted 2 years ago

    Hi, I think for me it is that the story in my head runs faster than my fingers can type and then I get confused and overwhelmed. So that is definitely my weakness. Another is that I get too excited about a new story and forget details. I write fantasy fiction novels and I tend to forget what I wrote about a week ago. So, now I try to slow down and plan a little. I take notes as I write as well. I suppose that my strength would be my willingness to acknowledge my weakness and learn from it.

    replyreport