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THE MOST COMMON WRITING TEMPERAMENTS
Mar. 15th, 2008 06:49 amThis is an edited version of a newsletter article. It comes from Lucia Zimmitti, Manuscript Rx, www.ManuscriptRx.com
She has a lot of interesting articles there, although you also get a heavy dose of advertising for her editing services ;-)
THE MOST COMMON WRITING TEMPERAMENTS:
1) SIR STARTS-A-LOT
Someone with this writing temperament is always starting a new project and repeatedly on fire over a new idea. Sir Starts-a-lot recognizes enormous potential in the new project, and he is genuinely invested in seeing this idea through to completion...Once Sir Starts-A-lot gets to the really tough part of the book/story/article (i.e., the middle), he's lured away by the siren song of a new idea.
The BENEFIT of this temperament: If this is your overall tendency, you probably have a good time at your desk...It's like permanently existing in the best part of romantic relationships, where both parties are putting their nicest feet forward and you don't need to make accommodations for annoying habits or impossible in-laws.
The COST of this temperament: You don't finish anything...The fun you have in tossing around fresh ideas that hit you in the shower, on the highway, or in the dentist's chair is offset by the frustration you feel in never having a finished product, something you can send out and someday see in print (other than your own ink jet.)
2) THE PERFECTIONIST
She just never believes her manuscript is really, really ready. If her work-in-progress were a preschooler on the verge of Kindergarten, she would hold the little dude back until adolescence passed him by and he was shaving every day, still claiming she could do more to prepare her son for the rigors of school...If you socialize with other writers, odds are you know someone who has been working (really working, not slacking) on the same piece for years and years...The right dose of perfectionism is actually a good thing, because it pushes you to insist that your work be the best it can, but too much perfectionism can lead you down the road toward obsession, prevent you from getting published, and ultimately keep you from ever starting anything new...
BENEFIT: Your piece is GOOD. Really good. You have high standards and insist on meeting them. That in and of itself sets you apart from many people who want to write but don't pay attention to details.
COST: But if you keep your manuscript chained to a treadmill of never-ending revision, no one but your immediate family will ever get the chance to admire your high standards. Further, you're not stretching and growing as a writer.
(Rule of thumb: if you're memorizing your novel - without trying -- you're spending too much time on it.)
3) THE FOOL FOR A DEADLINE
The Fool for a Deadline (I use "fool" affectionately, since I am in this category) can't get anything done unless someone else is expecting the work...This type of writer acknowledges that he "works best under pressure." But the truth is that he only works when under pressure.
BENEFIT: The Fool for a Deadline can get work done. You know you can, you've done it. As long as someone needs it and is actively waiting for it and has handed down a date in ink, you are motivated to complete it.
COST: At some point you might convince yourself that you can't work unless you have that Other waiting for it. And if everyone in your life is too busy to help you enforce your deadlines; if you don't have the funds for a writing coach; if you haven't found a critique group you like, then you will inevitably stumble upon times in your life when you have the will (though floundering) and the time to write, but you just don't get it done.
4) THE ISLAND
Permit me to echo this: Writers need other writers. Trust me: there's nothing like the support of fellow writers to keep you going. But even beyond that, writers need other people - they need first readers, people to offer them feedback before the manuscript ends up on a editor's desk. The Island type of writer doesn't believe that and never passes off the work to anyone else for review. Among Islands, there are two subsets:
a) THE OVER-CONFIDENT ISLAND. The first type of Island doesn't bother sharing his work with others because he "knows they just won't get it." You may be picking up a note of disdain in that statement (and you'd be right). He often believes the failure to connect with his work is the fault of the reader's stupidity and not due to flaws in his writing. Of course what the over-confident Island fails to remember is that editors and agents are readers, too, and they won't slog through something that the Island's bowling league or critique group won't...For confidence to work for the writer, it must be balanced with humility, which allows for an openness and willingness to learn, to listen, to grow.
b) THE FEARFUL ISLAND (a.k.a. The Under-Confident Island or the Overly-Humble Island). This Island subset doesn't keep her work close because she mistrusts others' abilities -- she doesn't have faith in her own. She's driven to write, often she really enjoys writing...She doesn't think her work is good enough, and unlike the perfectionist who labors in the hope that it will feel done at some point, the fearful Island isn't so sure any of her efforts will transform her work into something dazzling. And so she finishes it and keeps it locked away. And finishes something else and locks that up, too. She blushes and changes the subject when someone asks her about her writing "hobby." If someone asks to see something she's written, she drops the Martini tray she's holding, oblivious to the little toothpicked-olives bouncing along the parquet floor.
BENEFIT: For either Island type, you are spared rejection, spared the discomfort of a lukewarm reception of your work. You will never hear the sting of, "Huh. That just didn't work for me. What were you shooting for?" (Although we often need to hear that, it hurts -- no matter how tactfully the message is sent.)
COST: You won't get better and you can't get published unless you throw your manuscript in the ring. You can't get better unless you revise, and you can't revise fully and meaningfully unless you get outside feedback. That's one of writing's immutable laws. And although rules can often be broken with success, not that one.
5) THE TOFU ARTIST (A.K.A. THE FEEDBACK-DEPENDENT WRITER)
Tofu takes on the flavor of whatever is in the skillet along with it. So, in a sense, tofu doesn't have a strong flavor of its own; it only borrows the flavors of the ingredients around it.
That's all well and good for tofu, but you, dear writer, are not tofu.
A polar opposite of the Island, the Tofu Artist is overly dependent on others. She doesn't have a clear enough vision of her own work and waits for others to crystallize things for her. She is far too willing to drastically alter her work based on someone else's feedback...One of your most valuable tools is your unique writing voice. If you only strive to take on the flavor that others suggest, you'll never develop your own. And creating your own voice means incorporating suggestions that make sense to you and putting aside the ones that don't (no matter who they come from)...Remember: you own your writing. Don't reject your own instincts and write a certain way just to appease others. Develop and hold onto your artistic vision. Balance suggestions from others with what you believe is best for your work. Reject advice that doesn't resonate for you.
BENEFIT: You are spared the grueling decisions you see so many other writers grappling with. Since other people will give you that direction you seek, you can zip through first drafts much more quickly than other writers and then just work on incorporating what your critique group tells you.
COST: If your critique group has more than one person (and to be the most effective, it should), what do you do when three people have three very different opinions on your work? How can you defer to them all? You can't, of course, and this is where learning how to rely on your own instincts (you have them, even if you haven't been paying attention) comes in. Then you can sift through the feedback and organize it in your own hierarchy.
She has a lot of interesting articles there, although you also get a heavy dose of advertising for her editing services ;-)
THE MOST COMMON WRITING TEMPERAMENTS:
1) SIR STARTS-A-LOT
Someone with this writing temperament is always starting a new project and repeatedly on fire over a new idea. Sir Starts-a-lot recognizes enormous potential in the new project, and he is genuinely invested in seeing this idea through to completion...Once Sir Starts-A-lot gets to the really tough part of the book/story/article (i.e., the middle), he's lured away by the siren song of a new idea.
The BENEFIT of this temperament: If this is your overall tendency, you probably have a good time at your desk...It's like permanently existing in the best part of romantic relationships, where both parties are putting their nicest feet forward and you don't need to make accommodations for annoying habits or impossible in-laws.
The COST of this temperament: You don't finish anything...The fun you have in tossing around fresh ideas that hit you in the shower, on the highway, or in the dentist's chair is offset by the frustration you feel in never having a finished product, something you can send out and someday see in print (other than your own ink jet.)
2) THE PERFECTIONIST
She just never believes her manuscript is really, really ready. If her work-in-progress were a preschooler on the verge of Kindergarten, she would hold the little dude back until adolescence passed him by and he was shaving every day, still claiming she could do more to prepare her son for the rigors of school...If you socialize with other writers, odds are you know someone who has been working (really working, not slacking) on the same piece for years and years...The right dose of perfectionism is actually a good thing, because it pushes you to insist that your work be the best it can, but too much perfectionism can lead you down the road toward obsession, prevent you from getting published, and ultimately keep you from ever starting anything new...
BENEFIT: Your piece is GOOD. Really good. You have high standards and insist on meeting them. That in and of itself sets you apart from many people who want to write but don't pay attention to details.
COST: But if you keep your manuscript chained to a treadmill of never-ending revision, no one but your immediate family will ever get the chance to admire your high standards. Further, you're not stretching and growing as a writer.
(Rule of thumb: if you're memorizing your novel - without trying -- you're spending too much time on it.)
3) THE FOOL FOR A DEADLINE
The Fool for a Deadline (I use "fool" affectionately, since I am in this category) can't get anything done unless someone else is expecting the work...This type of writer acknowledges that he "works best under pressure." But the truth is that he only works when under pressure.
BENEFIT: The Fool for a Deadline can get work done. You know you can, you've done it. As long as someone needs it and is actively waiting for it and has handed down a date in ink, you are motivated to complete it.
COST: At some point you might convince yourself that you can't work unless you have that Other waiting for it. And if everyone in your life is too busy to help you enforce your deadlines; if you don't have the funds for a writing coach; if you haven't found a critique group you like, then you will inevitably stumble upon times in your life when you have the will (though floundering) and the time to write, but you just don't get it done.
4) THE ISLAND
Permit me to echo this: Writers need other writers. Trust me: there's nothing like the support of fellow writers to keep you going. But even beyond that, writers need other people - they need first readers, people to offer them feedback before the manuscript ends up on a editor's desk. The Island type of writer doesn't believe that and never passes off the work to anyone else for review. Among Islands, there are two subsets:
a) THE OVER-CONFIDENT ISLAND. The first type of Island doesn't bother sharing his work with others because he "knows they just won't get it." You may be picking up a note of disdain in that statement (and you'd be right). He often believes the failure to connect with his work is the fault of the reader's stupidity and not due to flaws in his writing. Of course what the over-confident Island fails to remember is that editors and agents are readers, too, and they won't slog through something that the Island's bowling league or critique group won't...For confidence to work for the writer, it must be balanced with humility, which allows for an openness and willingness to learn, to listen, to grow.
b) THE FEARFUL ISLAND (a.k.a. The Under-Confident Island or the Overly-Humble Island). This Island subset doesn't keep her work close because she mistrusts others' abilities -- she doesn't have faith in her own. She's driven to write, often she really enjoys writing...She doesn't think her work is good enough, and unlike the perfectionist who labors in the hope that it will feel done at some point, the fearful Island isn't so sure any of her efforts will transform her work into something dazzling. And so she finishes it and keeps it locked away. And finishes something else and locks that up, too. She blushes and changes the subject when someone asks her about her writing "hobby." If someone asks to see something she's written, she drops the Martini tray she's holding, oblivious to the little toothpicked-olives bouncing along the parquet floor.
BENEFIT: For either Island type, you are spared rejection, spared the discomfort of a lukewarm reception of your work. You will never hear the sting of, "Huh. That just didn't work for me. What were you shooting for?" (Although we often need to hear that, it hurts -- no matter how tactfully the message is sent.)
COST: You won't get better and you can't get published unless you throw your manuscript in the ring. You can't get better unless you revise, and you can't revise fully and meaningfully unless you get outside feedback. That's one of writing's immutable laws. And although rules can often be broken with success, not that one.
5) THE TOFU ARTIST (A.K.A. THE FEEDBACK-DEPENDENT WRITER)
Tofu takes on the flavor of whatever is in the skillet along with it. So, in a sense, tofu doesn't have a strong flavor of its own; it only borrows the flavors of the ingredients around it.
That's all well and good for tofu, but you, dear writer, are not tofu.
A polar opposite of the Island, the Tofu Artist is overly dependent on others. She doesn't have a clear enough vision of her own work and waits for others to crystallize things for her. She is far too willing to drastically alter her work based on someone else's feedback...One of your most valuable tools is your unique writing voice. If you only strive to take on the flavor that others suggest, you'll never develop your own. And creating your own voice means incorporating suggestions that make sense to you and putting aside the ones that don't (no matter who they come from)...Remember: you own your writing. Don't reject your own instincts and write a certain way just to appease others. Develop and hold onto your artistic vision. Balance suggestions from others with what you believe is best for your work. Reject advice that doesn't resonate for you.
BENEFIT: You are spared the grueling decisions you see so many other writers grappling with. Since other people will give you that direction you seek, you can zip through first drafts much more quickly than other writers and then just work on incorporating what your critique group tells you.
COST: If your critique group has more than one person (and to be the most effective, it should), what do you do when three people have three very different opinions on your work? How can you defer to them all? You can't, of course, and this is where learning how to rely on your own instincts (you have them, even if you haven't been paying attention) comes in. Then you can sift through the feedback and organize it in your own hierarchy.
