A secret

So as a writer there are a couple things that are needed to be decent. First, creativity. Having the ability to create worlds in your head is a must, be it fantasy worlds, scifi worlds, or even just a specific character's world. Second, grit. The ability to actually sit down, write the manuscript. Put all the creativity into words.

Oh, and grammar. My biggest weakness.

I think a lot of writers come from a place of straight A's in english class. They loved writing from a young age and thus they studied it and most are now at the point where grammar checks and puncuation are the easy part that comes after the story is done. I used to fail english class. Alright, I passed with a 64% in grade 7 and my teacher at the time was one of my favorites. I failed spelling tests though, all of them. If I didn't fail I was only just barely passing them. My mother laughs at my spelling still, pulling out old school assignments to harass me with when I complain about writing.

Even now, I still struggle to spell words right. I write as though english is my second language despite learning it growing up. Honestly, when I write I speak in my head and write what makes sense. I hear the breaks and that helps me figure out where those pesky commas and periods go. I still struggle though because there are a lot of rules about the written word that don't come out when you talk aloud.

As a writer, as the person people in my life come to for document editing, this is embarassing. People trust me to make their document the best it can be but I have to run it through a spell checker to make sure it doesn't look like a child wrote the edits.

I also think that I'm not being fair to myself. Some people are terrible at characterization. Some people flop at dialogue. Pacing can be a struggle for others. We all have weaknesses. Pretending mine is the worst one out there isn't being fair. Even if it is one of the most important aspects of being a writer, it doesn't mean I'm an imposter or an amature.

See you on the flip side,

JC