Sharp Words

My latest guest post comes from Jonathan Crossfield, who as well as running his own blog, CopyWrite, also contributes to NetRegistry News, Nett Magazine, PlanetDomain News and the PlanetDomain Blog. You can even follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/kimota – hmm, I really should use my Twitter account for something (like following Jonathan, perhaps, if that doesn’t sound too creepy…)

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What Kind of Writer Are You?

When you describe yourself as a writer to other people, what exactly do you mean? After all, there are many different forms of writing and a myriad of genres and styles and techniques within those. Are you a journalist, a poet, a scriptwriter, a copywriter or a novelist?

Boyhood of a Writer

Like many of you, I fell in love with writing very early on. Scribbling down stories kept me entertained as a child, and I always assumed that I would become a novelist as an adult. I was convinced that one day, my name would be on the spine of a book sat on my groaning shelf.

But over the years, I became aware of other forms of writing. After realising that someone has to write the television shows I enjoyed, at the age of 12 I penned my first ‘Doctor Who’ script in an exercise book. It was about ten pages long and unashamedly borrowed my favourite plotlines and lines of dialogue from the show.

Then there were the short stories and articles I wrote for the school magazines. And then there was my pitiful dalliance with poetry when, in my senior years, I was invited to a week’s stay at a writer’s commune in the north of England. It was an informative and incredibly inspiring week, but it did highlight to me that I’m not a born poet.

Eventually, I went to study media production at Bournemouth University (then only know as the Dorset Institute). It was here that I discovered my strengths and weaknesses predisposed me to scriptwriting.

Horses for Courses

For me, story has always been the prime motivator when writing – I want to tell stories. I am less interested in wordplay. Therefore, poetry has never been easy for me. I’ve written poetry in the past – usually very pedestrian and clinical and no, you can’t read any. I certainly read and enjoy poetry, but it has a very different approach to language than prose or scriptwriting.

If your motivation is more towards painting evocative word-pictures that conjure emotions and stir our senses, you’ve probably already discovered poetry. Yet I have previously come across poets trying to write a film script, with great difficulty. You may as well compare horse-riding with truck driving. They are both forms of transport, but you can’t necessarily assume skill in one because of talent in another, no matter how much you want to.

This is not to say no poet has ever written a film or visa versa. I just want to enforce the point that they are completely different writing disciplines that require particular strengths not found in each other. If you have conquered both, I applaud you.

Finding Your Form

Recognising your particular talents and limitations can be crucial in finding your correct writing niche. By focussing on a form that highlights your strengths and minimises your weaknesses, you’ll be far more productive – and hopefully successful. You may then choose to use that success to help in learning other forms and conquering more weaknesses.

Consider your previous writing. What does it tell you? How do you cope with dialogue; descriptive passages; character development; research? What is the natural length you find you write to? What is it you most love about writing; the music of words or the telling of story? All of these things, and more, can tell you a great deal about the particular form you should turn your hand to.

When I became a student, I discovered that I continually tell stories through dialogue and whimped out on description. My characters won’t shut up, but the scene-setting stuff would often be brief. Yet long tracts of dialogue, with very little description, are exactly what are required in radio scriptwriting.

When I tried writing for radio as part of my media degree, I could immediately see the possibilities. On radio, all the wonderful descriptions and dense prose mean nothing. Unless you can hear a sound or someone can express it in dialogue, it is worthless. You can imagine that the car is red and even write it in the script notes, but unless a character specifically refers to a red car, the audience will never know. The trick with radio scriptwriting is that absolutely all exposition has to be conveyed in sound – and this throws up some interesting challenges.

Many people try radio scriptwriting and fail because of their inability to get past the “Don’t shoot me with that gun you’re holding, Maria!” style expositional dialogue. With no other way of indicating that Maria is holding a gun, the dialogue has to carry the burden, often with unintentional comic effect.

Yet I had a knack for this. My dialogue seemed natural and I developed the art of conveying information without forcing it into character’s mouths. As there was no need for descriptive passages and very little scene setting, my weaknesses became strengths.

As a result, I majored in radio for my final year and got my degree on the strength of it. No more prose for me. I converted to scriptwriting and felt far more confident as a writer for it.

This doesn’t mean I never paddle in the other ponds. In fact, over the years, I have worked at some of those earlier weaknesses and this has led me to my current career as a copywriter and magazine contributor. But there are still forms of writing that I know are out of my reach, for now. By understanding my own limitations, I was able to move into a more successful area by turning my weaknesses into strengths.

Killer Skills

Everyone also has what are called ‘killer skills’. These are the skills that, although competent, you just hate. For example, I’m good with numbers. You want me to get out spreadsheets and plan a budget, I’m the guy. Except I’d rather stab my leg repeatedly with a fork.

Hence, this is one of my ‘killer skills’.

Detailed research is another killer skill of mine, and I’m sure I’m not alone. Although I write for magazines and websites on a range of small business topics, there are certain areas I still steer clear of, purely because I’ll have to dig through data or mountains of unfamiliar information.

Therefore, I prefer to stick with what I know. This may limit my opportunities, but as there is more than enough to say on the subjects on which I’m confident, I’m not too worried.

What are your killer skills? What do you find you naturally avoid when setting writing tasks for yourself? These are just as important to consider when planning your chosen path, as nothing is more demotivating than spending a day working through a task you despise, even if you know you’re good at it.

Finding Your Inner Writer

It can be quite liberating when you establish exactly which type of writer you are. You may, as I once did, consider yourself a prose story writer and aspiring novelist, only to discover your talents indicate a completely different path.

There are plenty of things to consider when ranking your strengths and weaknesses, only some I’ve mentioned here. You could include such skills as your ability to meet deadlines (necessary for magazine articles), your desire to tell original stories or share observations and knowledge (story teller or journalist), your willingness to work to strict formats and page counts (scriptwriting) or your passion for playing with pentameters and pretty alliteration (poetry).

So many amateur writers fall in love with the romance of one form of writing over another and refuse to betray this ideal. Rather than set yourself up to repeatedly fail, why not see whether your talents can take you in another, more exciting direction.