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dunmurderinPrompt 7: Be Your Own Light:
For more on the![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sunshine_challenge click on the link.
Ok, the idea for this prompt is to [R]eflect and share what things you love about yourself. with the idea being that to be kinder to others, we must first be kind to ourselves.
Which is a great idea, in theory. It’s when I sit here in front of the screen, with my fingers on the keyboard, trying to come up with things that I actually like about my actual self that I find myself going, “Welp.”
Welp. (See?!) Let’s get stuck in and see what happens.
So, I did what I almost always do when I’m faced with a writing challenge: turned to researching the subject to see what I could come up with! In this case, rather than Googling “What’s so cool about me?” I went through the archives of my DW journal because back in the day I did one of those “Please complement me!” memes and I figured I could see what other people liked about me and if I agree with them.
Out of the four comments on the meme, three of them talked about me being a good writer – which, yeah, I actually do agree with. I could be better, for sure – but find me any creative person who doesn’t think they could stand to improve upon their craft. Reading over some of my older fics leaves me with only a minimal bit of cringe balanced out by more of a sense of “Huh, this could use work but I like this!” Then again, I wrote most of my fics between the ages of 36-38, so I’m not exactly looking at true juvenilia here.
Things I like about my writing:
I do dialogue well. In fact, dialogue is one of the easiest things for me to write, especially if I get a character’s voice in my head. I generally think of scenes in terms of dialogue.
I get my facts straight I’m not kidding about starting just about every writing project, no matter the length, by doing research. I blame my upbringing: if we had questions about stuff, we were encouraged to go to the encyclopedia or the big ass unabridged dictionary to see if we could find the answer. These days, having things like Google and Wikipedia at my fingertips makes looking stuff up so much faster and easier. The sheer volume of stuff you can access is just…*happy sigh*.
I’m funny, not just in my writing but IRL too.
I try to stay in character Ok, this applies more to fanfic than anything else, but I do try to keep my characters’ behavior/reactions/etc. in line with their canonical behavior. I also try to do the same for my original characters which is at one and the same time easier and more difficult to do.
Non-Writerly Stuff I Like About Me:
Ok, this is where I’m stuck going “Welp” again because I’m not always my own biggest fan. I like to think I’m nice and that I try to help people out when I can – but then, in the back of my mind are all the times that I didn’t help someone out when I could have. Or should have. Or didn’t do as much as I could/should have done. Which is, at least partially, me being harder on myself than I should. But not entirely.
I’m good at Excel. For years, my girlfriend and I have had a running joke about the leader of the Combaticons, Onslaught, being obsessed with spreadsheets (because part of his character is that he loves organizing plans and strategies and tactics). Recently, due to my job, I’ve started using Excel more and I can see the attraction. You can do so much with Excel! It’s just so awesome for organizing information and for doing calculations and…*ahem* well, yes. I like Excel.
I’m easy-going and I can go with the flow. Pretty much, so long as I know what’s expected to be happening, I can pretty much handle what comes next.
Ok, I think this is enough self-appreciation for the moment. Don’t want me getting a big head, after all.
This was a lot of fun; thanks to the organizers!
For more on the
sunshine_challenge click on the link. Ok, the idea for this prompt is to [R]eflect and share what things you love about yourself. with the idea being that to be kinder to others, we must first be kind to ourselves.
Which is a great idea, in theory. It’s when I sit here in front of the screen, with my fingers on the keyboard, trying to come up with things that I actually like about my actual self that I find myself going, “Welp.”
Welp. (See?!) Let’s get stuck in and see what happens.
So, I did what I almost always do when I’m faced with a writing challenge: turned to researching the subject to see what I could come up with! In this case, rather than Googling “What’s so cool about me?” I went through the archives of my DW journal because back in the day I did one of those “Please complement me!” memes and I figured I could see what other people liked about me and if I agree with them.
Out of the four comments on the meme, three of them talked about me being a good writer – which, yeah, I actually do agree with. I could be better, for sure – but find me any creative person who doesn’t think they could stand to improve upon their craft. Reading over some of my older fics leaves me with only a minimal bit of cringe balanced out by more of a sense of “Huh, this could use work but I like this!” Then again, I wrote most of my fics between the ages of 36-38, so I’m not exactly looking at true juvenilia here.
Things I like about my writing:
I do dialogue well. In fact, dialogue is one of the easiest things for me to write, especially if I get a character’s voice in my head. I generally think of scenes in terms of dialogue.
I get my facts straight I’m not kidding about starting just about every writing project, no matter the length, by doing research. I blame my upbringing: if we had questions about stuff, we were encouraged to go to the encyclopedia or the big ass unabridged dictionary to see if we could find the answer. These days, having things like Google and Wikipedia at my fingertips makes looking stuff up so much faster and easier. The sheer volume of stuff you can access is just…*happy sigh*.
I’m funny, not just in my writing but IRL too.
I try to stay in character Ok, this applies more to fanfic than anything else, but I do try to keep my characters’ behavior/reactions/etc. in line with their canonical behavior. I also try to do the same for my original characters which is at one and the same time easier and more difficult to do.
Non-Writerly Stuff I Like About Me:
Ok, this is where I’m stuck going “Welp” again because I’m not always my own biggest fan. I like to think I’m nice and that I try to help people out when I can – but then, in the back of my mind are all the times that I didn’t help someone out when I could have. Or should have. Or didn’t do as much as I could/should have done. Which is, at least partially, me being harder on myself than I should. But not entirely.
I’m good at Excel. For years, my girlfriend and I have had a running joke about the leader of the Combaticons, Onslaught, being obsessed with spreadsheets (because part of his character is that he loves organizing plans and strategies and tactics). Recently, due to my job, I’ve started using Excel more and I can see the attraction. You can do so much with Excel! It’s just so awesome for organizing information and for doing calculations and…*ahem* well, yes. I like Excel.
I’m easy-going and I can go with the flow. Pretty much, so long as I know what’s expected to be happening, I can pretty much handle what comes next.
Ok, I think this is enough self-appreciation for the moment. Don’t want me getting a big head, after all.
This was a lot of fun; thanks to the organizers!
(no subject)
Date: 2019-07-25 06:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-07-26 01:09 am (UTC)Sunshine ☼ Challenge
Date: 2019-07-25 06:57 pm (UTC)If you want a positive spin on this, this is a sign that you are considerate and think of others. Good people tend to feel guilty for not doing "enough" for others (despite being tired or busy and having a right to say no and take care of themselves first) and I don't think selfish people even notice when they could have done more and want to be showered with praise for the slightest token effort.
Re: Sunshine ☼ Challenge
Date: 2019-07-26 01:25 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-07-25 11:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-07-26 01:26 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2019-07-26 01:58 am (UTC)Re: Yes ...
Date: 2019-07-26 02:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-07-26 03:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-07-26 09:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-07-26 10:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-07-27 01:55 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-08-17 09:00 am (UTC)I too lean towards dialogue, so much so I often have to go back and put in the description sometimes! I don't have an urge to write solely screenplays because I also spend a lot of time a character's head looking at thoughts and feelings, but scene setting is something i need to put the work into.
Great post, thank you for sharing :)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-08-17 08:37 pm (UTC)