Hello! I'm experimenting with blogging every day. Because I'm very new to this, I need your help. Please take a minute to drop me a line and let me know what you think. I will post stories, thoughts, and possibly recipes (if I'm having an off day). Here's the post for today.
I'm reading a book by Twyla Tharp called The Creative Habit. She suggests that any artist needs a set of skills, and to sharpen them constantly. The idea is that you work on each skill in turn, and when you finish, you start again. You should always improve your craft.
I was thinking about that a lot over the past week, and I asked some other writers who gave me more ideas. I'm ready to share my list of skills. I'm listing them by category, but I'm not entirely sure that's necessary.
Craft Skills
Controlling Language: vocabulary, grammar, knowing which words to use when;
Story Sense: the ability to tell a story;
Thoroughness: being diligent about research and details;
Technical topics: descriptions, genre, medium (length of the story), etc.
Observation Skills
Curiosity about people;
Understanding what others are trying to say;
Listening;
Management Skills
Time management;
Project management (setting goals and sticking to them);
Organisation (what goes where, keeping ideas organised)
Problem solving and adaptability;
Personal Skills
Determination;
Discipline and work ethics;
Patience;
Perseverance;
Artistic Skills
Passion and finding the joy in creation;
Fearlessness;
Imagination;
Wanting to learn and challenge yourself;
Communication and Reach
Being able to communicate through writing;
Marketing;
Networking.
This list is by no means exhaustive. I'll probably add to it as I go along and gain writing experience. I'll talk about what I'm doing to sharpen my skills in future posts and link back to this one.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts. Is there anything I missed? Anything you think is a waste of time? Go on; I know you have an opinion about this :)