No, I'm not a good writer, I'm an awesome writer! If you say the same statement three times a day everyday it becomes true...or something. Lets hope this works...
Am I a good writer? Right now, I'd say no. I'm not complete crap but I don't think I've reached the level of good yet. But the potential is there.
I think I have potential, but there's plenty to improve on and that's exactly what I'm in the process of doing. Always the student, but hoping to be the teacher...
Depends on my mood really. I know I'm good, but need polished but I am often far too critical about my work.
Hm... I made a reply at length in this topic early this morning before I went to bed, and now it's gone. I know it posted at the time because I went back and checked it a little later. Ah, the internet! I love it so... Anyway: Judging from the number of people who over the years have told me that I cannot or should not write, then it seems that I am not a very good writer. Judging from my comparison of my writing with that of those who have told me I can't write, however, I seem to be a very good writer, or at least a passable one. It's normal to get discouraged with your writing from time to time, especially if you are one of those people who sets very high standards for him/herself. But really, you just have to keep plugging away. Personally I don't care whether I can write well or not--I just think it's fun and there's always a new challenge with writing. I never get bored with it or discouraged. If writing is really making you miserable and it's no longer fun, then you should in my opinion take a break from it. It's not like you're abandoning it--just taking a vacation, right? yours in Chaos, Scarlett
The only trouble with the question is that everyone has a different idea of what is good. My grammar, syntax and spelling are competent. My plots make sense; my characters have a sense of authenticity. Most of the time, an individual is not the most reliable critic of their own work. There's usually too much emotional involvement.
It's funny, when I read something I wrote months ago and it seems like another person wrote it and I think it's interesting/exciting, then I'm most happy. It's like I'm reading a "real" book.
Despite what I have been told for a majority of my writing life, no, I do not believe I'm a good writer. I have no concept of characterization or pacing. My dialogue is awkward. I know good v bad writing when I see it, but I can only seem to reach the "bad" (bad being subject to opinion here) writing. In fact, as the years have gone by, I've grown more and more disgusted with my writing. I think the only reason I hang out on places like WForg is because I know enough to help other people. I've tried to tell myself I'm decent for my age and level of abilities, but it's hard to lie to yourself.
Whether I'm a good writer or not, is not a question I ask myself. How much effort I put into my work is the question I constantly ask.
Eh. Not really. Sometimes I write things that I think are amazing. But overall...not really. I'm still learning a lot about it to actually be good at it.
i don't know, i think i have talent in writing (i really hope so), however im only a high schooler and therefore could be totally conceited without knowing it (hopefully that is not the case...especially because half the time my self esteem/confidence sucks and i hate conceited people...though thats beside the point) i don't like saying i'm good at something im case i'm not, but i have been told by a couple people who i totally trust and who are writers themselves that i am a good writer...so i guess i'm not bad....but its really hard to say
Honestly? I think ive got alot of potential. As it stands i think i'm a good writer but i lack confidence in my abilities and that often puts me off of working. Once i get started and commit myself to a project, i get alot of pride from the finish and the appraisal that comes with it. Obviously, i have ALOT to learn and i'll continue learning all my life. -Of course, the only way to learn is good practice.
I think that the question of being a good writer indicated both grammar and mechanics + storytelling...or at least that's how I'm going to answer. I think that I am a pretty good writer. As NaCl indicated indirectly, some measurement can be based on the market--an objective source. But that also depends on one's goals. I do think that if one wants to succeed at writing, they have to believe in their ability, or at least their ability to improve, especially if pubication is an objective. Why? It takes time and work with no promise of success. The spectre of rejection is out there that can dampen, if not extinguish, a writer's aspirations and drive if that writer doesn't believe he has what it takes. Terry
I know I'm a good writer, but that doesn't mean I don't compare myself to everything that has already been written and doubt myself constantly.
i like to believe that at some level i am a good writer even though i haven't learned anything. Telling myself im not good makes me have a long discussion with myself about whether i should be writing. as mentioned earlier there are moments, brief minute moments when you think youre a genius and then you read the next sentence and start the whole thing over.
I feel somewhat awkward saying this, but I consider myself a decent-to-good writer. I'm harsh on myself while I'm writing, and I nearly always look at something I've just written with a cringe. But if I let my writing sit for a while, I usually come back to it and realize that much of what I have written down is pretty good. Are there errors? Inconsistencies? Poorly explained reasoning? Characters who are much more vivid in my head than they are in the story? Sure! Of course! I'm human and I make mistakes all the time. (One short story I submitted to a writing class last week contained a gender error, for goodness sake. I have no idea why I called her a "him", but I did. And I'm okay with that - I've caught it, and I know the final draft will be much better because I've caught most of the sort of errors that make me blush from embarrassment.) But on the whole, my writing seems to be pretty good. I'm still improving, albeit slowly, and I hope to eventually earn money from the stories I write. Analog, for example, would pay something like $180.00 for a 3000 word short story. It's not much, but to someone in my financial situation, that's a pretty good supplement to my weekly income. Eventually, I hope to write a book. At this point, I really think it's possible. (And please don't mention NaNoWriMo. My friend Naomi's trying to get me to do it. I want to, I really do, but my GPA must stay above 4.0, and I'm not sure this sort of time commitment is at all conducive to improving my grades.)
I know that I am at least close to being good. I am certain that what I have done in general is good, but I need to actually finish a story in order to be really good. It's like the expectations I keep for my writing is a line set on a fluctuating meter. 80-85% of the time, I am just above the line. 10% of the time, I am below the line. And an incredibly satisfying 10 % sees me far above. Sometimes when I reread my work, I get this giddy excitement for a scene, a paragraph, or even a sentence, that is just around the bend. and If I don't notice the flop into mediocrity immediately following the exciting part, I consider it a success.
Ha! No, I honestly think that I'm absolute rubbish 90% of the time. I can write, I can punctuate and I can edit. I find it comfortable and fun. Creating comes easily and putting it on paper is always my first choice for expressing it. But whether I'm any good - that's a whole other story. Those rare 10% moments however...
I consider myself to have a long, long way to go. The moment I consider myself good enough is the moment I stop scrutinising my work to see how it can be improved, and that's all I'm writing for at the moment.
I believe I am a good writer. I know that if I am not a good writer that I have the potential to become one. I am not able to identify by name all the things that I have seen in reviews others have done but seem to be able to use grammar and punctuation correctly for the most part. I know my children love my stories and so if for no other reason, I will write them and tell them to my children. I've learned a lot since joining here and so know I have many areas for improvement. I even suspect I am likely over confident in the short stories I have written.
One must honestly think you're a good writer to want to keep writing. It is just like trying to learn how to be an athlete....if you think you're terrible you will fail horribly. 75% of success come from self-confidence, the other 25% from work and talent.
I am confident in my writing, and think I am good because if I didn't think I was good, I wouldn't write. Although, that being said, I know I will always have room for improvement. To me, writing comes naturally. I love to do it, and wouldn't ever give it up.
Do you think you're a good writer? yes... and better than most... but i've been doing it for longer than probably the majority here have been alive, so if i wasn't, i should've given up long ago... ;-)
