I TAKE A QUIZZ
A SELF-ADMINISTERED QUIZZ
As I mentioned in my post last week, I have been going through a lot of my old books. Theoretically, I'm weeding them out, but, in truth, all I'm doing is looking at them and thinking I should weed them out. And I've also been re-reading some books that I've had a long, long time.
One of those books was NOW DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. I'm not sure when I bought it, but its copyright is 2001. Being a non-fiction book with the type of information that never really dates, it still has some useful information.
In it, the book defines a strength as “consistent near perfect performance in an activity”. It can be any activity, whether that be cutting hair or singing, or dancing, or even, for my own purposes, writing.
I pondered: is writing a strength for me? Am I cut out to do this?
There was an online quiz that you could take. The entry code was at the back of the book. Would the code still work for a book that was published in 2001? As a matter of fact, no. It did not. I shouldn't have been surprised.
So, I decided to make up my own version of the quiz. This is what I asked myself.
Should I be a writer? Does it play to my strengths? Then I gave myself points out of 10 for the answer.
So, these are the 10 questions I devised:
Is writing easy for me? Yes, 10/10. No angst.
Is it enjoyable? Usually, 8/10
Do I communicate what I want? Almost always, 9/10
How is it for human interaction? Interviewing? 8/10, Writing partners 8/10,
How is it for writing groups? 6/10
Does it have cachet/prestige? (in my own estimation) 10/10
Is it an interesting intellectual activity? 10/10
How do I deal with its irritations? 4 or 5/10 (not so good, in other words)
How is it for providing income? 2/10 (dreadful! Is it me, or is it the norm?)
Does it provide new experiences? New people? 7 or 8/10
Does it provide opportunities for education? 10/10 (endless webinars,
learn and do nothing!)
At the end of my self-styled quiz, I had to conclude that writing was a strength for me, and probably one that I will not be able to give up. Or at least, not entirely.
But then there was the other question. Even if it is a strength for me, do I have the stamina to pursue it? Can I bear all the disappointments, the heartache, the solitary working, the low income/no income routine? Is that for me?
If there were a set of imaginary scales in front of me, I can see that they are not in balance. And, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what to do about it.
My search for an answer continues. Perhaps there is no answer and it is a day-to-day conundrum.
How about you? How do you feel about your writing? Or do you look at writers and think they're mad? (We are.)
Until next Monday,
Rose
It's not really an option or a choice, I don't think. It's just part of who you are - like being a painter or a singer or a musician...when I used to interview perspective students for Film School I would ask them what they would do if they didn't get offered a place and the ones who said 'go travelling' or 'do a History degree' didn't get a place. if there was something else they could do then my theory was they should do it. Film had to be the only choice for them because that was the only way it would be a life they could live...I think that is what it's like to be any kind of artist. It's not negotiable.
This sort of self-assessment of where you are is one a lot of people embarking on creative pursuits should do - and continue to do from time to time even when they see they've established themselves within their niche. This is a great quiz anyone can take!