Tuesday, January 06, 2009

What I'm fantastic at

Remember your careers teachers telling you that interviewers are going to ask you what your weaknesses are? And that you should say "Well, perhaps I can be too much of a perfectionist"?

Such bollocks. And yet, it was prescient bollocks because it foresaw the world of the writer's blog: obviously one writes in order to communicate precisely how huge our egos are but, still, there's at the very least a frisson of self-advertising in doing it. I don't think I've got any work through talking to you like this but I can immediately think of times when an editor has read what I've written so I'm aware that this cannot be the entirely relaxed, artless chat that one would like.

So when Piers picks up a meme from Lara, and others before her, asking for us all to say what we're good and bad at in writing, I'm going to go out on limbs and say the Good just might be emphasised over the bad. Even down to initial capital letters.

And why not? I hear the challenge and I dive in with gusto:

WHAT I'M FANTASTIC AT
Dialogue, characters and pace that mean my material has life and verve right there on the page.

what i'm bad at
Well, perhaps I can be too much of a perfectionist.

William

9 comments:

Adaddinsane said...

That's just naughty.

Happy New One, Willum.

Preston Garrett said...

Good answer!

I've been hoping to avoid this one. Can I copy your answer if it finally gets me?

Piers said...

And this, people, is why they created evidence-based interviews.

"So William, can you tell me about a time when you had a problem with your writing, and how you overcame it?"

William Gallagher said...

Yes.

William

Piers said...

[Marks a zero on the pad for "No evidence one way or the other", then moves to the next question]

William Gallagher said...

Should I give up trying to get into the Piers drama school and settle for Rada instead?

WG

Piers said...

It's probably for the best.

William Gallagher said...

There you go! We agree on something!

W

Piers said...

Had to happen in the end. Law of averages.