RTW: Superpowers, Meet Kryptonite

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link -- or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This week's topic: What are your writing and publishing superpowers (drafting? beta-reading? writing queries? plotting? character creation? etc.) -- and what's your kryptonite?

The Powers:

Incredibrainstorming
I have no problem coming up with ideas for stories, characters, and such. In fact, it's kind of my specialty. I can come up with anything in a lickety-split. It may not be the awesomest thing you've ever heard, but odds are it'll be interesting to say the least.

Superediting
I can spot grammatical, syntactical, fluency, and vocabulary errors, or any other kind of error with my eagle eyes. It's like they're lit up with giant flashing arrows pointing at them and screaming, "Fix me! Fix me!" This is partially due to the fact that I'm an editor with my campus paper. I have to find them. It's my job.

Ultradeadlining
Time and I are like this: *crosses fingers* We get along; I don't flaunt deadlines and time doesn't unexpectedly throw me a curve ball. It's a partnership. Learning to manage my time effectively wasn't easy, but after a lot of trial and error, I came up with a system of determination that allowed me to have some sort of control over the unexpected. I meet the deadlines; they don't meet me. It takes a great amount of self-control and motivation, but it's worth it in the end.

The Weaknesses:

Focus aka Writing ADD
I may be able to come up with an insane amount of new ideas for books, but my follow-through is something that I continue to struggle with. I think it has something to do with the fact that I may have undiagnosed adult ADD, because while I have all of these wonderful ideas, I can't seem to focus on just one for any amount of time. There are a few exceptions, of course, but those are rare.

Editing Blindness
Sometimes I get so caught up in looking for the mistakes, that I forget to look at the actual content. I can read an article while I'm "editing" and when I'm done, it'll be all marked up with pen, but I couldn't tell you what that article was about. It's necessary sometimes for me to turn off that inner editor part of me in order to actually read. It's a huge distraction to always be looking for errors.

Control Madness
I'm a control freak. I know it, my family knows it, even my friends know it. I have anxiety if I feel out of control. This need for control is good for helping me maintain a structured schedule and pattern of activities, but it also limits me in the sense that I don't find myself doing new things. I'm not spontaneous unless I plan on being spontaneous. I resist all kinds of control outside of my own. This is something I've been working very hard on for the past few years to control. It's hilarious, actually. I'm trying to control my need for control. I'm pretty sure there's a conflict of ideas somewhere in there or something.

Well, I think that's enough introspection for today. I think I need to read the second act of Hamlet anyway. Have a great Wednesday y'all!

Oh, yeah and thanks to Jaime Morrow for linking us all to the create your own Marvel superhero site! I couldn't resist making my own! She's called ImagiGirl! She has the power to inspire people with her "incredibrainstorming mystical aura" and in case there are some horrible villains trying to destroy the world's imagination, her swords are at her back ready to SLICE! through the trouble. She also has a whip, but it's just there to look cool. ImagiGirl is from a planet of cat people, but since she's half-human, she only has pointy ears and a tail. I've always wanted a tail and pointy ears.

It's An Animal Cracker Morning

Image via WikipediaI can hear what you're thinking. What am I doing up this early and why am I writing a post about it? I respect your questions. In fact, I may even be wondering the same things myself.

Today, dear people, is Monday. Yes, I know it's fairly obvious from the way your bodies don't want to do anything, but hear me out. It's Monday and I'm awake, coherent--or at least enough to be able to type so you can read it--and I'm currently looking at a bag of animal crackers.

What's the significance you may ask? My, my, my, aren't you all a bunch of curious folks in the morning.

Well, those animal crackers symbolize my childhood. They also make me sing "Animal Crackers in My Soup" in my head whenever I see any, but this post isn't about my humming habits.

Childhood. It's a place of myth and legend. Somehow, my mind distinguishes between those two things and separates them, yet places childhood in both categories. Children, those little people, have the ability to exist in two worlds: ours and theirs.

Our world, the world of fact and logic, is what we call reality. It makes sense and, as adults, we like it that way. Reality makes us feel like we have some control over what happens in our lives. Reality is real.

But children live part of the time in a world all their own, where reality mingles with fiction. They have imaginary friends and conduct intense tea parties with a nine course meal. Their conversations deal with the nonsensical and fantastic. Their young minds cannot grasp the fullest idea of our reality, and that is what makes them special.

As writers, we all have to nourish our inner child. We do this is many ways, mine at the moment is pretending my animals crackers are alive and have their own names, lives, friends, enemies, etc. It's childish and that's what makes it fun. It feeds my inner child. She appreciates it and it shows in my writing.

All writers have to have a sense of the childish. It's what makes writing so much fun and makes our works rich. All literature, in order to become worthwhile, must appeal to the inner children of its readers. They may not know what is so interesting about a book because they've never acknowledged their own inner children, but the thrill they get from reading something comes from that secret place.

So, thus ends my little Monday morning post. I hope it makes enough sense and perhaps even no sense at all. Have a great week!