Thursday, June 07, 2007

Be The Expert

Recently, Hotrod was telling to me about a talk he had with one of the guys who works for him. This guy was struggling a bit with his job and Hotrod gave him some advice, some pointers on how to separate yourself from the pack and find your own success. (Hotrod is a retired Air Force officer who really knows his stuff and has spoken to thousands of people at various business conferences, so he speaks from a point of authority on this.)

One of his tenets is to make yourself the expert. This really struck a cord with me. What am I an expert on that pertains to this crazy writing business I've undertaken? I'm a good writer: I know how to craft a sentence, how to tighten a paragraph so that the chaff is tossed aside, how to create realistic dialogue, characters that ring true...but am I an expert? I think I'm pretty good at networking. Maybe I'm an expert on that?

I certainly know writers who I'd consider experts on certain things - punctuation, grammar, GMC. Things I need to work on. lol

Are you an expert? What are your strong points? What do you want to work on?

I'm reading: Be The ExpertTweet this! Written by Kristen Painter at 7:48 AM
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9 comments:

  1. Babe King8:50 AM

    ex = former
    spurt = a drip under pressure

    I say be yourself. You're pretty special just as you are. :-)

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  2. Lara Santiago8:56 AM

    I know you're an expert on fashion.

    I'm an expert on creating spreadsheets. :):)
    L

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  3. Tempest Knight10:27 AM

    Hmm... that's a good question to which I don't have an answer. I guess I never thought much about it. Thanks for giving me something to ponder this weekend.

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  4. Sara Thacker12:44 PM

    There are things I think I'm good at but who knows. I think I have a good voice but I know that other stuff needs work. Always work at learning your skills better, that's my take on it.

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  5. Eva Gale3:00 PM

    You are an expert networker. (schmoozer)

    I am an expert diaper changer.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jax Cassidy3:09 PM

    I'm an expert at drinking.

    Does that count?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sela Carsen5:50 PM

    I've found that I'm *very* good at sounding like an expert. ;)

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  8. Julie S6:21 PM

    I'm an expert at my day job. Which is absolutely no help to the writing gig.

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  9. Robin L. Rotham1:26 AM

    Grammar, punctuation, spelling... All the mechanical stuff, I'm an expert at. I'm good at characterization. I'm a weak plotter, but hey, at least I'm aware of it and found myself a CP to help me with it. :D

    ReplyDelete

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