Rwarr?

Colour me somewhat surprised. I have been awarded a Roar for Powerful Words by Gabriele, which I'm a bit taken aback at, not having really been involved in this sort of thing before!

As she points out, part of the suggestion from the original instigator (Seamus), suggests that everyone who's awarded a lion works out three things that they think make writing powerful and then pass on the award to five others.

So here goes...

Three things I think are important to make writing powerful
This is actually quite difficult for a couple of reasons:

• Gabriele has already covered three things I think apply.


• I'm not a hugely experienced writer. I (like to think that I) am a hugely experienced reader, so maybe that can help. :-)

So... my three things that are a bit different from what Gabriele said, and I'm cheating by winding them all into one:

Confidence, Faith and Belief

By which I'm not meaning anything spiritual - nor am I really meaning self-belief (although that helps). I mean have confidence in your world and your characters. Have faith that your characters inhabit their universe, and don't need the world to be explained to them; believe in your world vision, trust that it's strong enough for the reader to pick it up without having it all spelled out for them, as your characters will reveal it simply by living it.

No need for vast exposition -- no need to set the scene. Have enough faith in your creation that you barely need to mention it on the page; it'll shine through whenever it impacts on your characters, and that's all that really matters. And trust your reader - they're not dumb. :-)

Is that really about writing powerfully?

Well, maybe, maybe not, it's just what came to mind! I think it makes the characters stronger (they fit the world), and I think it makes the world itself much more solid and believable. To the text, it's the difference between it feeling realistic and feeling like a history lesson or a textbook.

So who would I give powerful words awards to?

That's tricky, because I don't read many fiction blogs. I may have to cop out and list some authors who I think manage to achieve really powerful and moving writing.

So...
Guy Gavriel Kay - without a doubt the most moving writing in my collection. The way he can turn a sentence to tug at your heartstrings is quite incredible.

George R R Martin - As with many people, I think his Song of Ice and Fire is amazing, and pulls no punches. He's not afraid of utterly destroying his characters.

Getting back to bloggers, I'd like to put Bri on the list. She hasn't posted anything for a few weeks now - but her stuff is very strong, characters well-drawn, and the world is conjured up in only a handful of words. Hope her exams are going well!

I'll muse on the other two and see if anyone else obvious occurs...

Apologies if I've got the wrong idea behind this blog award - it's been a very long day, and I'm half asleep!