The Qualities That All Good Writers Have

From Writerslife.org:

Being a writer requires many different skills. Do you have the qualities that are usually found in great writers? See if these sound like you.

Good writers have:

High emotional intelligence

One of the most important things a writer must do is captivate their readers. To do so, they need to understand what draws people in. Being able to capture and express emotions in their writing is crucial. A reader needs to feel emotionally connected to the characters in a story, so a writer needs to be perceptive about emotions and use their emotional intelligence to create empathetic characters.

Lots of discipline.

Great writers are extremely disciplined individuals - they have to be. Writing is an art and something which takes time, dedication and practice to get right. No one can make a writer write, so without self-discipline it is so hard to continue to get things done.

A love of words. 

Writers love language and find words truly fascinating. A good writer is always exploring and testing language and discovering unusual and unique ways to use it in their work. Finding ways to improve their vocabulary and to perfectly capture a feeling or an image by using words is a writer’s greatest joy.

A profound interest in people. 

Writers don’t have to love people, but they do need to be interested in them. Great books come alive because of the incredible characters within them. Writers only write astonishing characters by keenly observing people all around them and taking what they see and hear in real life, and translating this effectively onto the page.

Incredible imaginations.

Excellent writing requires a vivid and extraordinary imagination. Writers make up entire people, with entire lives living in entirely made up worlds. While writers use their own experiences, feelings and what they observe in the world around them in their books, it is their use of imagination that gives their stories life and excitement and makes them truly magical.

Bags of creativity. 

Being creative is part of a writer’s life. Being creative is all about seeing the world in new and interesting ways, in problem-solving, being innovative, using initiative, finding connections and being imaginative.

Excellent observational skills. 

Writers are like sponges. They keep their eyes and ears open all the time. They watch and absorb everything, from the way people interact and talk to how the sky looks just before the sun appears. They observe it all and try to find the words to describe what they have seen.

Self-motivation. 

Writers have the constant challenge of being their own bosses, or managing their own time, of having to market themselves, and organise themselves - let alone find any time actually to write. Being self-motivated is a huge part of any writers life and the more self-motivation a writer has, the better they will be.

These are some of the qualities found in all great writers - what qualities do you think great writers should have? Share them with us here!

I must admit self-motivation and lots of discipline are the areas in which I am the weakest, but I do my best at these when I need to. I haven't been writing much in the last day or two except my on blog. But that's still something. I want to get back on one of the stories I am working on soon.

As for trying to absorb everything--I still haven't gotten into the habit of taking a notebook with me wherever I go. I may try to remember things I saw away from home when I get home, but I don't always remember to do so. Most often only if I see something I absolutely want to recall. I've wanted to try using dreams, but can only vaguely recall them the next day.  Right now, I'm trying to remember a dream I had one or two nights ago! I'm going to try even harder on this one.

But I have always been creative and imaginative probably one of the reasons I have found myself writing. It's too bad I didn't write down some of the imaginative ideas I have had. But now I'm trying to do more of that.

I like people, but have been more of an introvert and a loner. Going to the mental health center where I work has helped me make better acquaintances. I spend as much time as I have to when I work, and as much time as I want when not working. 

I try not to repeat words or phrases in the same paragraph or sentence when I can use an alternative phrase or word that can mean the same thing. 

I've done the best I can to capture emotions. Trying to remember emotions I had in the past can be tricky, so I try to say what I think best emotionally describes the action mentioned. 

How many of these qualities do you feel you possess?