I've Been Roared!

Swenglishexpat, of Fruits of My Mind, has been kind enough to bestow upon me the "Roar for Powerful Words" award. I'm honored!

I wish I were truly an accomplished writer, but all I can say is that I must write; when I don't, I feel like I'm suffocating! Of course, that doesn't mean that my writing is great by any means, only that I love it. And really, I think that's the one ingredient that all great writers have had at some point, so there's always hope.

In the movie Amadeus, Salieri is an aspiring musician with a passion for composition and music, but without the raw, natural talent that Mozart possesses. That's how I feel about my writing: I recognize and appreciate great writing and I aspire to it, but it's hard work and often a struggle and I'm so envious of those to whom great writing comes naturally. So when someone recognizes my writing as worthwhile, it more than makes my day!

So here are the rules:

List three things you believe are necessary for good, powerful writing and then pass the award on to the five bloggers you want to honor, who in turn should pass it on to five others, etc. Let's send a roar through the blogosphere! (The image above can be copied and pasted onto other blogs.)

Three qualities I believe are important for good, powerful writing:

1. A sincere voice. Don't try to be who you're not; it will only be glaringly obvious in your writing.
   
2. IMs and casual e-mails do not exemplify good writing. (IOW, u shud pay att'n to spelling & grammar.)
3. Make your blog your own, with your own words and your own personality, instead of just copying stuff from others' blogs or posting one-sentence drive-by entries. (And my own admitted pet peeve -- don't plaster your blog with obtrusive ads!)
   

Here are the bloggers I think deserve the "Roar for Powerful Words" award:

1. Jonathan, of Flailing My Arms. Jonathan is an accomplished, published writer who contributes to a variety of parenting blogs. But my favorite blog is his own personal blog in which he writes about his own adorable and hilarious daughter.
2. Susan, of A Slice of Life. Susan and I "met" in a totally bizarre way! I had posted about a garage sale we had and, in reading my random "northwest blog," she recognized our house! It turns out she lives just a few houses away from me! Susan is a wonderful writer because she follows my rule #1 beautifully: she has a very honest, casual, engaging voice to her writing. We keep meaning to get together; one day we will! (How about next week, Susan?!)
3. Richard of German Diary. I adore Richard's very powerful writing and his stories about his son who he calls "His Highness." His writing is filled with beautiful imagery and deep, beautifully expressed emotion.
4. Jen of A2EatWrite. Jen is another sincere blogger with a wonderful voice to her writing. I'm always happy to see her blog name bolded on my Google Reader because it's always a treat to read her entries. And she is an absolutely dedicated commenter, so of course I adore her!
5. Jen of HeisseSheisse. Unfortunately Jen isn't posting as much as she once did because she had to go out and get a demanding job, but I absolutely adore her writing! I met Jen in Frankfurt last summer at the mini-blogger meet-up and I can honestly say that she is in real life just as she is on her blog: witty, friendly, feisty and fun! I love Jen's writing because it's filled with all those qualities.