Julia asked me to share my notes on Angela Hunt's speech with her, and I thought I'd just go ahead and post them here for everyone while I was at it.
The Writer's Toolkit
Writing is like building -- a writer can write anything (any genre) with the right tools and blueprint.
Tape Measure - a love for reading. You need to love to read and do it often.
Screwdriver -- for joining and prying. A willingness and ability to ask questions, both of yourself (what if? What next?) and of others (interviewing, listening) and to ask yourself what the reader needs to know.
Hammer - a drive to communicate - writing is hard work.
Saw - enables the builder to make things that fit - the writer must understand and adhere to genre guidelines; must check fact and do research.
Stud-finder (get your mind out of the gutter, romance writers!) -- you have to know where you can anchor -- how to be true to yourself in what you write -- don't prostitute your skill just to make a buck.
Vise -- perseverance holds the writer together, especially at the beginning; there WILL BE a learning curve. You must have willingness to keep learning and working to improve. Learn to wait.
Level - Someone who likes you and can give an honest critique of your work. The professional writer needs perspective - we can't see all the flaws in our own work.
A blank sheet of paper - the builder can build whatever he can sketch (subject to skill and budget restraints). The writer can write whatever his/her imagination can create.
Glue -- we need it to keep us in our chairs. Sit, write, repeat.
