Lesson 4: Rating Personal Literary Performance.
Can we rate personal literary performance? I don't think we really can rate the value of our literary performance other than to say we perform or we do not. We want to enhance our writing, but we don't really need to rate our writing. There are so may websites and list servs ready to critique our writing. Personally, I don't believe rating our personal performance is as advantageous as writing, editing, re-writing, not stressing, and marketing our work.
Submissions of your work, too, does not always necessitate a paying market as the recipient of your material. Many a good writer submits work to non-paying markets in exchange for bylines and copies. Eventually you want to receive payments for work, but sometimes excellent publications take work on gratis and your payment is their byline. It may sound unfair, but truly it is a professional courtesy.
Once you become a rich and famous author, you still may desire to submit some work on gratis. That is the life of a writer-there's a lot of us hoping to change the payment aspects-but to date, I have seen little variation on the payment methods that have existed before my soul graced this dear earth.
So how do you "rate" your literary performance? By the progression you make, without stress, without writer's block, without angst. If you are writing, publishing, and writing again-you are successful. If you haven't been published yet, you don't stress, you access your submission market, you re-submit. In other words, you continue to write and work with a rejection being something to put in your journal and then let go of. Don't hold onto negativity.
That is a barrier to success.
Always rate yourself as the best writer you can be and be that writer at that moment in time.
Section 4-1: Intelligence, IQ, and Personality.
- Analytic (academic) intelligence.
- Creative intelligence.
- Practical intelligence.
Analytic intelligence is the only variety of the three components of this theory measured by psychometric tests. Problems addressed by analytic versus practical intelligence can be represented in table that follows (listings on the left are analytical and on the right are practical):
Analytic Problems
Practical Problems
Formulated by other people
Require problem recognition and formulation
Clearly defined
Poorly defined
Come with all information needed to solve
Require seeking information
Only one right answer
Several acceptable answers
Disembodied from ordinary experience
Embedded in and require prior ordinary experience
Little or no intrinsic interest
Require motivation and personal involvement
Scores you may have received on Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs) predict classroom achievement, but not achievement in extracurricular pursuits (e.g., leadership, writing, science, and art). Achievement in these fields depends on the productivity or effort of ideas. Your "cognitive vitality" or energy may be a more important indicator of talent than intelligence is. Contemporary approaches suggest that self- and peer rated intellect or openness to experiences are more important than scores on IQ tests for predicting creative achievements.
I. The five-factor model.
A theory comprised of five personality dimensions is called the five-factor model and it is listed below:- Openness to Experience.
- Conscientiousness.
- Extraversion.
- Agreeableness.
- Neuroticism.
These five dimensions are held to be complete descriptions of personality. The competing model has three dimensions based on psychophysiology and it is referred to as the PEN Model.
II. Five major dimensions of personality.
Currently the most popular approach among psychologists for studying personality traits is the five-factor model previously mentioned; it is also known as the Big Five Dimensions of personality.
These five factors are derived from factor analyses of a large number of self- and peer reports on personality. First, these factors are dimensions, not personality types, therefore, people vary with them and most people fall in between extremes. Second, these factors are stable over a 45-year period beginning in young adulthood. Third, these factors and their specific traits are inheritable (i.e., genetic). Fourth, these factors had adaptive value in the prehistoric environment. Fifth, these factors are considered universal, having been recovered in languages as diverse as German and Chinese. Sixth, knowing one's placement on these factors is useful for insight and improvement through therapy.
III. The PEN model:
Has two main aspects-- Descriptive and
- Causal.
The descriptive aspect of the PEN model is a hierarchy based on factor analysis. At the top of the hierarchy are:- Psychoticism,
- Extraversion,
- and Neuroticism (PEN).
These are comprised from analyses of lower-order factors (e.g., sociability and positive affect-components of extraversion). They are factor analyses based on low-order habits (e.g., liking to study with a group of people-a component of sociability). The habits are comprised of analyses of lower-order behaviors (e.g., studying for midterms with a group of people). Two principles of personality research are incorporated into this PEN model. These are:- Aggregation.
Aggregation measures have higher reliability when they are comprised of many items (i.e.: extraversion is comprised of many different factors, habits, and behaviors so it should have good reliability.
- and, State-trait distinction.
State-trait distinction is built into the PEN model. The factors of P, E, and N are those traits that remain stable across time and situations. The behavior of studying for a midterm with a group of people is a state that could vary widely (e.g., availability of study partners, locations to study, availability of resources).
The five-factor model and its components are a hodge-podge of factors and superfactors. The five-factor model and the PEN model both include extraversion and neuroticism at their highest level. However, the superfactor of psychoticism is made up of the lower-level factors of (dis-) agreeableness and (non-) conscientiousness. The big five include intellect as self-or peer rated in the top level (a cognitive ability that would be better reflected through IQ tests than in self-reports on adjective questionnaires).
Both of these models supply us with basic understanding of what may demarcate a writer. Typically, we are referred to as introverts by most observers. However, some studies on these models and others suggests that we are extroverts in our approach to the written word, that we can be extroverts in our daily interactions, and that creative energies are definitely not considered to be affixed to either extroversion or introversion. This is something good for us to remember. Often when we hear a myth such as, "writers are all introverts" and know we that we are extroverts we may decide, based on that myth, that we cannot become a quantitative or successful writer. Reviewing these models allows us to see beyond the myth-to think out of the box and this is the reasoning behind their inclusion. We should learn all we may about the writer life so that we eliminate any stressers that could potentially affect our writing career. (You may like to note any other myths or notions you may have heard about writers that you do not find appealing and that may cause you stress. Jot these in your journals, then bring them to our chatroom, ask me, or conduct research to eliminate them. You will find yourself a happier writer when you shake off the taboos of writing).
There are also numerous IQ tests available. I will list a few for your independent experimentation. These tests, I have learned from all psychologists and psychiatrists that have interviewed, are adaptive tests. You can enhance your IQ. It is not a static figure. The more you research, study, read, educate yourself, the higher your IQ will be on any given intelligence test. Through the use of guided imagery, self-hypnosis, meditations, and visualizations you can increase your intelligence quotient.
The thing to remember with intelligence quotients is that they are quotients and we know from basic mathematics quotients can alter as the formula alters. Give your mind-increased food for thought and it will arrive at a greater intellectual capacity. Mostly, have fun with these tests if you take them, don't view the scores as an end result. Conducts further research on weak areas and re-take them. Make it a "fun" exercise.
IV. Abstract, Intelligence Quotient, and Other Fun Tests:
- All The Tests.
- Brainbench.
- International High IQ Society.
- IQ Personality Tests.
- IQ Test Labs.
- Queendom.com.
- Self Discovery Workshop.
- The Mensa Workout.
Footnote:
Patron of Holy Souls: Wonder-worker and healer, a good saint to ask for wondrous vision.
