The winners from last week’s entries are:
*** Lacey *** Debbie *** Barbara Rehmeyer *** Josh M ***
Emails have been sent to the winners. But next Sunday (Aug 28) is the last week I’ll be announcing winners so be sure to enter this week!
THE SCOURGE will be released on August 30th – only about a week away now. I am so excited for this release! (Have you pre-ordered your copy yet? Or asked your library to order one in?)
In the book, Ani doesn’t want to brag, but she does have one really unique talent: super terrible singing! For example, here she is singing to a girl, Della:
I looked around to be sure we were alone, then started humming a tune, softly at first. When Della closed her eyes to listen, I began singing. I chose one of the nursery songs my mother used years ago to get me to sleep. From my mother’s lips, the song fell like dew onto grass. My song was closer to falling cow dung.
I didn’t get four notes in before her eyes flew open. “What is that noise?”
“Singing!”
“Were you singing or choking to death?” She clutched at her stomach again. “Ow! Honestly, Ani, you made me hurt worse!”
It’s Ani’s anti-talent. The thing she’s so bad at, it could only be a special gift.
I have an anti-talent too. Lots of them actually, but here’s one:
While growing up, my mom enrolled me in ballet lessons, like, for years. And I was terrible! I’m not a stretchy person so when my teachers pushed for me to raise my leg higher than, say, the floor, it really didn’t happen. I’m also bad at learning dance routines, so during recitals, I’d follow a couple of seconds behind everyone else, since I’d have to watch them to know what I should do next. It made me a bit of a hazard on stage. I think the teachers held a special party the day I quit.
That was all right. So did I.
So it’s my anti-talent. The thing where nobody gets this bad without being truly gifted. Well…gifted for the worse.
How about you? For this week’s entry, tell me your anti-talent. What are you so bad at that it’s a gift?
41 Comments
Love this concept! And can’t wait for the book. My anti-talent is plants. When I garden, I can kill even the hardiest of plants. It’s pretty insane and I feel horrible about it, but I’d never thought of it in terms of an anti-talent, and this really explains everything. 🙂 (and yes, I’ve read books and taken classes, and talked to experts. Sigh.) Anti-talent.
Me too, Janet! My husband and I have an agreement. I take care of all the human living things, and he cares for the non-human living things. I have never yet owned a plant that I haven’t eventually killed.
I’m decent at writing, but when it comes to talking, I mix a lot of words and sound completely insane. 😜
I think my anti-talent is dancing. I am so poor at dancing that I remember my professor just to give me a good grade had made me dance twice for the exam so that the good grade would be justified hahahaha.
I’m terrible at reading and writing!!!! But I’m great at Math! And I love it!
My anti-talent is not being able to make adult people pay attention to me. They see right through me and my words go straight through one ear and directly out the other.
It’s a blessing sometimes because I say non-sensical things quite often. A curse when there is something I really want to get across to others.
Kids on the other hand… I am much better with them. We have a new batch of more than 700 of them walking through our doors this morning. I can engage them decently.
My anti-talent is my lack of grace. I am very clumsy and the level i am at I believe that id be a contender for gold if it was a Olympic sport!~
I cut my arm by running into a plastic guard on the corner of two walls that is rounded(whose sole supposed to prevent you from getting hurt).
I would have to go with dancing too or any sport for that matter. I had to take a fine arts class in college other than music (which I am good at) since that was my minor, so I chose Modern Dance. I stumbled through it with a passable grade, but I learned I was not designed for that type of dance!
My anti-talent is drawing. Generally, many people my age can draw a person with very distinctive features and utilize shading successfully to make the drawing feel realistic. However, my drawing of a person has not changed since fourth grade and still resembles a cartoon, haha.
I am horrible at sports! No matter what I do I’m horrible. I miss everything that’s thrown to me and I’m horrible am aiming. The only thing that is an exception would be basketball. Oh, also I’m really clumsy, and I have horrible handwriting. No matter how hard I practice it’s still not even close to good!
My anti-talent is cooking! I am the worst. Charcoal hamburgers to over cooked chicken. My poor little family. They eat it and pretend they like it.
I have to agree with Alexa. My anti-talent is definitely drawing, at least drawing people. Everytime I think I get better, I go back and look at an older drawing, and they look pretty much the same. And I have had some art classes. This anti-talent is pretty annoying too since I’m writer, and thus would love to be able to illustrate my characters. The ironic part is that my sister is a fantastic artist. :/
Anti-talent = Sports
It’s not that I’m bad at them, it’s just that I hold strong opinions against them. 🙂
My anti-talent is for spelling – I can spell a word two different incorrect ways on the same page! I also get excited about what I’m writing and will start writing the next word before I’m finished with the last. So grateful for technology -it’s been hiding my anti-talent for years!
I’m getting super excited for The Scourge!! It’s only about a week away!!
And my anti-talent is definitely flexibility. A lot of people can touch their toes, but I can’t even reach to my ankles! It’s sad. 🙂
Haha, I know how you feel…XD
Probably drawing. Even at my age, I still draw stick figures for people, and if I try to draw anything at all in hopes that it’ll turn out good, it always turns out as something worthy of burning. I think it’s very creative to call it an anti-talent!
Mine is probably volleyball I’m not that good at it and I don’t really like it because of that.
My anti-talent is grace, also. I always have an assortment of bruises on my arms, legs, and hips that I can’t explain other than “I must have run into something or hit something.” And I have a particular talent for falling down when I have an audience (in an airport, outside a theatre, etc.).
Socializing. Yes sirree. I am downright awful at socializing with others. I would much rather take a cup of hot cocoa and a lovely fat book down into my room and “socialize” there instead of at parties.
Haha! This is so funny! I think my anti-talent is cooking! I’ve tried so hard but even when I try to make something as simple as a batch of cookies they end up more like mutant moon rocks. Ah, well.
My anti-talent is probably catching things. If someone throws a ball, frisbee, keys, or whatever, I can never catch it. It could be going in slow-motion, and I’d still miss it somehow. *facepalm* It’d either bounce off my hand before I grasp it, or I’d miss it completely. I have absolutely 0 hand-eye coordination.
Oh yeah, same here!:D
My anti-talent is signing also, or really anything involving music. I can’t carry a tune at all!
My anti-talent is shopping. I can never go shopping. I don’t like it, and I am terrible at it. Pretty much all of the t-shirts that I own have logos because I got them for free or someone gave them to me. Book shopping is the only shopping I’m good at.
My anti-talent is winning give-aways. I have entered many give aways and haven’t won any. I’m surprised I still enter them. 😛
AHHHHHH I’M SO EXCITED FOR THE SCOURGE AND THE LAST MARK OF THE THIEF BOOK FINDING OUT IT’S RELEASED IN JANUARY JUST MADE MY DAY!!!!!!!
Hmm, it’s hard to choose one… my anti-talent used to be basketball: during a game, the ball literally rolled right past me, with no one else near, and I was just like ???? am I supposed to get that??? Now, it’s probably soccer – I purposely stay on the opposite side of the court from wherever the ball is so that I won’t ever have to kick it.
hmm, my anti-talent… stuttering? is that an anti-talent? haha. the thing is, i’m gonna be a teacher. the national language in my country is Malay so i stutter in Malay mostly. i only stutter in English sometimes(i teach English) so that’s okay.
My anti talent is being noticed. I could be standing there for an hour and no one would notice me until they need me. I’m almost like a chameleon. It really sucks sometimes when I’m trying to answer a question that could get me a prize and the teacher doesn’t see my raises hand. (you never get too old for prizes even when your 14)
One time I was grateful for this talent was when I took my moms stored chocholet and she never saw me with it😜. That only happened once though. She decided to stop hiding them in the same spot again. Too bad.
Oh dear, I probably have a lot of them. Overthinking stuff and getting anxious, imagining the worst outcomes, that’s definitely something I excel at. I also can’t sing, or dance, I’m a bit clumsy too, specially if I get nervous 😛
My anti-talent is swimming, I love swimming and it’s fun, but I’m terrible at it. Whenever I try to do it properly, I either forget to kick, just using my hands, or forget to use strokes. I always get water up my nose!
Thanks so much for hosting the giveaway! I’m so excited for the publication day!
– Loreley
My anti-talent is definitely using an eraser. Nowadays, if I try to use an eraser, I’ll either crinkle the paper or tear a hole– yes, a *hole* — in the paper.
What can I say– it’s a gift.
Anti-talent — My ability to write horrific poetry. My poetry sounds like random words plucked from a dictionary and then set out in random, unpoetic order.
PS: What items are left?
Everything from the original – except for the t-shirts and writing journal.
Can’t wait for The Scourge to come out!!! I asked my library to order and I already put a hold on it, so I can read it as soon as it comes out. So exciting!
Anyways, my anti-talent is totally sports. I absolutely stink at them. Soccer, i was a horrible goalie, basketball, I couldn’t make a shot, and baseball, I was so afraid of the ball that I couldn’t catch it. So yeah, sports is totally my anti-talent.
P.S. wow, now that I’m re-reading this, it’s pretty embarrassing! Oh well:D
P.P.S. What can you win? I just started entering, and can’t find the where the prizes are listed! Thanks!
Here’s the list of prizes. Most still remain: http://jennielsen.com/archives/1812
okay, so the topic was really good and it makes me excited.
Talking about anti-talent, i have plenty of it but one thing that i can never be good on is singing. i enjoy listen music very much and sometimes i feel sad because if there is a song i really like and i want to sing it, the result was bad.
there is one time when i was in my room with my cat is sleeping besides me and my favorite song is played so i sing it not so loud but my cat suddenly wakes up and move further away from me and i frozen because i think he doesn’t like my voice :(.
P.S : i loved The False Prince very much i read it almost every holiday. I hope the movie is going well to.
My anti talent is communication.
This might be because of my shy introverted personality so I would usually stay home for fun instead of go out with others to socialize. But when I do get the chance to talk to others, I usually don’t know what to say or just mumble my words so then they won’t hear what I said. But now I’m trying to get better at communication, so I won’t feel too left out in a group of friends.
My anti-talent is probably sports. I suck at hand-eye coordination. I have done a variety of them, but I’ve never stuck with any of them.
My anti-talent is un-cluttering the house. It’s always a mess no matter how hard I try to tidy it up. The kids will manage to put the house in the same state it was after I spent hours tidying it up.
Mine is sports. I suck at sports. I get all out of breath after jogging for one minute. And apparently I don’t run properly or whatever