Eric Mayer has named me as one of his recipients for the Shameless Lion Award.

Description, via Seamus Kearney:

I've launched a new project over at The Shameless Lions Writing Circle that aims to celebrate good and powerful writing in the blogosphere. The idea is for recipients of this award to also choose five blogsters they would like to honour. Despite what some say in the mainstream media, there is some fantastic writing to be found on many blogs!

Those people I've given this award to are encouraged to post it on their own blogs; list three things they believe are necessary for good, powerful writing; and then pass the award on to the five blogs they want to honour, who in turn pass it on to five others, etc etc. Let's send a roar through the blogosphere! The image above can be copied and pasted onto other blogs.

From Eric:
What three things do I find important?

Truth
Good writing must be rooted in and draw its nourishment from truth. This doesn't mean it needs to lecture us or convince us of the author's wisdom. Writing doesn't need to proclaim some great Truth. Small truths are important too. The writer does not need to throw away invention in favor of reportage. Very often the truth is more appealing when much embroidered. But if writing is not basically truthful, why should anyone care about it?

Perspective
Writers can only write what's in their own heads. However, they need to imagine what things look like through other eyes, in the light of different times, places and circumstances. Writing that's obviously all about the writer isn't very compelling.

Clarity
From a technical standpoint, the writer's main task is simply to transmit ideas clearly to readers. Words should serve ideas, illuminate them, describe them. Ideas can't be built by piling up words. Words for the sake of words don't interest me. Clarity requires that the writer's thoughts have been put into order before the words begin to flow. Trying to patch up confused ideas with pretty words doesn't work.

I'm incredibly touched. I have a great deal of admiration and respect for Eric, and he's a fine net friend.

Over the weekend, I have considered what qualities I would consider, and I would have to echo Eric's list.

This has been going through JournalScape over the weekend, it seems, and though there are a couple people here I would name, they've been taken, so we'll head out a bit.

First of all, there's Haddayr, who is also a fine writer when she steps away from the blog. She approaches all topics with great skill and honesty, and grace.

There's also Stephanie Burgis, an American writer living in England with her writer husband, Patrick, and her lovely dog Maya. She makes me want to go to England and eat lovely chocolate and roam the countryside even more than I already want to, if that's possible.

Mary Robinette Kowal is a puppeteer living in New York who also happens to, uh, be a writer. (Notice a trend...?) She blogs about her travels (she lived in Iceland for a while, cool huh?), puppetry, and all sorts of other things. You haven't read anything until you read her "overheard at work" posts. Those puppeteers are an obviously randy bunch. She's also a very classy lady away from the blog.

Jason Erik Lundberg, another American, is currently writing from Singapore where he has relocated with his wife, the fabulously talented Janet Chui. Jason, another writer and editor and publisher, posts about his experiences abroad, political issues, where to find excellent clothing, books, and personal experiences in an amazingly beautiful way. He's also another fine person away from the blog.

Finally, I'd list theCalifornian's blog, but it's a friend's only blog, so you'll have to trust me. There's peeks inside a fine mind and sensitive, good heart. And good quizzes.