I am a die-hard introvert. Days can go by without me talking to another person. I enjoy spending time by myself and I can quickly feel drained when dealing with people.
I’ve done a lot of work to understand myself. The Myers-Briggs personality types have given me a better insight into my introversion. I have tested consistently as an INFJ for many years. And I bet that most of the memes you’ve seen about introverts apply to me.
So, can I be a writer?
Some of our traits can make us very good writers. We can spend hours heads-down working on a manuscript. We can tune out others when working in crowded places (I’m writing this in the middle of a busy bookstore coffee shop).
We are always in our head. Overthinking is our hobby. I tell people that if my mind were a browser it would always have fifty tabs open with thoughts running in each one simultaneously. My mind is constantly working on plot points and story lines.
Just because I’m sitting by myself reading or writing, don’t think that I’m not aware of what is going on around me. I’m aware of everything that’s happening. We introverts are studying people all the time. We watch people’s behaviors. Some suggest that introverts have an intuitive notion about people.
This gets translated into the character development in our writing. We have a good idea of what people are likely to do in a given situation. We might even place our characters into challenging situations just so we can test out their range.
And then there are the traits that work against us. I’m not a big participant in social media, but I recognize that I’ll need to be there to promote a book. I’ll need to talk with literary agents, editors, publishers and all of the other people involved in getting a book published.
One thing I have going for me is that I had a thirty year career in the computer field where I had to interact with many business people. Also, the INFJ is considered the most extroverted of the introverts. I have spoken to rooms full of people with no issue. It’s about acting as I’ve seen others behave in front of a group of people.
So I’m actually excited to take on the next steps to getting a book published. I’ll get to dust off my people skills and see what I can do.
My final assessment? I absolutely believe that an introvert can write a book. Can this introvert get a book published? Well, I’ll let you know when that happens! 🙂
A wonderful online resource for introverts is Introvert, Dear, and there are several articles on that site about introverts and writers.
And, in case you wondered, some of the most famous introvert writers include J.K. Rowling, John Green, Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe, and Ayn Rand.
At least I’m in good company.