How suitable are INTJs and INTPs as writers?

[Cocoa]

Hi everyone, I'd like to find out what are your thoughts on becoming a writer? Is it possible for INTx to write fiction? Does our thinking preference cloud our imagination?

[ToC]

IMO most of the very best fiction of any genre is written by INTPs and INTJs. Look at Sci Fi cults... almost 75% INTP.

You can't tell me that authors like Micheal Crichton aren't INTJ.

[Synamon]

I second that, most writers in any genre seem to be INxx. I can't think of any reason a T preference would impair someone's ability to write fiction.

[phantasma]

Certainly. I don't know if this is my lack of experience, or just natural tendencies, but I can write well. I have a thing for words. I just can't seem to put interesting plots together and stick with them as I write.

[Cocoa]

I've read somewhere that the best authors are INFP.... which worried me greatly as my feeling side is nearly extinct. :) I can be a great writer, logical, and sense-making and so on. It makes me good at writing articles and essays as I can write a good analytical work.

My problem becomes when I venture into feelings. Most people prefer and identify with characters that are feelers (think Bella from Twilight) and the cold thinker is usually a villain. Personally I love the thinking characters more myself as I can understand the choices that they make that are logical.

What do you guys think of Feelers or Thinkers as characters? Which ones do you prefer? Any good Thinking characters out there? ( So far Dexter and Mr. Darcy come to mind...)

[Zer0]

IMHO, we are well-versed people. But I think the T trait will have some effect on the writing style which I think for my case is reflected through rich detailing in environment but not as much in character's feeling/thought.

[True Rune]

I'm certain they can write. But I don't like to write, as I see it as work. But write I shall! I can be a little eloquent when I would wish it so.

[Ender]

I don't know about my potential as a writer in relation to being an INTJ, but I feel that such a thing would be a huge undertaking and I fear I would get bogged down in the details. Not to mention the perfectionism.

Admittedly I might have trouble getting into the shoes of a really expressive feeling character, but I also have a brash confidence that I could pull off writing if I really wanted to. This part definitely can relate to being an INTJ I think.

[ToC]

Characterization is one of my greatest strengths as a writer. It's why I kind of became obsessed with psychology when i was 14.

[simoncpu]

It's easy to make a character that is a feeler... just make her do illogical things (i.e., I will kill all of you because I'm mad! Aaaaaaargh!)

[Freedom Geek]

Us INTXs are great writers. However non-NTs often don't like our work (when we're writing the way we want to write) meaning that it is difficult to get into the business.

[playthestatic]

I'm inclined to think that INTPs are better writers - their Ne tends to be a great help in generating endless possibilities and ideas for stories. Feel free to correct me on this. I remember in school when I was in English class; we were doing creative writing, and the teacher decided to let us write about anything we wanted, anything at all. I was talking to my INTP friend. I was lamenting that I needed a starting point, some prompt that I could base my narrative on. She was quite surprised, saying she wrote best when given absolute freedom, so she was free to write anything that came into her head. Similarly, in art class, I often needed a prompt of sorts to project at least a vague structure I could work within, while my INTP friend was quite content to pluck ideas out of midair (or so it seemed). Hopefully this makes sense.

Then again, I suppose this only illustrates the differences of how INTPs and INTJs work creatively, and makes no allusions to skill in this area.

[Freedom Geek]

I'm inclined to think that INTPs are better writers - their Ne tends to be a great help in generating endless possibilities and ideas for stories. Feel free to correct me on this. I remember in school when I was in English class; we were doing creative writing, and the teacher decided to let us write about anything we wanted, anything at all. I was talking to my INTP friend. I was lamenting that I needed a starting point, some prompt that I could base my narrative on. She was quite surprised, saying she wrote best when given absolute freedom, so she was free to write anything that came into her head. Similarly, in art class, I often needed a prompt of sorts to project at least a vague structure I could work within, while my INTP friend was quite content to pluck ideas out of midair (or so it seemed). Hopefully this makes sense.

Then again, I suppose this only illustrates the differences of how INTPs and INTJs work creatively, and makes no allusions to skill in this area.

What I do is simply think about what issues and themes I find important and base it on that.

[callmemigs]

I think INTPs are better at technical writing whereas INFPs and INFJs are better novelists than everyone else. INTJs can be good writers on journalism or thesis regarding scienctific discoveries.

Depends on the person. Writing is in the passion, not the personality type. ESFPs can be good writers too unless they know how to discipline themselves.

[MrLonelyhearts]

Most of my favorite fiction writers are NTs (or at least, very twisted NFs).

Any type can write (whether they're good is a different matter).

I know an ESFP "Poet"...She's terrible, but she still thinks herself a poet.

[walden]

I would think INTJs would be great at writing essays but might have trouble writing fiction. That's the case for me at least.

[Cocoa]

I would think INTJs would be great at writing essays but might have trouble writing fiction. That's the case for me at least.

This is basically what I fear. That it will suck.... and what's worse, that I've put in so much effort, time.... sweat, blood and tears and it ends up being "blah". I used to have a hard time coming up with ideas where to take the story, but since then I've started leaning more to a P from a J, and so it's starting to formulate.

Like I said before, I remember reading somewhere that INFPs are most successful at writing, but this is perhaps because they can create characters that are emotional and therefore appeal to the rather emotional general populace.

On the other hand, people often tell me, just off hand, that my writing is funny and that I should write, which only gives me hope... but I'm too terrified to waste resources on an unknown outcome.

[questionableme]

I find essay writing very logical. If your points are clear, concise, and build on each other appropriately, then your essay will be fine. The one trouble I find with essays is that they tend to be kind of repetitive, because the essay writer often stresses a particular point over and over again. Can't the reader just be trusted to remember what you're trying to show?

As for fiction writing, I learned in high school that there are some aspects with which I am more comfortable than others. For instance, I'm not very good at writing flowing descriptions. (Often I find such descriptions kind of cheesy in other people's work.) My writing tends to be pretty functional, so there aren't a lot of unnecessary adornments floating around.

If I'm describing a character, I would tend not to describe what they were feeling. Instead, I would be more likely to describe their actions in detail, as if I were a very careful observer, the hope being that these things would somehow naturally convey the emotions that I desire. In some ways, this is nice, because it fits into the whole "show don't tell" philosophy, but I feel that there are also aspects of how a person feels that can't very well be described in this manner.

In summary, I like to write fiction so as to engage the reader's logical sensibilities before their emotions, probably because that's the way I approach the world. But I realize that many people may not have the energy to read that kind of writing, and it also seems a bit colder than some might enjoy.

[Rohsiph]

I've been seriously pursuing creative writing through the majority of my higher education. Of all the dreams I still latch on to, and those I most want to accomplish in my life, at the top are those wherein I find success as an artist--and I've been told for years that my greatest artistic talent is my writing.

It has been difficult . . . I'm very recently graduated with a BA in English and Philosophy, and am (cringing) waiting to hear back from MFA programs in Fiction. The writing sample I sent out consisted of a piece I think is a successful experimental sci-fi thing with an unreliable first-person narrator, and a young-adult coming-of-age story with a protagonist who has a somewhat girly disposition.

Which is to say, I think I've found in myself a capacity to write across a range of styles and voices.

A recurring comment from critiquers who say more than "I Love It!" or "That's pretty good" or something equally banal and meaningless has to do with not entirely understanding the interior feelings of my characters, but this is something I've been making slow, deliberate progress on.

I'm sure it's possible. I hope to be one of the success stories a few years from now. I've chosen the path of the artist such that to diverge at this point would be catastrophic to my sense of self and overall purpose. It's almost a life-or-death thing for me at the moment . . . I'm putting off finding a stable, long-range career in favor of finally outlining and working on completing a manuscript for my first fiction novel.

The thing is, I've convinced myself that I can pull it off . . . or at least I will be fully convinced so long as I'm accepted into one of the dozen programs I've applied to. Two months or so and I'll know--either I'll be radiantly happy, beaming joy and love for the universe unlike I ever have before, or I'll be depressed close to the point of suicide, the sword dropping quickly above my head.

If I remember, I'll post back about how it goes :)

[sagewolf]

I write... or I attempt to write... :-/

Ahem. I string words together in such a manner as to resemble a piece of fiction insofar as it has a beginning, a middle, and an end, with a plot, characters and a sketchy setting to tie the entire package together. There.

I am actually quite good with words on a whole, and I've been told that I'm quite good at characterisation in the past as well. I don't know if I believe the latter point. The only thing I absolutely know about my writing is that I'm horrible at plotting longer stories, so I've stayed steadily with shorter works of late. I have discovered that I enjoy using such techniques as pathetic fallacy and running metaphor, so I go to the trouble of including them in my works, as much as I can at the moment... I really have to concentrate on my portfolio for college (I'm applying to an Animation degree course, and it has to be done for March). I know quite a lot of other NTs who are writers, though, although the only other person in my peer group who's interested in it is closer (I think) to INFP.

I don't think my Ne as opposed to Ni has anything to do with anything... other than the awfulness (read: complete absence) of my physical descriptions of characters and settings (just like my Se). 'Show don't tell' is my motto because I don't know how to tell in the first place at all, so I pretend it was always intentional.

[walden]

This is basically what I fear. That it will suck.... and what's worse, that I've put in so much effort, time.... sweat, blood and tears and it ends up being "blah". I used to have a hard time coming up with ideas where to take the story, but since then I've started leaning more to a P from a J, and so it's starting to formulate.

Like I said before, I remember reading somewhere that INFPs are most successful at writing, but this is perhaps because they can create characters that are emotional and therefore appeal to the rather emotional general populace.

On the other hand, people often tell me, just off hand, that my writing is funny and that I should write, which only gives me hope... but I'm too terrified to waste resources on an unknown outcome.

I'm a very strong writer as long as what I am writing about has some basis in the real world. I could theoretically write fiction so long as I never clued the audience in that what I was writing wasn't fiction at all, but rather an expression of my views on the real world, and on real people who have been fictionalized. I have been told by a lot of professors that I shouldn't let my talent for writing go to waste, and while I come up with ideas I love every so often, I can never get myself to actually put them to paper. I think things would just seem fake and not genuine if I ever put them to paper. I've been struggling to find some answer to this problem for a while now but so far haven't come up with a solution.

Another issue you have to consider when writing is that the reader's reaction to a piece will be determined mostly by their image of your competence as a writer and of how good of a reader they are. If you have written critically lauded literature before, then a piece of shit you publish might be able to slip by and critics will assume you meant for it to be shit. Someone just starting out would be torn to shreds for the same work. I think most fiction out today is absolute garbage but I don't think a publisher would give a damn what I think.

[jcb]

i write, mostly aphorism.

i have, however, written songs also, one of which was deemed good enough to win the song of the year in the west australian music industry a few years back, so clearly someone other than an intj/p was able to access them.

the point being, while not fiction novels as such, they are small stories in themselves and demonstrate the ability, as an intj, to write with feeling, imagination, empathy etc.

i would think it comes down to the individual.

[Doppelbock]

I may be just rehashing some of what's already been said, but here goes...

Writing fiction is mostly about evoking feelings in the reader. Consequently INTJ's can have a tough time of it. Still, there are many INTJ authors (Dan Simmons, for example) who are quite good. Certainly INTJ's tend to do better in genres like sci-fi where an INTJ might actually have something to get emotional about (orbital lasers, kewlness!), maybe horror too. I doubt there are any INTJ's writing romance novels or any such crap.

[walden]

Romance novels aren't about real emotion though, they're about paper emotions and they're for people who cherish and want to experience flimsy and fake emotions like what they read in those garbage books.

[sagewolf]

Romance novels are escapism, essentially. People who read them aren't satisfied with their lives as they are, so they read these novels to pretend that they are the protagonist and to feel a shadow of the emotion they seek out in the real world. (My mom calls the 'modern' Harlequin books 'housewife porn'. *facepalm* ...My da likes reading them, presumably for this reason. Thank all that is holy he hasn't found the red books yet. :p) They're also constant and familiar, which I am told can be reassuring for people when they get old or something, and which I imagine must be such a perfect world for SJs in particular-- never changing and always consistent. *gag*

I think the books are horrible, personally, and I wouldn't touch them with a 20-foot pole. Yet the people who read those books probably scoff at my pastimes (video games, reading/drawing comics, reading/writing fantasy/sci-fi). I would only hope they don't judge me, as a person, based only on the way in which I choose to spend my free time. (I dunno if I'm reading more into your post than I should be.)

[walden]

Oh, I was absolutely being a condescending asshole. I feel pretty secure in stating that 99.9999999999% of romance novel readers are probably incapable of putting a shoe on the right foot, but I'm not enough of an ass to say that ALL romance novel readers are tasteless dummies. When I meet a witty/intelligent/charming/normal romance novel reader, I will be very glad to have discovered that they do exist. One might exist on this very forum! I'm just saying that most people who can read know that romance novels are garbage so they wouldn't pick it up, unless to throw it in the trash.

[questionableme]

I feel pretty secure in stating that 99.9999999999% of romance novel readers are probably incapable of putting a shoe on the right foot, but I'm not enough of an ass to say that ALL romance novel readers are tasteless dummies.

So out of every trillion people who read romance novels, all but one of them are only wearing a shoe on their left foot?

[LionsPride]

Oh, I was absolutely being a condescending asshole. I feel pretty secure in stating that 99.9999999999% of romance novel readers are probably incapable of putting a shoe on the right foot, but I'm not enough of an ass to say that ALL romance novel readers are tasteless dummies. When I meet a witty/intelligent/charming/normal romance novel reader, I will be very glad to have discovered that they do exist. One might exist on this very forum! I'm just saying that most people who can read know that romance novels are garbage so they wouldn't pick it up, unless to throw it in the trash.

So stop mincing your words here, do you like romance novels or not?

:laugh:

I can read them the same way I can watch some very garbage shows, because they are there. They are kind of like empty calories for my brain. I don't actually seek them out though, more like "trapped without reading material and tired of staring into space" reading material. I suppose there's entertainment for everyone. ;)

As to INTJ's writing, I don't see there being any problems with it. I don't think a person's MBTI type precludes them to any career, though they may find certain careers more rewarding to their personality needs.

I have to agree with a previous statement about NT writing. I think in it's purest Nish form it might not be the type of material everyone enjoys, but even then, as seen from above, every writing style has someone who's not a fan.

[sagewolf]

I can read them the same way I can watch some very garbage shows, because they are there. They are kind of like empty calories for my brain. I don't actually seek them out though, more like "trapped without reading material and tired of staring into space" reading material. I suppose there's entertainment for everyone. ;)

Hahah, I do that too. Hell, I'll read the ingredients list on a candy wrapper if I'm bored.

Fine, Walden, you're a condescending asshole, but everyone knows what comes out of an asshole, right? =P You're entitled to your opinion, so let other people be entitled to theirs, okay?

[walden]

Hey, hey, hey... call me an asshole, but don't accuse me of trying to stop people from expressing their love of romance novels! I'm no monster.

[Cocoa]

Oh, I was absolutely being a condescending asshole. I feel pretty secure in stating that 99.9999999999% of romance novel readers are probably incapable of putting a shoe on the right foot, but I'm not enough of an ass to say that ALL romance novel readers are tasteless dummies. When I meet a witty/intelligent/charming/normal romance novel reader, I will be very glad to have discovered that they do exist. One might exist on this very forum! I'm just saying that most people who can read know that romance novels are garbage so they wouldn't pick it up, unless to throw it in the trash.

*looks down at her shoes* Hmm, seems I manage OK :)

It really depends on the romance novel. Ive only read one Harlequin, but only because my choice was between that, the Bible and military novels from the 60s. And the Harlequin's setting was in my home town, I was on vacation and missing home :)

There are some romances that I like tho. Like "Bridget Jones' diary" for one, as well as the book it's based on "Pride and Prejudice".

Speaking of Mr. Darcy, anyone seen this parody of Mr. Darcy?? :P

It's by the Aussie boys from "chaser's war on everything" LOL!!
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[sagewolf]

@Walden: Okay, okay! I didn't mean to come off like that. Sorry.

I've actually never read Pride and Prejudice. I managed to read the first chapter or two, then I just lost interest in it, and I can't remember why I did. Maybe I should give it another try, although I don't know if it will do any good. :p

[mel]

ive always sucked at writing...I'm not sure why. Writing just doesnt seem that logical to me :(

[walden]

@Walden: Okay, okay! I didn't mean to come off like that. Sorry.

I've actually never read Pride and Prejudice. I managed to read the first chapter or two, then I just lost interest in it, and I can't remember why I did. Maybe I should give it another try, although I don't know if it will do any good. :p

Haha, from this and another comment I think I need to clarify that I am being sarcastic in this thread. I'm incapable of taking offense, so you thinking you offended me deeply offends me!

[LionsPride]

Haha, from this and another comment I think I need to clarify that I am being sarcastic in this thread. I'm incapable of taking offense, so you thinking you offended me deeply offends me!

:laugh:

Your typed sarcasm may need some work walden. That or a few emoticons.

;)

I read pride and prejudice, but only after seeing the play. Seeing the characters before reading them was great. The way they acted the father and mother of Liz was hilarious.

[Cocoa]

:laugh:

Your typed sarcasm may need some work walden. That or a few emoticons.

;)

I read pride and prejudice, but only after seeing the play. Seeing the characters before reading them was great. The way they acted the father and mother of Liz was hilarious.

I completely agree! I love Lizzy's mother! She's hilarious! Same thing with Mr. Collins :). On and on about Lady Catherine DeBourgh.

I had a hard time getting into a regular book, so I borrowed an illustrated copy, I think it helped a lot!

[naughtysnail]

I'm an INTJ writer. Very good at concepts (eg, imagining dystopias, creating worlds) and character studies, first person POV, and adaptation/modernisation. Not very good at making up complex plots, objective character interaction (ie, third person POV dialogue), twists of any description.

In terms of modes of writing, I find I'm best at the short story, something small enough that I can work it until it's perfect. When I try novels, I get so far and run out of steam, or they get written and never edited beyond the first three chapters. Poetry's impossible for me. I need full sentences.

I find it easiest writing to a deadline. Left to my own devices, it's quite hard, but I participated in NaNoWriMo this year and did quite well. Unfortunately, I was also in a play that rehearsed non-stop in the last week of November, so I didn't complete. Still, there's always next year! Also, with challenges (in fanfic), I find I'm quite good being given a date-deadline as well as a wordcount target, and if I can have prompts as well, I'm everso everso happy!

[Sheepdog]

It seem to be like most introverts would be more natural at writing compared to extroverts. Extroverts would make better verbal speakers. We tend to really think about things before we blurt out or write them down. For example, when typing an email...do most of you write a full message/paragraphs in one take? I tend to read and re-read it followed by editing it several times until the words make coherent sense and express my thoughts correctly.

[amberlinen]

Oh, I was absolutely being a condescending asshole. I feel pretty secure in stating that 99.9999999999% of romance novel readers are probably incapable of putting a shoe on the right foot, but I'm not enough of an ass to say that ALL romance novel readers are tasteless dummies. When I meet a witty/intelligent/charming/normal romance novel reader, I will be very glad to have discovered that they do exist. One might exist on this very forum! I'm just saying that most people who can read know that romance novels are garbage so they wouldn't pick it up, unless to throw it in the trash.


Why do you hold particular prejudice against romance novels? Not only romance, all genre novels are pretty much garbage --- some garbage for feelers (romance), some garbage for thinkers (detective), some garbage for S (advanture) and some garbage for N (sci fi). Without garbage how can most people entertain their minds? And whether a person chooses a lower or higher form of entertainment doesn't really have anything to do with their ability to put on their shoes.

*****************************************

Nobody thinks SP can be great writer/artist? Some writers are considered "far-sighted" and focus on the big pictures; some writers are "near-sighted" and can paint a detailed picture about parts of the real world. I think the latter might be more S.

[l345l]

an aspiring writer here.
I really enjoy writing and i know i CAN write, but i don't know WHAT to write. i tend to be very minimalistic in my writing style - i am a better essayist and poet than a novelist. I'm also more inclined to do academic writing rather than fictional writing.

[Hendo]

I feel like an INTP would be a more charming writer, just because when I try to write I can sometimes get a bit too abstract in my outlining of events...and more importantly, character motivations.

The way I write my comic is I write out a plan of all the physical and logical (plot) actions that are going to take place, and then I have two close friends, an INFP and an ENFP, help me "embody" the characters. If I didn't do that, all of my characters would end up being just a leeeeetle too much like me.

[Nikson]

I agree with what others have said previously; I have tried to write several novels but I find I am no good at dialogue and interaction or at describing characters' feelings - I actually find it very difficult to imagine how the person might be feeling and how to express it. Actions and description of setting are no problem. Also, I have trouble thinking of something that I consider important and original enough to write about.

[Cocoa]

I agree with what others have said previously; I have tried to write several novels but I find I am no good at dialogue and interaction or at describing characters' feelings - I actually find it very difficult to imagine how the person might be feeling and how to express it. Actions and description of setting are no problem. Also, I have trouble thinking of something that I consider important and original enough to write about.

Could you imagine like your friends or other fictional characters? how about setting a part of yourself as a character? I think that is what I do, I borrow people from reality or from fiction.

A question for all of you who published: How did you do it? Was it difficult? Agent or no agent?

[Hasway]

I'm a fantasy writer... but I think that that has to do with my "gifted" imagination overexcitabilitythis link will explain it (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.). I'm considered to be highly talented in literature and creative writing, people view that as the main part of my "giftedness." I usually write when I'm bored, which would be during class. If you want to know, my other overexcitabilities are sensual, and physcomotor. There is also a mild amount of intelligent overexcitabililty.

[Antares]

I don't like to read fiction, but I like to write them. By one way or another, my protagonists tend to be sociopaths or have APD. I haven't tried writing an NF yet; it seems that all my protagonists are NTs so far. I think I've written SJs, but I can't be sure. My only other talent that beats this one is how fluently I can criticize something; I can guarantee that not many enjoy being the subject of my scathing editorials.

[sweetinjections]

We as INTJ's would make very good editors. That is a gift rare in a writer. So if you have a good idea, write it! Just remember at the beginning to put everything down. Store all your ideas. It doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense. Then use your INTJ brain to begin hacking away at irregularities and developing a structure (something that should come naturally to you :)).

I don't think INTP's would do it much different to INTJ's, though they probably won't be as ruthless with their own work.

Also, remember to keep looking back at your own work every so often. You will always find something to improve ;)

[talkingbird]

I love writing, essays better than fiction, but i enjoy both.

But writing brings out your perfectionist side.

[DanteFalling]

I love Kazuo Ishiguro and Nabokov and it's very difficult for me to see them as non- xNTx people. When I've written in workshops before, I've been told I write emotionally-distant, damaged, abused, withdrawn, and autistic characters. That makes me laugh.

[BajanMan]

Interesting thread topic. I'm actually writing a novel right now.....

[Night Runner]

We as INTJ's would make very good editors.

Indeed. My obsession with grammar helped me greatly when I worked as a copy editor at my university's newspaper.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned blogging. It would seem perfect for many posters in this thread: there is less pressure, there aren't too many expectations (seeing how one would have millions of competitors and all that), there's no need to write about feelings, it's possible to get instant feedback, one can specialize in one's area of expertise, etc.

I enjoy writing. I find certain ... harmony in eloquently arranged sentences. Well-organized posts with smooth transitions and flowing structure have a certain allure to them. Of course, in order to meet my own high standards, I write, re-write and edit (and sometimes erase altogether) the same post over and over. In this respect, our perfectionism is our best friend and worst enemy...

I've been writing an off-again-on-again personal blog on myspace for a few years. Got some pretty good feedback, too... Thinking of starting my own personal finance blog later this year - but not until I learn all there is to know about blogging, promoting, selling ads, optimizing search engine keywords, etc. ;)

[Hasway]

My imaginational OE kicks in when I'm writing.Then my INTJness makes it logical, analytical, and very thought-provoking/thoeretical.

[voverdampfung]

I'm an INTP and think I might have a potential in writing but I would need to pour all my energy into it. I already have thought of complex stories in my head and am content with the general idea but am too lazy to write and put together the story on paper. Haha typical INTP behavior.

Yeah it's weird I have the confidence in myself that I would be able to come up with really unique stories but am not driven to express my ideas with anyone, yet.

[darynthe]

Wasn't Jane Austen an INTJ? If she can why not you? Being intelligent and able to trascend is basic. You guys have that.

Anyway, yes, I think I can be a writer. My problem though is that I am incapable of writing details, physical descriptions, you know the bulk that makes a story 500 pages instead of 25...

I concentrate in funny chat and plot, and love to make it very complex physchologically. A lot of drama and moral dillemas. A character broken by what she wants and what she should do. That is the real interest of a story.

However, if you are funny/satirical I am pretty sure you can make a decent career in writing too without more than hinting at emotions, I doubt that anyone without some sense of humor can become a novelist.

How to make the paragraphs, how to organize the action, how to present the events and thoughts is something that can be learnt.

[Eleven]

One thing I've noticed, based on discussion with my NF friend: Fs may be more focused on character, and Ts on plot.

For example, while we often both follow and love the same novels and shows, we sometimes differ drastically in our opinions on certain twists and turns of story. This often seems to be the result of my viewing the piece with a focus on the ideologies and concepts of the thing, and how the mechanics of the world are involved in the plot, whereas she's far more invested in the characters; she views the conflict in terms of who is involved more than what the people involved believe.

I could be wrong, but I suspect that F writers may lean more toward character driven fiction, whereas T writers may lean a little toward plot driven fiction (although, of course, both kinds of writer must be adept in developing both plot and character well. My friend is not plot oblivious, and I certainly get invested in characters, but our instinctive focuses are slightly different.).

[Deliberator]

I used to think it'd be awesome to write a book, and I tried to start a bunch that I had ideas for but I eventually realized that I sucked ass at it.

[BostonIan]

I'm similar. I've "written" probably four or five books in my head, and I still get ideas for books from time to time. But, somewhere in the third chapter, I always get to thinking - what's the point of this? I don't even like fiction. What if I left entire pages blank? Why do words have to go from left to right? Hmm, I bet if I really try, I could encode a second story using the first letters of the words. Oh, I know, a rhyming epic!

Just my experience, I'm sure INTJ's can be great at it, but I sure wasn't.

[Squirelznflight]

I think a T preference actually helps. It keeps the characters from doing ridiculous stuff for effect constantly more easily, and when they do, it's planned and well executed, and it fits. (That's not to make a statement about F writers; no offense intended. I know a bunch of incredible F-dominant writers.)

edit: I have found myself quite suitable as a writer. Working on 100 pages in the current book (first one ever!). I'm trying to breathe life back into teen fiction about magic, let's put it that way.

[integratedvelocity]

One thing I've noticed, based on discussion with my NF friend: Fs may be more focused on character, and Ts on plot.

For example, while we often both follow and love the same novels and shows, we sometimes differ drastically in our opinions on certain twists and turns of story. This often seems to be the result of my viewing the piece with a focus on the ideologies and concepts of the thing, and how the mechanics of the world are involved in the plot, whereas she's far more invested in the characters; she views the conflict in terms of who is involved more than what the people involved believe.

I could be wrong, but I suspect that F writers may lean more toward character driven fiction, whereas T writers may lean a little toward plot driven fiction (although, of course, both kinds of writer must be adept in developing both plot and character well. My friend is not plot oblivious, and I certainly get invested in characters, but our instinctive focuses are slightly different.).

I have ~350 pages, 170,000 words of a story written, and I would definitely agree with Eleven's post. I have a plot and I try to figure out how the characters react to the plot. I don't base if off of what they are feeling. Of course, it helps that one of the characters is practically an INTJ evil mastermind...

I've noticed that I am almost incapable of writing twists. I know what direction my story is going and events take place in order to get me to my figurative destination. Sometimes I almost get sick of having to deal with some of the characters to get to a certain point in the plot. Maybe this is a pretty bad thing for a writer to say, but it's just for fun, so I don't think it really matters :)

[Eleven]

I think a T preference actually helps. It keeps the characters from doing ridiculous stuff for effect constantly more easily, and when they do, it's planned and well executed, and it fits. (That's not to make a statement about F writers; no offense intended. I know a bunch of incredible F-dominant writers.)
I can see what you're saying here, but I can also see it going the other way. I can see a plot driven T having a character do something because the plot necessitates it, and later justifying the action with an explanation that relates to the character's personality and situation. If this is not well justified and well thought through, it can lead to things like idiot plots (i.e. plots that only work because of character stupidity).

On the other hand, the character-driven F writer may be more likely to stay true to the character, and may allow the plot to develop out of how that character would most likely react in a given situation.

I know that I actually do both of these. Sometimes, the development of the plot informs my views of the character I'm writing ("...but is X really the sort of person who would do that? ...Yes, I think he just might be.") - which reveals something very interesting about X. Other times, the way a character is makes you realise that the plot may develop a certain way, based on that character's dispositions and actions.

[CarenRose]

Me, I love to write short stories. I can *never* finish a novel, and I really suck at poetry.
I do tons of research for my stories, and I can really be a perfectionist about details like dates & times, weather, and so on.

[PHS Philip]

INTx's can absolutely write well. It's just a matter of making your Te/Ti get the hell out of your Ni/Ne (and for INTJs Fi)'s way and actually letting you write. The problem I have is that I worry about every little bit fitting and being consistent perfectly when that's easy enough to edit in after you write something.

[Cocoa]

INTx's can absolutely write well. It's just a matter of making your Te/Ti get the hell out of your Ni/Ne (and for INTJs Fi)'s way and actually letting you write. The problem I have is that I worry about every little bit fitting and being consistent perfectly when that's easy enough to edit in after you write something.

Getting what out... Sorry I'm not familiar with the Te/Ti etc.





Cocoa added to this post, 1 minutes and 15 seconds later...

I have ~350 pages, 170,000 words of a story written, and I would definitely agree with Eleven's post. I have a plot and I try to figure out how the characters react to the plot. I don't base if off of what they are feeling. Of course, it helps that one of the characters is practically an INTJ evil mastermind...

I've noticed that I am almost incapable of writing twists. I know what direction my story is going and events take place in order to get me to my figurative destination. Sometimes I almost get sick of having to deal with some of the characters to get to a certain point in the plot. Maybe this is a pretty bad thing for a writer to say, but it's just for fun, so I don't think it really matters :)

Maybe you're a strong J? This is probably why you are so certain where your story will go, and twists are harder to make. I think my J-P ambiguity helps with that a lot.

[PHS Philip]

Getting what out... Sorry I'm not familiar with the Te/Ti etc.



Don't worry too much about perfect structure or consistency or even coherency when you first write it. Get the ideas and thoughts down without processing them too much. If you worry too much about processing them you lose the train of the idea (or at least I do). It's much easier to go back after you've written it and clean it up than to try to work through stopping every 30 seconds to make it fit perfectly.