Writing as an Introvert

I’m a week overdue for this topic. This week was a bit crazy at work, and I really had to fall back on my own advice time and time again to stay within in my own limits.

However, I keep thinking about how there are a plethora of quotes out in the world about how writing is a profession for introverts. That we want to tell a story, but not make eye contact doing it. (These are generalizations of easy to find quotes, I’m just being lazy today.) What the world doesn’t tell would-be writers these days, though, is that while we introverts have our comfort zone when it comes to the written word, we’ll be trapped in our own limitations without some amount of socializing.

This leads me to my introvert-driven dilemma. I want to connect with fellow writers, I like reading the works of others and have them provide feedback. It’s truly a wonderful feeling to find such connections in the great wide world. But what happens when we need to be the ones to provide the feedback? What happens when we become the ones who have to step into the front of the proverbial classroom and give our report?

As a way to interact more, I volunteered to do some judging on Wattpad. This introduced me to some fellow writers I never would have found on my own, and that part I enjoyed. But then I actually had to cast a verdict, and I froze in fear. I didn’t want to alienate anyone so early on. I wanted to keep a positive vibe going – I wanted to stay friends, of a sort.

Now this contrasts sharply with my skills as an editor. Raised by a professional editor, I started from a young age editing the works of others, and I’m halfway decent at it. I can even rip my own works to shreds when I’m feeling the need for it. So there is the possibility that I could realistically look at the works of others and cast a fair minded professional opinion. But that risks alienating those I just met. As a borderline INTJ, I shouldn’t care what others think of me. The truth is, though, that sometimes I do, especially when it comes to fostering would-be writer friends.

This contrast of wanting to be an introvert but also wanting to interact is on painful display when it comes to making comments on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. Trust me when I say that it takes a lot for us introverts to come out of our shell, and I’m finding that it takes even more when there is no option of a face to face explanation of the context to what we may say when we do. It’s a conundrum, one I haven’t quite found the solution to. For now, I’ll stay back in the shadows, and judge and comment as a reader, not as a fellow writer. At least then, there is so much less room for error, and for this introverted perfectionist, that just might mean all the difference in the world.

Until next time –

L.E.