are there two types of writer?

mab · Aug 12, 2008

I remember reading in some magazine years ago about how there are 2 types of people:

1) people who see themselves as 'heroes' when they are succeeding and 'losers' when they fail- they will work hard, show off and be confident when they are doing well, but when things are going badly they will shut down, sulk, and give up, deciding they weren't 'good enough' after all, or becoming resentful.

2) people who see themselves as continual 'works in progress', who will pick up hints and tips in a magpie like fashion, and continually develop themselves in small ways, taking baby steps...when they trip up, they try and get other people's support and improve on what went wrong.

Now, in the article it said men were usually 1), women were usually 2). Well, I think thats pretty sexist actually, I think they can apply to anyone. I also think they can apply quite nicely to writers undergoing 'rejection and dejection.'

Personally, I think I'm a 1) trying to develop into a 2). I see myself as a work in progress and am always trying to learn...nonetheless I can still get easily depressed and sulky when not everyone recognises my 'genius'.

What about you?

gypsyscarlett · Aug 12, 2008

mab said:
I remember reading in some magazine years ago about how there are 2 types of people:

1) people who see themselves as 'heroes' when they are succeeding and 'losers' when they fail- they will work hard, show off and be confident when they are doing well, but when things are going badly they will shut down, sulk, and give up, deciding they weren't 'good enough' after all, or becoming resentful.

2) people who see themselves as continual 'works in progress', who will pick up hints and tips in a magpie like fashion, and continually develop themselves in small ways, taking baby steps...when they trip up, they try and get other people's support and improve on what went wrong.

Now, in the article it said men were usually 1), women were usually 2). Well, I think thats pretty sexist actually, I think they can apply to anyone. I also think they can apply quite nicely to writers undergoing 'rejection and dejection.'

Personally, I think I'm a 1) trying to develop into a 2). I see myself as a work in progress and am always trying to learn...nonetheless I can still get easily depressed and sulky when not everyone recognises my 'genius'.

What about you?

Interesting question. I'd say I'm a mixture of both.

One, because I work hard at my craft and am confident. However, when things are bad- I don't sulk or ever think of giving up. I just enter a mental black hole where I can be alone to regroup myself.

Two, because I consider myself a work in progress. I'm always trying to learn and grow.

mab · Aug 12, 2008

yeah...I bet a lot of people are mixes, suggesting we probably need a 3) and 4) as well, with one of them being the more evolved type who has all the positive and hardly any negative. Well, maybe someone who knows about this stuff can design a quiz or something.

stormie · Aug 12, 2008

I dunno if writers can be catagorized. There will be days where I feel like saying the heck with it (that passes pretty quickly) and days where I feel on top of the world with my writing. Then there are times when I plod along, writing, rewriting, not feeling either way. Of course, if I drink too much strong coffee, I become manic.

mab · Aug 12, 2008

true, true, I don't seriously think we can put people in neat boxes! I just wondered if these 2 very artificial 'types' might help people understand their responses to rejection. Then again, maybe not.

sheadakota · Aug 12, 2008

I think I'm a mix of the two as well. I feel up when I get requests, down with rejections, but I am always looking to see how I can do better, asking for suggestions and tryin to improve myself.

Clair Dickson · Aug 12, 2008

I'm kind of a two, I think, but I also think people are far too complex and far too situational to be grouped into pairs of categories! While we may have preferences and can make generalizations, there are so many factors in play with everything.

I'm a work in a progress, but that doesn't stop me from thinking I'm a great writer when I'm getting acceptances and fearing that I'm a bad writer when I'm collecting rejections.

I think the key with rejections (and your OP) is that all writers-- whether they realize it or not-- have a little from column A and a little from column B. Who doesn't think they're great when they're doing well? Though, truth is, psychologically, most people blame everything and everyone before they consider themselves to be the failure point. And who doesn't think that they can improve at whatever they're doing?

Interesting post. A little simplistic for my tastes, but it's a starting point.

stormie · Aug 12, 2008

mab said:
true, true, I don't seriously think we can put people in neat boxes! I just wondered if these 2 very artificial 'types' might help people understand their responses to rejection. Then again, maybe not.

Actually, it's called "developing a thick(er) skin."

KikiteNeko · Aug 12, 2008

I have read a lot of that psycho-analyst stuff, and I think it's over-thinking human nature. There are lots of types of people, lots of types of writers, lots of types of whatever. In my mind, and this is all I think agents care about, there are two types of writers:

1.) Writers who write well.
2.) Writers who don't write well.

I'm not saying #2 can't improve, or #1 can't have its off days. But that's as black and white as it gets for me.

are there two types of writer?

mab

gypsyscarlett

Ma fin est mon commencement

mab

stormie

storm central

mab

sheadakota

part of the human equation

Clair Dickson

A dark core to every cloud

stormie

storm central

KikiteNeko

.