Are most writers introverts?

Extrovert.

In fact, that's one of the things that makes me wonder if I can ever do this writing thing professionally. The cabin fever starts to set in unless I get out and interact with people on a daily basis. I dunno, I just like people. They're fun.

Maybe I'll do a part time job for social interaction/health care and the writing gig for funsies.

burgos said:

But each of us has to have some slight inclination toward extraversion to write believable characters, no?

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nope. not for me anyways. observations is all i need, that, and maybe some hand sanitizer...

it's easy really, you just find a nice quiet corner to hide in and watch all the extroverts...

I'm such an introvert. I have to be dragged out of the house to socialize and I get drained from that very,very easily. About an hour out is enough for me.

But I am learning to be a little more sociable now that I'm older. I go out once a month now, as opposed to once every six months.

Extreme introvert. I'm almost in panic attack territory when faced with social situations.

I'm moderately introverted-- I'm kinda shy (though better than I once was!) and definitely need time to myself, but I do need to be around people regularly too, whether they're good friends or interesting people to meet or just people I'm eavesdropping on at the coffee shop. I really wish I was less shy because I like meeting people and getting to know them, just the actually talking to them often gives me a lot of anxiety. I think I'm a moderate-vert with an over-abundance of social anxiety, really.

Snitchcat said:

Introvert, but can be an extrovert when needed.

That doesn't quite fit ambi-vert, though I went with that option.

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Yeah, same here. It's like a switch I can turn on when I have to - but turning it on drains my energy.

Strangely enough, I have no problems speaking in front of an audience. To me, they no longer become individual people, but more of a giant blob with simple emotions and needs.
Mainly, the need for something to entertain them, like smashing a big watermelon with a sledgehammer or a rubber chicken pulled from an unexpected place.
Then they're like putty in your hands.

I've experienced shyness, and come to accept it as that awkward feeling you get when you realize you and a new acquaintance have nothing to say to each other. In RL, I'm not shy around people I know I can make a strong connection to, basically other weird artists and outsiders. But the alphas? The hot, successful, aggressive jerks? I clam up, I get awkward. Because I know they hate people like me so I don't like to be around them, either, despite the benefits of socializing with them. Unfortunately, it means my life will suck worse, so I aspire to be more witty and engaging in my conversation, even though it's not something you can practice on your own and improve. You're expected to know how to do it, but did anyone teach you in school? Did anyone train you at your job? So how the hell do you get better at it?
Sorry for the rant, just saying I appreciate this thread. And I will shuffle off to do constructive things now...

For me it's like... okay, you know how in some video games you can build up special-points by doing some certain-particular thing, and when your special-points-bar gets full, then you get to unleash some super-awesome-epic killer move? And then the bar's empty and you have to start filling it up again?

That is it EXACTLY. I hide in my cave and machinate for awhile, and then I go to some big event or teach a class or hang out with my peeps, and I am AWESOME and funny and God's gift to the world and it's a great time!

... and then I'm all used up and have to go back into my cave and kill things for awhile.

I guess what I'm saying is, I can't do the extroverted stuff for very long, but BOY is it fun to get out there and cut loose.

I'm definitely introverted, but I'm not shy. I'm fine talking with strangers, but I have no desire to form deeper relationships with them and also don't mind spending weeks/months completely alone. More than a few hours with people, though and I have to go find something less boring to do.

I'm pretty sure the "spending a month completely alone because it was cold and I didn't feel like going outside" confirms me as an introvert.

Extrovert, though I hate people too.

G.Collins said:

Extrovert.

In fact, that's one of the things that makes me wonder if I can ever do this writing thing professionally. The cabin fever starts to set in unless I get out and interact with people on a daily basis. I dunno, I just like people. They're fun.

Maybe I'll do a part time job for social interaction/health care and the writing gig for funsies.

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Exactly how I feel it. Except for the 'like people'-part and the need for people on a daily basis. I can be completely alone for a whole weekend and be fine with it, but anything longer than that and I'm 96% dead.

Sitting with my butt in a chair for most of the day and sometimes most of the evening has limited my social life.

When released I am a party animal who cannibalises lived experience for fiction. I'm sure Henry James would put this more delicately.

burgos said:

Depends on the day. I think writers (or other creative folks) in general get pegged as introverted because they don't have a problem spending time alone --

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I can agree with that - I have no problem spending time on my own (gratuitous Libertine quote: For what's in my mind is far more interesting than what's outside my mind)

However, anyone who's ever met me for longer than 30 seconds knows that I'm actually quite hard to shut up....I love to meet people, I'll talk to anyone.

So, yeah, extrovert who also likes spending time alone.

Definitely not an introvert but I'm not a loud extrovert. I'm not a proper writer, though.

Both!

I frequently need solitude to recharge my batteries. I'm a very low energy person so being around anything (or anyone) high energy wears me out quickly. That said, I also love being around people.

There's a caveat to that. I like being around them when I am the one who gets to choose when I socialize. I intently dislike forced socialization.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am as extrovert as you can get before you start heading back toward introvert. So, no. Not all writers are introvert.

Personality wise,I am a brawling extrovert.

But when I start writing,I transform into the classic writer introvert. I have no problem spending hours by myself with imaginary folks and writing until my wrists ache. I find this highly pleasurable and don't miss people at all.

Hard introvert. At work, I can fake it, and I don't get as upset by being around people as I used to. I've gotten better at making small talk, but most of the time I'm checking my watch, thinking, "Okay, how much longer does politeness oblige me to do this?"

But I can be an extrovert when I've had a bit to drink. Then, I get much more friendly for about half an hour, and fall asleep.

Raises hand from her corner of solitude. Introvert!

From most of the posts here it seems that a lot of writers identify as introverts, which makes a lot of sense. I consider myself to be a classic introvert...I absolutely hate being the centre of attention, feel extremely uncomfortable in most social situations and need a lot of time alone to recharge my batteries (not great qualities for a HS teacher LOL, but surprisingly many teachers also claim to be introverts).

During my own school days I was always known as the "quiet girl" and one of my bosses once described me as the shyset person she'd ever met! (I've always wondered why people feel the need to share insights like this - do they actually think they will help?) I don't believe I was born an introvert, this is just the way life has shaped me and at this stage in my life I'm comfortable with who I am.

I'm an introvert but I can't speak for other writers, let alone "most writers."

Mostly I'm an introvert. Give me a comfy sofa and a book and I'll be happy for hours. Yet give me a party and I'm there. But it has to be a party where I know I'll feel comfortable.

David Foster Wallace wrote a really excellent article about writers and TV in which he theorizes that writers are often introverts because in order to write believable characters you often subject others around you to intense scrutiny, so on some level writers assume that others are scrutinizing them, which makes them self-conscious. If you're always trying to see the world through others' eyes, you can't help seeing yourself through others' eyes, and then you become conscious of how you must appear to others. This often leads to shyness.

It was a great piece. I'll see if I can dig it up when I get home.

With people I like and with good conversationalists, I'm an extrovert. But like Jo March, I can say that it would be easier for me to save your life than to make nicey-nice small talk with you for too long.

Like yesterday when I was hanging out at the car dealer's and this little kid came in with a huge animal encyclopedia. We had a great conversation discussing our favorites among all the taxonomic groups. (The kid knew what a species was -- what's not to love?)

Y'know, I have a terrible time getting "normal" people to discuss the relative people-killing merits of the Russell's viper versus the saw-scaled viper versus the common cobra versus the Indian krait....

Kitty27 said:

I have no problem spending hours by myself with imaginary folks and writing until my wrists ache. I find this highly pleasurable and don't miss people at all.

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I think this is probably why I don't feel the need to be more extroverted. I've got seven different worlds in my head, a hundred people, and more conversations going on than I can keep track of. Just because they're not real....

I'm not all that shy; I'm just in my own head a lot. And I'm wound up in there pretty tightly. It does take some effort to pull it all out and put it on display for other people at social gatherings--strangers moreso. But I'm really good with a few close friends and could spend days on in just being in their company. It might help that my good friends are also a bit introverted--we're together... but we're all somewhere else, as well.

I'm definitely an extrovert. I haven't a shy bone in my body, and my writing reflects some of that, I think.