Introversion’s Writing Enhancement

Writing is something you do alone. It’s a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while telling it. – John Green

So, I have a question for you: do you agree? If you are a writer, is it easier to write if you distance yourself from society? Maybe distance isn’t the right word. Perhaps a better word choice would be to say that you don’t know how to work within society so you stand at the outskirts and observe.

I think that John Green has a good point here. I do consider myself an introvert but not in a bad way. It allows me to observe society as it flows around me and use that observation to enhance my writing. The best way to understand something is to watch it and society has so many nuances that, even with careful observation, there are still things that will be missed.

I’m a college student who identifies more with the adults, whether it is family members, professors, or fellow coworkers. I often look at people in my generation and find myself baffled. I’d rather sit and have a good conversation one-on-one with someone than text or talk on the phone, and I find it more fun to have a movie night or a game night than to go out partying. So, in order for me to understand, I often just sit back and watch. I listen in on what people say and how it is interpreted.

What I find most useful, though, is body language. I find that the best way to communicate is face to face because so much of the conversation is lost without body language. The shifting of a person’s weight, the slight fidget of a hand, or a raised eyebrow better reveals a person’s true thought than any words can.

So keep this in mind when writing. As important as dialogue is, sometimes body language is even more so. People often have silent conversations with each other with just a shared look or broadcast how uncomfortable they are by shifting their weight back so they are slightly farther away from others. Even if you aren’t totally aware of it happening around you, you still respond to other people’s unspoken cues, and so should your characters.