[Konobeat]

Hello. I'm horrid at introductions, so I'll just say I've been watching these forums for a while and I've never gathered enough courage to make an account and ask for help.



Long story short, I want to write. And while Short stories seem like a fun idea, I've never been one for poetry or song-writing. I want to write a novel, if not many. I want to tell a story, preferably an epic, but I'm beginning to wonder if my personality will allow it.

INFPs are known for being great writers, but they're also known for never finishing anything they've written. Or at least, not anything long. I've even heard someone say that if it's a novel, it's most likely written by in INFJ. Sure, my hopes were raised when I found out that Stephen King might be an INFP, as well as J.K. Rowling and even Tolkien! But how do we know for sure they were not INFJs? They seem to be better when it comes to both time management and planning. What INFP has kept interest in an idea long enough to finish a piece of work?

That's part of what I'm looking for. Proof that this isn't just some silly idea that I should throw to the lions. Should I just settle for short works? Is there any writer that we know for sure that is an INFP who's written a series of books?

I'd rather not any vague, "Don't give up!" answers, because I really am in a bind here. I'm at a point in my life where I really want to decide on what I want to do with it, and frankly, I'm tired of wandering aimlessly between ideas. Sure, I do have plans of looking into technical writing or even journalism as a career, but I would love to do creative works on the side, and maybe one day turn that into my main source of income. But is it possible?

Any advice on keeping dedicated to a project is also welcome! Thanks in advance.

[StellarTwirl]

Unfortunately I have nothing useful to offer, because I have the same problem. Despite considering myself to be pretty good at finding solutions, this is one I've been repeatedly and unsuccessfully trying to crack for ages.

The best answer I've come up with is to force myself to suffer for an extended period of time until completion, when I'll finally gain the opportunity to launch into another, different stint of prolonged suffering. Except ... nope ... that's not a solution at all, is it?

It's frustrating because I'm imaginative and I love to understand and share that understanding, but I simply don't have that sort of stamina. Rivers of admiration for anyone who does though!

[Mr. Meepers]

Welcome @Konobeat ^__^ *hugs*

Well, I don't write much, but I do have the problem that you described ... When I do write it tends to be short stories and poems lol

But, anyway, don't let your type define what your goals are in life ... Yes, I'm an INFP, but I have a degree in Mathematics ... and I'm pretty sure INFPs are not known for their love of subjects that involve a lot of hard/formal logic lol

That is something I learned from the forums lol (I found PerC while looking up if certain careers would be good for my personality ... and that was not that long ago lol)

So, if you want to write a novel, don't let your type hold you back ... it may make it more difficult, but not impossible. ... I know you did not want anything generic, but you seem to be trying to use your type as an excuse to not pursue your dreams lol

... Maybe you can make it into a bunch on mini projects where you write a little bit ... do something else for a while, and just return back to it ... Idk if it will work, just an idea

[MooOfTheCow]

Sorry but this is just a terrible attitude to have. Writing is hard work, and if you're entertaining thoughts of "it might be impossible because of my personality type" before you even begin, then I think that's a pretty bad sign. You should never let your myers-briggs type be a measure for what you can and cannot do.

[The Umbraic Light]

I'm studying to be an elementary educator, but I want to be a novelist too (shocker, infj). I finished my very first, 80k word novel my senior year of high school, and you are right, it is all about planning and keeping with it.

Someone once said, "I only write when im inspired, and I make sure I'm always inspired 8am every morning."

You need to force yourself to get up and WRITE.

I find when I am in a dump of not writing, the best thing to do is get the juice flowing--and the best way to do that is to add a new twist to the story--something that interests you. It helps both you and the story.

I, too, like writing epics with amazing stories--and I am in the work of one now. I have currently written 3 novels, and while I love them to tears, those are early novels that I knew I wouldn't try to get published. Now, I shall try to get this one published.

If it helps, have a close friend keep you on track. I had another INFJ friend who couldn't keep with her writing, so I made sure she kept up with it.

[noonia]

I'm sure I don't know, but I'm also sure I'm going to keep trying. I love stories. They make my life better, and they stay with me, become a part of me. I want to give back and create. I have always had problems with starting things and not finishing them, but for me storytelling is something that I strongly want to do just for the sake of doing it, because I love it. So I want to always try at it, and keep trying to figure out ways to fix the problems I have that keep me from finishing stories.

I guess, for you, if it means a lot to you, don't give up on it, and always try new ways to do it or new mindsets for doing it if the way you're trying to make stories isn't working for you. Keep a keen lookout for ideas that connect. You have to figure out how to keep it interesting for yourself.

[Auri]

It isn't a matter of whether it's possible (of course it is), it's a matter of how dedicated to the idea of writing you are. Of how much you want it. If you want to do it, go for it. If you think completing something will be a problem, find a way to work around it or find something you would enjoy doing better.

Do not let your type define your limits.

[NJShady]

Of course! You have to really get into the routine of it, writing every day. Try to set a goal of maybe 1000 words a day to start with. I've struggled to keep with one story idea for years, but now that I've found it in myself to stick with one and write every day, I'm having the best time of my life with my current story. The escapism of world building and writing a novel trumps that of writing a short story in my opinion. For me, it's now like when I sit down to write, I'm about to witness a new episode of my favourite series or something.

So if you have an idea or story you're passionate about, go for it. Write every day, work on it, and remember the biggest key with longer works is patience, there's frustrations involved, it can at times seem painstaking, but just keep at it and you will get there. Sitting down and doing the work is how you plant the seed for what could one day be a beautiful tree.

Creative Writing earning enough to be a main source of income is quite difficult. With self publishing so many people are putting their work out there these days. It's important you're doing it for the love and passion first, and earn money through other means, and if you can reach the point where you have a good manuscript you've polished through rewrites, you can have a go getting it out there.

Stephen King has a good book called "On Writing," there are also quite a few good resources on youtube. Search "Brandon Sanderson lecture" on youtube and you'll find many great videos to learn from.

[Marlowe]

Hello. I'm horrid at introductions, so I'll just say I've been watching these forums for a while and I've never gathered enough courage to make an account and ask for help.

Long story short, I want to write. And while Short stories seem like a fun idea, I've never been one for poetry or song-writing. I want to write a novel, if not many. I want to tell a story, preferably an epic, but I'm beginning to wonder if my personality will allow it.

INFPs are known for being great writers, but they're also known for never finishing anything they've written. Or at least, not anything long. I've even heard someone say that if it's a novel, it's most likely written by in INFJ. Sure, my hopes were raised when I found out that Stephen King might be an INFP, as well as J.K. Rowling and even Tolkien! But how do we know for sure they were not INFJs? They seem to be better when it comes to both time management and planning. What INFP has kept interest in an idea long enough to finish a piece of work?

That's part of what I'm looking for. Proof that this isn't just some silly idea that I should throw to the lions. Should I just settle for short works? Is there any writer that we know for sure that is an INFP who's written a series of books?

I'd rather not any vague, "Don't give up!" answers, because I really am in a bind here. I'm at a point in my life where I really want to decide on what I want to do with it, and frankly, I'm tired of wandering aimlessly between ideas. Sure, I do have plans of looking into technical writing or even journalism as a career, but I would love to do creative works on the side, and maybe one day turn that into my main source of income. But is it possible?

Any advice on keeping dedicated to a project is also welcome! Thanks in advance.

Don't use your type as an excuse. Your MBTI type is an assessment of how you process information, not how good you are at sticking to something you start on. That comes down to self discipline and personal motivation, qualities ANY MBTI type can possess.

To answer your questions:

1. Only you know how badly you want to write. If you want it, the odds don't matter (and let's be honest-- the odds are never in a writer's favor. Ever.). If you like short works, write short works. If you like novels, write novels. Don't sell yourself short with some self-fulfilling prophecy about what you can and can't do (especially if that prophecy is based off pop-psychology).

2. The odds of you making a career out of creative writing are incredibly small. Improbable. Against the odds. Unlikely. And however which way you want to look at the short end of the stick. If you want to write, you're pretty much guaranteed to be working a day job for a good portion of your life. That day job can be anything-- from being a Walmart door greeter to working as a NASA scientist. What you do to pay the bills does not matter. That you make time in your day to write, does.

3. Here is a list of INFP writers: Famous INFPs - CelebrityTypes.com



I'm not going to tell you whether you should or should not pursue writing as a career. That is up to you. But if you're going to consider it seriously, treat yourself seriously as well. Basing your decisions on pop psychology test results and the successes of other people is selling yourself short long before you've begun to try.


And as a final note regarding your question about perseverance:

There is no one way to approach writing a novel. Some authors outline beforehand (like myself), some wing it. Others do the odd mixture of both, while others still treat every chapter as its own individual story (complete with character development, rising action, climax, and resolution-- or at least a cliffhanger until the next chapter). A novel is not as forumlaic as mixing cement-- it is much more fluid than that. If a 500 page novel is too daunting, look at it as ten 50 page stories interwoven with one another.

This comes back to perspective. If you only allow yourself to see 500 pages of white paper screaming to be fed, you're going to psych yourself out before you've begun. If you want it, you'll keep trying and trying and fighting until you've found what suits you best. Almost nobody gets it right on the first try.

My final word:

Read On Writing: a memoir of the craft by Stephen King. Perhaps that will give you some insight.

[laurie17]

I write - I started with short stories and have moved onto novels (which are gradually growing longer). I think of it a bit like swimming: when you're young, you can't swim that far and you've got to build up stamina. After a while, it gets a bit easier, then maybe you hurt your leg or something and have to take a break. When you go back, you wonder why you quit and feel great doing it again - and it gets easier and easier!

The most important thing is to just write, even if the story doesn't make sense. It's necessary to have several practice stories/novels for most people, where they just go wild.

It's not a career, though - more of a great hobby you might get money for someday.