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- How to Tell if You're a Writer
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For John Irving, the need for a daily ration of solitude was his strongest "pre-writing" moment as a child.
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JOHN IRVING:
John Irving is the author of twelve books, including “The World According to Garp,” “A Prayer For Owen Meany,” and most recently, “Last Night on Twisted River.” Over his career he has won a National Book Award, an Academy Award for his adaptation of “The Cider House Rules,” and many other honors, and has been translated into over thirty languages. A former competitive wrestler, he splits his time between Vermont and Montreal.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Question: Did you know from an early age that you would be a writer?
John Irving: I supposed I had a number of what I might call pre-writing moments as a kid. I recognized at a pretty early age, certainly I was pre-teens, I noticed that the school day was enough of a day to spend with my friends. I seemed to have a need to want to be alone. Even before I started making almost landscape notes in a journal, even before I started keeping a journal, which happened to me when I was fourteen, even before then I had a need to come home from school by myself and to be in a room by myself or in my grandmother's garden by myself. I guess the earliest sign was how much I liked being alone, how much I actually needed to be alone, the way you need, or I need, exercise or food or a certain amount of sleep. There was that desire to be, and a comfort, at being alone.
Recorded on: October 30, 2009
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This sounds more like, "How to Tell if You're an Introvert."
alberto balsalm Very true. I'm both a writer and an introvert (89% Myers-Briggs) actually.
Working through an epic fiction and a short story anthology, but I write mostly fiction and occasionally poetry
alberto balsalm Basically yea. Though its not centered around the classic fantasy mythos; dragons, castles, siege battles, medieval romanticism, etc. Its a little more contemporary, dealing with modern war, resource strain, ecological crises, stuff like that.
alberto balsalm Hahaha we'll see anyway
alberto balsalm Haha I DON'T. I'm meticulous and a purist, so I try to make sure that its all my own style, and that it all comes from my own head. I try to be vigilant and hard on myself so that I'm always trying to improve, and I find that if I read a great novel or short story that effects me deeply, I unconsciously mirror the style in my own writing, and that tends to annoy me.
In my opinion the reason that introverted people are more often writers then extroverted people is because they think inward, they spend more time in their mind, feeling their emotions deeper then extroverts. That doesn't necessarily mean that extroverts make bad writers, it only means that introverts are more often writers because it appeals more to their mindset. The average extrovert is less likely to have an interest in becoming a writer, just as an average introvert is less likely to have an interest in becoming a journalist, or a talk show host.
Nathaniel Morgan 3 years late- like me!
So journalism isn't writing anymore apparently? Good thing Hunter S Thomson died before that was decided.
Nathaniel Morgan well said, er written. There does seem to be a stigma against introverts, as if being an extrovert is superior. Introverts can also be sociable. I think the key is that introverts need solitude to be recharged, and extroverts need to be around people to be recharged. It's okay to be either one. Yes, I agree that an introvert would live in his mind a lot and be introspective, and that sounds like a writer to me. An extrovert can also be a writer, as my introverted mind can imagine ;)
Toaster Toasterson yes, apparently journalism is generally not writing. Not any more. Mostly a bunch of biased hacks. :)
hello raging extrovert i finally have time to write, introverts write because they dont want to actually talk to people, they writze about their feelings i write about everyone elses haaaa haaaaaaaaaaaa haaa. im so hyper trust me so so so much i want to put on paper, extroverts are more crzeatrive so i dont think introverts gotr anything but more time on thier hands to write, IMO
I think people who like to get lost in books, movies, and games, could make good writers also. Introverts might be better at internalizing the words they write, bringing them to life inside their minds. Writing becomes a powerful, cerebral adventure when you live with a rich inner life already.
Extroverts don't get lost in books.
If you don't like the ending, write a different one.
That’s me
I get lost in books
The last line is on point!
this is giving "we can all sing"
I'm a fetus and I like being alone. But my mother is always around me. Selfish woman.
loverainthunder when the cord it cut then you’ll be alone.
Random and quirky, yet accurate and hilarious!!!!
😂😂😂😂
You exist because your mother does; She isn't around you but she is with you; She isn't selfish but she is generous. She is your life and you are her life.
Helicopter parents
These topic-baits are very annoying.
Giorgi Gudiashvili, what do you mean?
This is very pertinent a trait to being a writer. Noone writes with distractions around.
Then don’t watch them 😑
You’re annoying
No, you’re a towel
Well, I'm always alone. Should I pick up a pen, or what?
when life sucks, writing is a great way for me to escape into another world.
ZEROZEROUFO
Yeah, and then I'll write about it and send it in a letter to you.
*****
I've kept a dream journal (or diary) for years.
I call it my "LSD novel", because it's WEIRD.
Don't expect to get it published any time soon, though. ;)
***** You can buy the publishing rights.
After that, do what you like.
***** And I just want to get rich.
I'm am an introvert, but I think the earliest sign that I was a writer was my passion for stories.
Give us a short story, right now.
@@Inalienablerights15why the hell would they waste time on you?
@@Wylsonicbecause a gentleman never refuses a challenge to his honor.
My lifelong disinterest in stories and strong aversion to writing make me an unlikely author, yet I am determined to become one (and hate every minute of it).
@@reginaldforthright805 ... but why?
I'm going to need all of you to get out of this thread, please.
Nun Ya LOL!!!
+Nun Ya Funny.
Aight
;)
LOL.
I can relate to every single word. And I would like to become a writer as well. I have always thought that being alone was my big flaw, my introverted pleasure. Instead, it gives you more time to think and possibly, allows you to write more and better.
Isolation is the gift
- Charles Bukowski
Hermetic Kitten me too iam kind of introvert person I rather wanted to be in room with a book than to go outside and partying
Hermetic Kitten yeah i am not an introvert though but still i need and enjoy some alone time too.
Man U want sucky
Then write
I like being by myself. I am comfortable with myself. Also my first book will be out in July/August 2016. Writers have to have a certain amount of wanting to be alone. They must spend time with their thoughts. Develop a story, be with story characters.
Emil whats your book called
How are things going?
How has your story been doing so far
100%!
Now I know why I love reading books and always like staying alone.Even during childhood I would lock my room and indoors with comics instead of playing around with siblings.
I summarised the plot of Star Wars when I was 5 years old at school. I only ever wanted to be a writer. I have sold 3 copies of my first novel, but I won't stop.
Actually I feel the same way... I seem to have social want during the school day.. almost as if I'm disappointed that I'm not as social as some people, but when I get home... I feel perfect.
I guess that must mean you're Hemingway then!
Being a writer is to leave a piece of you out there for people to see and hopefully understand. You have a good chance of being a messenger if you spend time alone, using your senses, and observing yourself. You can share it any way you want including a written form of communication.
written beautifully
Not Everyone as writer is like that, it truly just depends on the person . Ones who make acceptable writers and stories tellers are ones who care about others more than themselves, they aren’t selfish , them writing isn’t for their own benefit but for ours. That’s what truly makes an amazing writer 📝
@@Bella.Fiori. All writers write for themselves. There are no selfless writers. Art is for the artist. The audience, if there is one, is secondary. And that has nothing to do with whether they are 'amazing' or not. Stop giving yourself more importance than you have.
No one ever understands anyone else. People don't even understand themselves. All you know of others is your perception of them, which is not who they are.
Wooooo 10000%! I want to write for a lot of reasons, but at the core is wanting to be understood and to understand. Sharing a part of me, the ones I feel like others aren't interested in or overlook, through a medium that can showcase that/make others feel seen as well. Per the comment above me, while no one can truly know you as well as yourself, there are people in my life who I'm lucky to say almost fully understand certain components of who I am! We also naturally learn about ourselves through other people from the very beginning and those things make it even more special in my opinion. L
Come on, what the hell was this?
MAB SADM obviously somebody's been excluded from a lot of parties lmao
I am pretty much alone always and I am no more a writer than I am an astrophysicist. His reaction was perfectly spot on. Being alone has nothing to do with being able to properly express ideas and emotions.^^;;
He's not saying being an introvert makes you a writer and there is no other aspect. He's saying being a loner helped with the task of writing. Which a writer usually is someone that sets themselves apart from others to be left alone with their devices, more often than not.
And I'm saying proper grammar probably helped him too. A writer is usually someone that sets him or herself apart from others with the ability to fucking write a decent fucking sentence! FUCK YOU AND FUCK THE SIXTEEN PEOPLE THAT LIKED THIS COMMENT! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!
Loner is the wrong word.
Introvert is the correct word.
Speaking from experience; 'maladaptive daydreamers' are likely just traumatized people, whose excessive and extraordinary capacity for pragmatic language is activated by limbic-encoded trauma with such force that the individual is compelled by an unrelenting need to dissociate and practice avoidant behaviors via interminable creative thought. It is an unfathomable creative hell. Hope you are well, and finding that writing can help exorcise some of those demons by providing a constructive outlet to your unending loops of creativity. A better 'Big Think' question would be: how many 'writers' meet the diagnostic criteria for a dissociative disorder for which maladaptive daydreaming is a component? Or perhaps the correct answer to the 'how to tell if you're a writer' question posed by this video is: I found out I was a writer, when I learned that my malignant creativity was considered a form of mental illness by naïve and uninformed 'children of a lesser God'. Take care, 'Maladaptive Daydreamer'. :)
@@Iamthepossum This is very interesting. I wonder if I am like this. I get excited to have spare time where I can daydream. I often think what the hell was that story I day dreamed about.
I always thought if I was locked away in a room like jail or something that I would be fine because I could create a reality in my mind to pass the time. I like this daydreamer side and many people have told me I have a create, odd, different, unusual train of thought about things.
Right now im laying on the floor of my room and I started day dreaming about an exstention cord that is coiled up and some space ships are flying through it and around it like It was a giant power cable on a secret base station on a wastelandish planet.... and Im 32 haha
I remember watching a great documentary by Scorsese titled "Public Speaking," which was a sit-down interview with Fran Lebowtiz and scenes of her speaking in public; almost every topic is interesting but one thing was really significant for me; she said "there are certain experiences in life that help to cultivate an artistic sensibility; when you are excluded, in prison, depressed or whenever one is forced to observe." An introvert can feel excluded, be forced to observe and you have a writer.
Writing for me is like a necessity. I have this stories in my mind, characters, worlds. Starts small and it grows... At times in my life I've tried to ignore it but it does not go away untill I write it down. It's been like this as long as I can remember, even before u knew what a writer was. For me is not even about others reading my work its just about what comes to me ... And the feeling that comes with it it's like nothing I can compare it to, the thing that comes closer is reading.
very stupid comments here. People think that introverts stay in dark room all their lives. I am an introvert with many friends, achieved much, travelled way more and like to write. But I prefer to work on my own. I produce more and better. You need to read the book called 'Quiet! The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking' by Susan Cain
And now we live in a world that can't stop texting (in a broken, truncated semblance of English). Among the 'weapons of mass distraction' currently at our disposal, I choose to maintain my 2005 Motorola flip phone! Who can beat that?
Some introverts do stay in a dark room all their lives. Personally I spend a lot of time in a dimly lit room but I do go out for work or to get a helping of human interaction, usually to drink or eat or read in public. Just being near other humans is enough. I don't necessarily need to talk to them.
Claudia G not so sure why categorizing can be devastatingly religious.
Claudia G Hi! Do you have a wattpad account? If so, please tell me. I want to read at least one of your works. I'm sure they're worth reading.
Claudia G you just self proclaimed introvert proud.
I write my best songs/poems when I’m at rock bottom, and when I’m heartbroken. Rarely do I write meaningful stuff while I’m in a good place
i'm like that too. i crave solitude and i usually end up writing at some point. been like this since i was little. the other thing about me is that i find a "home" when I'm writing. just holed up somewhere alone writing seems very normal and comfortable. i don't think i necessarily have any talent or that anyone would enjoy reading what i write, but i do think i am naturally a writer. oh well.
If you want to be a writer, you're a writer.
What if you dont have a pen?
Kalei Morales - then you write with a pencil
@@kaleimorales5341 writing is not only on paper, nor is it on screen. Written is not only with pens or pencils not is it on keyboards. Writing is a demon inside you, which you can not escape from. Writing will make you fail in life. It will make you hurt. Lose jobs or relationships, sometimes both. Writers mostly never get published. They mostly never get read. But they write because that is all they are. That is writing, not a fucking pen.
Ok don't listen to that psycho if you write you a writer
You're a writer once you actually start writing.
I always wanted to be alone. My parents would force me to make friends (today I'm thankful for that) and try to get out and try new things. Even to my friends I was strange and odd. My parents had me tested and the conclusion was that I was an Hyperactive Introvert (I also couldn't keep still). Fast forward to when I was 45 (9 years ago) and I learned I have Asperger's. Now everything started to make sense and fall apart. I knew why I was the way I was and also learned that It can't be fixed. Fast forward the 9 years and I'm still the same but have learned to cope and have a loving supportive wife. It's not fixed but it's better. On a side note, on top of the Asperger's, I have Dyslexia and PTSD from the Military. As I told my wife when I met her, I'm a whole plethora of sunshine. All of these things made me stronger as a person and a better writer/dreamer (nothing published). I'm now working on several projects that may or may not amount to anything. But, I have fun doing it. That's all that matters to me.
I agree. Writers need time by themselves to think and muse. At least, at heart I know I am a writer and I feel addressed by this.
*FOOLPROOF METHOD* - How To Tell If You're a Writer in 3 Easy Steps.
*"When you write stuff..."*
(1) People say wow, this is good, you should be a writer.
(2) Agents who read your work ask to represent you; and
(3) Buyers offer you money for your stories.
*If 1-3 are happening to you, congrats, you're a writer.*
I agree with you, I think it is important for aspiring writers to remember that many published authors have tried publishing material before that didn't get published or weren't received well by agents before they eventually were able to publish really great novels. Pierce Brown is a good example of someone who wrote many books that didn't get published before figuring out how to make his stories work and becoming a best-selling author. Sometimes it's a matter of fine-tuning and trusting your gut that if you can make the correct alterations to your work, others will see it's value too.
Fuck this if I want to be a writer than I can be one there's no rules
Shall we make that a rule?
Well, there are basic rules of grammar and punctuation. So there's that.
Gabe Reyna
You can try but that doesn't mean your books won't be shit.
My book is published. I am an author but you don't need to get published. Being a writer is something you do for yourself. Trust me, you don't make money being a writer. I have another job too.
*****
Well, you're all here so...Someone fucking talked!
A writer watches people and how they act. It's like their mind is their friend. They see the world as a metaphor. Writers have a mind of their own as which they feel people don't understand their thoughts and their feelings. That's why they set themselves apart from the rest of the world.
You know McKenzie, I think the lack of understanding you experience might not be so much the result of you having a mind of your own but rather of the inability to construct a proper fucking sentence.
Being alone is one part of it. The other is dreaming of the possibilities and knowing nothing is worthy if it can never happen. I call it a childhood dream.
Lol, the title should rather be "How to tell if you're an introvert"
Karl Beltran he didn't say he's an introvert. You can be an extrovert, but when it comes to writing you can't write your best material
with somebody watching or something
How the fuck can a title rather be something it's not? EXPLAIN YOURSELF!
"We live as we dream - alone."
I have always had that same thing, and I know what he means by this. I wish that simply having a regular need to be alone would turn me into a great writer like John Irving. I suspect that he also has done a lot of work...just writing and writing.
Writing is a solitary endeavor wherein one is in a continual & exclusive contact with one's Muse. How's that for irony? Such is my experience; one must be alone, comfortably ensconced in one's oasis of solitude, in order to enlist the aid of whispering, unseen sprites. But then again, some writers have hammered out masterpieces on their laptops whilst sitting in bustling cafés or riding a crowded train to a job that pays the bills.....but they're just freely spewing in such settings, riding the erratic comet of an idea. The real writing, meaning the re-writing and/or editing happens behind closed doors & in relative silence.
You write so well.
Thank you!
You are welcome.
I never in a million years would call John Irving a 'great writer.'
never having to try to come up with things to write about because you feel like it's a case of there being too much to write about as opposed to not enough. not having to try much to "come up" with material- anything and everything feels like material. another handy indication is being functionally insane, to an extent. also being unable to be without pens and/or keyboards... typing old notes whilst simultaneously taking down new notes by hand, hmm the list goes on... and on into what exactly
You're one of US... an Introvert. Love your Storytelling.
How to tell if you're a writer: Have you written anything: yes, no? If yes, you have committed the act of writing, and therefore are a writer.
I want to write fiction that conveys philosophical truths. I tried to talk to people about my ideas for a very long time, but after a while I realised that the udeas were so specific that it was hard to find a person who could consistently relate to what I was talking about. The idea that writing might help me to convey these concepts and theories to the specific audience who would be interested in these topics is one of many reasons why I hope to become a published writer someday.
This also contributed to my preference for my own company.
"How to tell if being Alone is for you"
Absolutely, being alone raises one's level of consciousness, awareness and creativity. On the other hand, constant mingling with people is a source of distraction and destruction of one's creative abilities,
So all extreme introverts are writers?.. I hope he's right.
Kenny Rodger oddly enough I'm more of an extrovert, (in that area) and I'm a writer so I think it's probably case specific.
Almost certainly.
No you ignorant fuck that's not what's he's saying at all. He clearly stated his school day gave him his extrovert fill in his life and provided him with the right amount of social interaction which he would then seek alone time find a happy medium. In what way does this make him an extreme introvert??? He maintains a balance... Which can almost be considered an antonym of EXTREME, proving your comment to be idiotic and unobservant. Sorry for ranting, I just can't stand when stupid people think they are clever.
Jack Walsh It's cute that you think your interpretation is objective.
Kenny Rodger Exactly! It's like saying the summer needs Sunshine! No shit!....:-)
I'm just like you sir, I love being alone and I'm also paranoid that everyone thinks I'm weird,
Funny thing, I like the 'alone' time, but I love writing in public, as long as no one speaks directly to me. Same with homework. As long as I don't have to learn text by heart and need to be loud!
What was your first indication that you wanted to be a writer?
Me: When I started writing and found that I couldn't imagine doing anything else.
I'm thinking about writing a novel. I had already brainstorm an outline for the plot, characters, ect. I'll probably complete it in a year and a half and then i'll send the manuscript to dozens of publishers hoping for a miracle. I'm so excited just thinking about it.... If all goes well, i may just be able to publish my first novel before my 20th birthdays
Good luck 🍀 what is your book 📖. Have you heard of wattpad?
what's Wattpad?
Wattpad is the largest site for amateur/professional writers.
***** Hm, never heard of it. I'm planning to self publish first on Amazon Kindle so i don't believe i would need a site like that :/
You don't. But if you are starting out as an author wattpad is the best. A lot writers come from there. If you're writing a series put your first book there and get some famous users to read it. If your book is good enough millions will read it.
well what he is saying that at times he needs to be alone so he can sort out his thoughts without the interference and influence of others affecting what he wanted to write
I get what you're saying at least you make more sense thanks for this comment. I prefer when we can debate or improve ideas without swearing and going completely nuts. And i agree less is more but i always looked at it in a way if someone quotes something they "usually" treat it as a fact. Not to plant seeds.
And that's right i agree i do this with my music all the time:)
That's called being introvert. I'm an introvert too, I feel confortable being alone. I need to be alone for a big portion of my day to survive. However I'm not a writer, not even close.
thats deep
I am fine with what he said. And it’s very possible that more writers are introverts. But, the tithe of the Big Think is wrong. What he describes us “How to tell that you are an introvert”. Not all introverts are writers. All basketball players are tall, but not all tall people are basketball players. Otherwise nice enough.
The words, “by myself”, “being alone,” resonated so deeply. While cleaning out my childhood home after my parents’ passing, I found so many of my long forgotten, young writings in the attic. I proclaimed that art & music were my interests and that I would become a writer. Now, at 59, burned out & retired from a beautiful career in medicine, I am pursing a long ago dream. It is so important to “know thyself” & live in alignment with that way of being. Thank for this short, impactful clip.
How is this new adventure unfolding for you? Got me curious friend
It's never too late, don't let those fires in your soul die
"Start writing after 40!"
Although I am interested in becoming a writer and are introverted, I must disagree with this being a necessity for writers. Being extrovert may even help with writing in some peoples case.
It feels like this video is incomplete and they cut it out before the guy explained himself.
Writing is a very creative way of expressing one's thoughts on experiences. It's important to be in a great space where creative energy can thrive.. Stupid fool and jerk wouldn't know what the hell to write unless he plagiarized it.
… is called being an introvert (INFJ in my case) with a dreamy melancholic disposition. Whose naturally inclined to long periods of isolation rather than socializing, more inclined to self-reflection and finding deeper meanings rather than pursuing superficial relationships while battling the demons of manic-depression by writing. Show me high intelligence, and I’ll show you unhappiness. Show me creativity and I’ll show you madness. Show me madness, and I’ll show you a beautiful mind. Show me a beautiful mind, and I’ll show you a genius.
the myers briggs Mbti personality test is actually outdated
@@roblaurin7426 why are you shutting someone with beautiful mind?
That just mean you’re an introvert. Not all introverts become writers. Not sure how that even works. I guess some introverts like me love to write?
But as I’ve said, I know a few introverts that don’t.
How to tell if you're a writer ... you write. Wanting to be alone doesn't mean anything other than you'll probably have more spare time in which to write. Personally I've been a storyteller/writer since I was 6 and don't like being alone.
Right! Stories need audiences, and you begin by telling a verbal story to someone else. If you can captivate and hold their attention, you are an author.
So introverts are talented writers :o ?
Introverts usually have more time to finish personal projects, that is a useful trait to actually do the act of writing. More talented than extroverts? Not neccesarily
I think introverts have just as much to say as outspoken, outgoing, extraverted people.. Maybe their ability or need to communicate via social interactions and verbal exchange is not of as high a priority or necessity to them. But some (not all) of them can write in a particularly coherent and "talented" way. I'll use myself as an example. I am introverted, but enjoy writing and have been told by many that my writing is very good. I have dreams of becoming published and have started (but not yet finished) many books. I write poems and short stories, and love to write papers for classes I take at the local university. I have for a long time, used writing for self-expression as well as for its therapeutic value. But when it comes to talking face to face, I've always been painfully shy, and unable to produce the same types of sentences and fluid speech as i have within my writing. Not to mention, in some circumstances I would even say I get socially anxious, which inhibits me even more. In this way, writing has been freeing for me. Thats not to say I don't have a healthy and happy social life, but that I understand what he's saying in the video - that after I've had my fill of social company, sometimes my favourite time of day is retreating to my home and being able to be by myself, and get some awesome writing done.
This makes me so happy.
I plan to be a writer when I'm older, and knowing that a famous writer had the same need to be alone as me makes me feel so happy.
Why would you wait until you are older? Being a writer means writing. That is it. If you aren't willing to do it now maybe choose something else. You mean you want to make money from writing, get published and be famous. Those things are irrelevant to writing. If you are a writer then write.
This... this doesn't mean anything.
I know, right? Wanting to be alone does not a writer make.
Robie Yanez ... what?
I said wanting alone time doesn't magically make someone a writer. I just worded it differently.
Robie Yanez Oh... ok. Yeah, I agree. Plus you don't have to be a loner to be a writer hence the statement that this doesn't mean anything and is completely irrelevant.
***** About as relevant as this video, yeah.
If I spend a whole month alone in my room at the end of the day, I would tell myself that was not enough, but at the same time, I do enjoy being with people and family as well.
Here r some signs, you don`t struggle when writing, and it comes to you easily. Also, many people with a large imagination are amazing writers. Last, your friends, and those who read your work compliment it, and want you to hear more, and you can think up a short original story in less than an hour!!!!!
Here "R" some signs? Really?
I am 13 and i want to be a director/screenplay writer when i grow up and i always wish i can be alone but the only time i am alone is really late at night and i am often really tired at this point so i just live with it. :(
This reminds me of when I was in college on my way to the lake with all my friends and during the drive, no matter how much I was looking forward to the weekend, wished I could be back in my dorm writing.
Writing can be done anywhere. Pen and paper, simple.
+Okay, i want to talk about what its like to be a writer and which people have this capability maybe than i’ll talk about the..
-good, you only have a minute
+Wait, what... no, stop...
-3 2 1 go
+Oh well, i-i dont know, uhh, being an introvert perhaps?
-Okay great we’ll upload that on youtube now
"Well, if you're an anti-social introvert then you obviously have an extreme proficiency in writing"
Thank you mate!
please take the adverts off your site. thanks
I know many people who need and enjoy solitude with neither interest in not talent for writing. Even if they love reading.
I like to be alone because i feel awkward around people and afraid to say what's really on my mind. I can't even be alone with my writing till weeks later.
Think this video should be titled "How to Tell if You're an Introvert."
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There are no extroverted writers? Something doesn't add up.
***** This is an idea that has only sprung up in the last 50 years, and is frankly horseshit. Sure as a writer you have to be able to sit down and do the work which for most people means eliminating distraction but to make the claim the a decent level of socialization is incomparable with writing is just nonsense. Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, any of the Roaring 20's crowd, Douglas Adams--all of these writers and many, many more had thriving social lives and gained most of their insights into the human condition by spending time with actual human beings.
chris sto
I agree. This is just BS. Hunter S. Thompson also comes to mind.
There are plenty of myths surrounding the writing life. Man, I should stop following writing advice profiles on Twitter. All that 'Art must be painful or you're a fraud' crap. It's all bollocks.
It's not so much the desire to be alone as the creative urge, the impulse an instinct forcing you to discharge your creative juices. Whether you channel this through painting, poetry, dance, music etc it's entirely down to your disposition. I like painting, writing and music. I do all interchangeably. I like being alone but prolonged solitude tends to burn me out as does prolonged exposure to people especially tu mundane type
people who think too much usually need to be alone to process their toughts. That's how i feel at least.
Thank you John Irving for explaining this better than I can to my girlfriend.
Amen to that awsome speech!
no not perfect english... but it is nice to know when to use each word if you are going to use those words in a book, as it makes it easier and less time with an editor ^^
In my childhood, i was met with some awe by children my age and when it is not exactly friendship, i grew a self confidence in me which i think is fortunate in some aspects because my cousins during those years for some reason bullied and teased me as if somebody made them to deliberately.
As for being alone, i don't remember i missed anyone when I climbed tamarind trees at the roadsides in outskirts reading books, watching the mountains and forests and farms. I walked long hours through forests and climbed trees and watched plants and read with love for stories. The love for nature made me feel contended.
From an earlier age i noticed people talk and behave like they were story characters and i rarely interpreted their true adult communication because i am what they say as a late bloomer. I don't regret i came to adulthood so late. The childhood innocence is important for a writer for their imaginative thinking
You have a flair of writing when you are expressing your story although I am no expert writer to tell but from my inner reader. It keeps the reading on to go further down without shutting off. Waiting for your stories. Good blending of self thoughts
I'm an introvert but I mostly enjoyed being alone all by myself
I can connect with the need to be alone at an early age. I didn't have a journal, but I did like to write about fantasy/fiction/adventure when I was a kid, and I do that now on a professional level. Even now, having friends and not being an introvert, I have a great need to be alone, in my own space whenever I can. It's not being alone in the sense of being anti-social, an introvert or not liking to be around other people, it's something deeper than that.
The title of this video should be: "Do you like being alone? I do."
This is SO true, sometimes i feel bad if I tell a family member or friend that I need to go in a different room, and leave them alone, especially if they wanted the company, but it is so, so hard to write when with others, or with distractions. I find it possible sometimes, but it always then needs a lot of reworking and any quality content is few and far between.
Conclusion: Lonely people are good writers.
lmao what the hell was this? is this the onion?
Need to be alone is have nothing to do with telling if you are a writer or not. As a highly sensitive person, i must say that being alone has even make me feel more lonely and depressed. So this is not a good example for telling if you are a writer or not.
Such an excellent short video. Being your true self is especially difficult when you are by yourself. I know that's certainly the case for me, but while it's difficult I soon realize that I have a ton of fun writing my thoughts down and creating stories that I like for myself. If other people like it, then that's great :) if not, then that's okay too ;D I hope other people who are interested in expressing themselves honestly understand that it is truly okay to be yourself. Cheers, y'all.
Im extraverted and still love my alone time. I hated writing my whole life. Now I start journaling and pages and pages just flow out and I feel like I become more and more energised writing in a creative way. I can explain the environment or atmosphere of a place to give the feeling of where you are while reading. I love being around people but I love having my alone time. Its like Iv tapped into my introverted side from years of isolated work and its forced me to get used to the side of me that I was scared of.
This is a great test for finding out if you like to spend time alone. It’s not a great test for working out if you’re a writer.
Yo haven't understood well you have to read between the lines
I'm like that too. Kept a journal throughout teen years, putting down thoughts about the day's events or a dream (handful of times) sporadically and never too consistently. I have nothing going for me as far as a career goes. I've had a knack for writing over the years, I guess, but I don't see it worth turning into a career, even though I, perhaps, should. I just find it boring (I'm far from a thrill-seeker, so it's funny that I've always viewed it this way) and, I don't know. I understand that ideas are valuable and all, but...
I like my own company and writing (novels) is a solitary profession, but I also like to be with other people. I had my first writing success when I was 9 and have written ever since.
i'm a loner and it's been suggsted that i'm an autistic, or ''just nuts.'' i like it this way and haven't written much but for poems and trolling
How to gell if you're a writer: look on your bookshelf. If you see any books with your name on the cover and the spine.. you're a writer.
Being alone to help you write doesn't make you introverted. It helps you concentrate on your work and avoid distractions to your creative process, like friends. Too many people in this comment section don't understand that.
I don't like being alone, but I like the quietness with no talking- just reflecting and thinking. I am an animal lover. cats give you love and quietness. you still have company in your alone time. I don't allways like talking.
The mere thought of having to be extroverted freaks me out. I would go insane if I had to be around people 24/7.
Introversion is advantageous, yes. But not a sign that you are or will be a writer.
If you read a lot and enjoy writing this is a better sign, but still not conclusive. Writers write.
How the fuck does someone know they enjoy writing if they don't write?
I love being alone and I'm constantly scribbling, writing, if only comments.
A writer can be both intro- and extra-verted. I know because I am both. In my twenties I was "that guy." Got a witness. So what? you ask. My late teens and early twenties were in the seventies when house parties might find you introducing yourself as you undressed for introductory sex.
But I wanted to write things like "Lost Face," and "The Heathen," by Jack London, "The Old Man And The Sea" by Hemingway, and "Dandelion Wine" by the late, great Ray Bradbury. I wanted to create images with my words that would make people think about them later or the next day, or beyond.
The dissociations from early trauma kept me from accessing all of my abilities until its effects released their grip on my psyche. Three years and 600+ pages of memoir of a unique life later, I have found the ultimate "better late than not at all" in life. I discovered a couple years into the process that I really was going to make my late father proud. When I was 13, he had said to me, "I don't care if you end up being a poet whose poetry is read only by other poets. Just be the best." Agent search underway.
Exactly that. The original question, 'How to tell if you're a writer,' is rendered utterly redundant by Irving's response. The truth is that the many walks of life that the writer/creative leads allows for a more dynamic and diverse array of texts and other works.
Personally I think Irving knows this too!
So basically, only Hermits and introverts are capable of being writers?
Get ready to lock yourself up voluntarily in an isolation tank and never submerge unless you need to pee.
Crescendo Dramatique No, I'm a bit of a introvert myself. I'm just saying that question because I like to ask questions.
What has this got to do with writing?
I love being by myself.
Welcome back to show "writer logic"!
Writer says "I felt a need to be by myself"
The book says "Huhuhuhu -_- I'm sooo alone D: Everyone thinks I'm wierd... No one will stay with me D:"
Me after watching this video alone.
Ya know I'm somewhat of a writer myself.
Around 15, a social worker gave me this book called "A Prayer for Owen Meany".
I was never impressed nor fond of the book, but I always enjoyed reading it.
I never knew Irving was a big deal. Neeat...
That is me. I'm 11 and I've never been to a sleepover.
Lmao you are a lame. Sorry.