Are you a quiet person? Are most writers quiet?

[RC Bonitz]

Yeah, i tend to be an introvert at least when i talk about my books. That of course does me no good. I know a few extroverted writers and they've made the bestseller lists. I'm working on it though.

[rockclimber300]

Well, I consider myself a writer of sorts, (though I by no means have anything published) but I'm pretty sure I'm not very quiet. I'm not so loud and outgoing that I can introduce myself to random people at will, but I make friends relatively easily, I'm often goofy and loud, and I like to fool around with people a lot. Yeah, I'm not very quiet...

[VictoriaR]

Just remembered one of my favorite quotes: Kurt Vonnegut said something like: most novelists drag themselves around in society like gutshot bears.
It's true at least in my case. Everything I say is a first draft, I really want to take it back and revise.

[ReyElden9817]

I am a writer but I am not quiet, well not when I am around friends.. They always want to talk and sometimes it gets annoying. I'm a deep thinker like most of you. I dwell on about a number of things and they just disrupt my thoughts. When I'm off to myself most of the time, they think something is wrong. But when I'm home or out in public, I'm very quiet.

[Andreaj1911]

I am a quiet writer even to the point of being antisocial sometimes! It does make me worry when books I read on 'how to' write short stories etc say that you need to be a naturally nosey, inquisitive, people person.

[kathylapan]

Something I've always confused was intro/extroversion and being shy or outgoing. I'm outgoing but I'm quiet. I'm a leader but I prefer to work alone.

So through talking with a friend I learned that these are different traits not contradictions. I'm introverted (I prefer to be alone, I prefer quiet) but I'm outgoing (not shy, take charge, etc).

I think you have to have enough introversion to dwell on your ideas until they're fully cooked and also to work alone writing, but you do need enough outgoing-ness to put your work out there.

[DATo]

I usually take my cues from the company in which I find myself, but generally speaking I tend to be an open book where my thoughts and feelings are concerned. As a result I have never felt comfortable with people who appear very reserved in their speech or display reticence in their demeanor. I always get the feeling that they do not trust me enough to "open up". I realize this may be only an initial shyness on their part and I am always willing to ratchet up the familiarity if and when they appear to be thawing out.

So to answer the question: among people who are open and display a gregarious nature I tend to reciprocate in kind, and among people who are more reserved I display a more formal side of my personality that can be described as "quiet".

[craglejosh]

I definitely fall into this category. On the myers-briggs personality tests I typically get INTJ, with 100% introvert. I am typically pretty terrible at small talk as well.

[kathylapan]

I definitely fall into this category. On the myers-briggs personality tests I typically get INTJ, with 100% introvert. I am typically pretty terrible at small talk as well.

I get the exact same result.

-- 01 Dec 2015, 14:22 --

Also small talk is torture.

[Christine_B]

I'd consider myself a quiet person and introvert unless i'm with my family and friends then i'm a crazy ball of enegery but 80% of the time i'm a quiet person and I like to think about things a lot and analyse things.

[Clayton Williamson]

Depends on my surroundings, like most people. If I'm comfortable I have no qualms with being a ham. Telling jokes in person is a different type of thrill then telling jokes on paper.

I will agree that being child-like is an invaluable quality for a writer. It is far too easy to lose curiosity and wonder as we get older. Glad to see so many of you stay true to yourselves!

[KateNox]

I do tend to get extremely quiet when I am surrounded by two or more persons, even if I'm with one friend I would prefer to just listen. Sometimes people actually see that as being arrogant

[Gerald Chukwu]

I'm a very quiet introverted individual who gets hurt easily. I love to think, to reason, to analyze, to study, to reflect. I think I have one of the strongest imagination in the world. All I have enumerated are ingredients of what makes somebody a quiet person. However I'm talkative only when sharing ideas and when I find a discussion or topic very educative and interesting.

[pauljeday]

Hell no. I'm the life of the party and very loud, although, as I get older, my body won't let me be so full on. lol

[MyBrokeCollegeLife]

I am a very quite person when I don't know someone well. Often even with my friends I only say about 60% of what I'm thinking. I guess with writing I am crafting a world I have created, I have complete control and know exactly what I want my readers reaction to be. In a typical conversation people rarely have something to say, it's more casual and I find it difficult to know what to contribute.