5 Types of Writer and their quirky habits - Writer's Corner #2 (Patreon)

Welcome to episode two of Writer's Corner. Last time we explored the concept of 'creative hibernation' vs. writer's block. This time, I've been thinking about different creative types, and so I thought I'd do a little list type feature on the different types of writer I've encountered, and what I've learned from them and their creative ways!

The  hand-writer: often, but not exclusively, this writer is a little bit  snobby about not using technology in their writing. In much the same way  that those who only eat organic food, or are vegan, can sometimes be a  little bit superior about their choices, these writers can tend to look  down their noses at those who slavishly batter out their stories on  keyboards, staring glassy-eyed into the whiteness of a Word document…  However, as with the food analogy, these people can also be some of the  most open-minded, creative, and empathetic human beings on the planet.  One piece of advice I heard about writing stories was to write a draft  on a different floor of the house, and on or using a different piece of  equipment. I want to say it was Virginia Woolf who did this, but I’m not  sure, so don’t quote me on it. The author would hand-write the first  draft on the ground floor, then would edit it on the first floor, and  would type it up in their little attic room on a typewriter. We don’t  all have multiple floors and huge amounts of space at our disposal, but  using a different medium like a beautiful notepad and fountain pen, or  the back of an envelope and an old Biro, can be hugely liberating,  providing that you’ve got legible handwriting, and don’t get cramp  easily… 

The  ‘oh my god I’ve got so many things on the go and none of them is anywhere near finished’ writer: I’m one of these writers, as you may  already have figured out. I have a bit of a butterfly brain, and it  tends to flutter from one pretty, shiny idea to the next, leaving a  trail of half-pollinated projects in its wake. While it can be  demoralising to burn through the passion for a project like a flash in a  pan and find yourself surrounded by half-formed ideas and the burnt out  remnants of your own enthusiasm, it can also be good for days when  you’re not quite sure what you want to write, and you have lots of  things from which to choose… It takes huge amounts of discipline (which  I’m only very slowly learning to summon) to focus on a select set of  projects and see them all the way through to completion, instead of  dashing off along the next corridor after the glowing firefly of an idea  that will inevitably disappear into the shadows before you can really  get a hold of it… It can be done, but it takes work.  

The  lore master: these are the writers who spend a so much time working out  the background of the story, the geopolitics of the continent, maybe  even of the galaxy, drawing maps and trade routes, designing towns and  transport systems, that they may never even begin the actual story  itself. They will know the entire life history of every character that  we are likely to meet, and, yes, even those extras bustling around in  the background selling fruit or something. These writers know the  timeline inside out; they know which king was in power three centuries  earlier, and how the current ruler is related. They know which folk  songs are popular in the taverns, and which cider press the barrels in  the cellar came from. They know which fish are currently populating the  brackish river mouth not far from that one out of the way coastal town.  In fact, they’ll know exactly how far it is from the walls of that  coastal town to the fishing dock, and how long it takes to get there on  foot, by cart, and by horse. These writers are the ones you want to read  your own story draft and get them to ask all sorts of difficult  questions (for which you’ll hate them in the short term, and love them  in the long), because - while you really don’t have to know every single  stitch in the tapestry of your story’s world - you do have to  understand the rules of your own universe, and you have to stick to  them. J.K. Rowling is… not one of these writers. She makes up the rules  as she goes along, and, depending on what she feels like one day, her  wizards may crap their pants and vanish the evidence one day, and yet on  another they might have very large bathrooms which become major plot  points in several stories… you get my point. Background is very  important, but… is it really ‘that’ important…? 

The dialogue masters: descriptions of surroundings are for die-hard Thomas Hardy fans, and these writers are not Thomas Hardy fans. You’ll be lucky  if you get told much about the planet than its name through the  dialogue, but that doesn’t mean you won’t learn about any of the world.  There’s so much you can discover through being shown and not told  (which, oddly enough, doesn’t mean you can’t have lots of dialogue). The  difference between ‘show’ and ‘tell’ in writing is a topic large enough  for another day, so I won’t linger on it, but it’s the difference  between the author saying ‘Ann’s knee was very painful and she was  finding it difficult to walk on’ and ‘ “Are you alright, Ann?” The  blonde nodded grimly and glanced down at her knee. “Still giving you  trouble then?”…’  The first one is… boring, the second one we learn enough about her  condition and difficulty through other means; in this case, through the  dialogue.  

Finally, though there are many more categories of writers I could explore I’m sure, there’s the frantic word-splurger:  this writer will not stop. They’re like a greyhound after a target.  It’s a manic, typo-ridden, keyboard-steaming dash for the end of the  story. Many writers will pause, stretch, procrastinate, re-read the last  few paragraphs and make one or two tweaks here and there (though a  common piece of advice in writing circles is not to edit too heavily as  you go because it can kill the pace), but these writers leave the  opening sentence in the dust and just lunge forwards for the next  paragraph, and the next, and the next. With the tenacity of a bulldog,  they’ll plough through the tricky bits or even just skip them entirely,  deciding that maybe they can come back later, or if it’s not working  then it’s not worth including. I’ve spoken with authors like this who  burn through an entire project without noticing that it’s now three in  the morning, and they’ve not eaten for thirteen hours, and that they  suddenly and rather desperately need the loo… The advantage of this  mindset is that, well, you get the project done, but it can leave you  drained and utterly empty, sometimes for weeks on end. The fever burns  through and leaves the writer weak, malnourished (sometimes literally as  well as just figuratively), and it takes a long time to recover. This  can be hugely detrimental to one’s mental health, and while it’s always  nice to be in the flow and riding the wave of creativity, sometimes the  crash at the end is colossal. Varying the pace of one’s writing is a  skill that needs to be learned, and, as with the butterfly writers like  me, it takes discipline and time to find a healthy pattern that not only  promotes creativity but nurtures it and helps you to develop as a  creator.  

This  variety in creative types is what makes speaking to others - be they  visual artist or sculptor, software developer or writer - so  interesting. Everyone has their own way of producing content, with  varying degrees of success and sanity, and there’s something to be  learned and gained from discussing processes with others, trading tips  and tools, across a wide gamut of ‘types’ and fields.  

So, I wonder which one you are? Or are you in another category altogether?