The introvert's gifts

This week I've been reading Susan Cain's Quiet Power.  The book is aimed a children, but has just as much relevance for adults.  

I'm very firmly introverted, and I was fascinated to learn that the terms 'introvert' and 'extrovert" were invented by Carl Jung, who was also an introvert.  Beyonce, Albert Einstein, and Charles Darwin are all famous introverts, as is Emma Watson.  So I'm in good company.

Susan Cain suggests that it's vital for introverts to find their passion, because we tend to focus our energy on one or two projects we really care about.  We are also very good observers of both people and events.  A typical thing for an introvert to do at a large gathering where they don't know everyone is to hang about on the margins of the group, watching and listening.

All this comes in incredibly handy for a writer. Writing a novel requires long stretches of lone work totally focused on the world of our story, which is being created from inside our heads.  We quiet people have the focus and drive to make it through to the end of a novel. Our observational skills are also really useful for creating characters.  We'll often use a figure of speech from someone we know, or a mannerism, as part of our character creation.

When we introverts start a conversation we don't like small talk.  We prefer an in-depth conversation with one or two people.  These in-depth conversations are good practice for writing dialogue.  Good dialogue sounds naturalistic, but it cuts out all the um's and er's, and the frantic hand-waving with which some people pepper their conversation.  

Dialogue doesn't generally include small talk.  Its job is to confer important information, show something about the character, and/or move the story on.  All of those lend themselves to the in-depth type of conversation which introverts love.

It's no surprise to find that most writers are introverts.  We positively relish quiet time alone, so shutting ourselves away regularly to produce words on a page isn't a chore, it's a cherished use of alone time.

Through carefully-observed events and powerfully-argued stories we introverts can use the vehicle of our writing for what Susan Cain calls quiet leadership.  Word by word, we can change the world.