The Four Types of Writing Personalities Every Writer Becomes

We like to think that we have a unique approach to writing. We even like to think that we stay consistent as a stream with how we approach crafting our novel, screenplay or poem.

But when is a stream ever consistent?

The truth is that during the lifetime of our writing careers, we take on writing personality types that best fit where we are in the creative process of that story. See if you can relate to any of these writing personality types below.

The Disciplined Writer

You have a game plan. Your story has an outline. Your characters have crafted character arcs. You have a rigid schedule and a timetable on when you’ll complete your story.

Yes, you are indeed ambitious.

But you don’t fail. You are knocking it out of the ballpark. You reach your daily word quote in a matter of minutes. You can’t stop the ideas from flowing from your fingers. Morning, afternoon, night—you can write whenever, wherever.

Then, of course, you finish your story as planned—or even sooner.

It’s this writing personality that has us believing that we can crank out twenty novels in our lifetime. Up until we let our egos get in the way.

The Wanna-Be Writer

Being a writer is your brand. You are the writer of the family and the wordsmith in your clique. Now it’s time for your writing personality to go viral.

So, you sit at a café wearing a baret while sipping on a steaming latte. Oh yes, and you’re sitting in front of a blank word processing document. Not typing. Just sipping and staring and smirking.

Heck, even I’m writing this blog post in public right now.

But I’m doing something you’re not—I’m writing. You embody the role but don’t play the part. It’s not your talent but fear keeping you from writing.

Time to ditch the café and write without the audience.

The Night Owl Writer

Your creative juices flow at night. You’ve caught a second wind and you’re not hitting the hay until your tired brain has found a way to end this chapter.

So you write through the fatigue, blasting techno music and turning on every light in the house to fight away the drowsiness. It may take hours and the sun to rise for you to finish, but you get there.

It’s so easy to sleep soundly after conquering such a feat.

But now daylight is your nemesis. You squint at the sun. Your friends think you’re a vampire because you prefer closed shades to bright rooms. That is, until your schedule readjusts to living again among the day-wanderers.

The Typical Writer

An extreme writing personality is too burdensome to maintain. So you return back to your usual writing routine.

You dedicate an hour a day to writing. You set smaller goals and reward yourself for small achievements. You’re pleased to write 500 words a day.

And you maintain this commitment because it’s approachable. Slow and steady wins the race. Even if it takes a lifetime to get there.

You don’t feel burned out from writing. You don’t feel overburdened with unrealistic expectations. In fact, you enjoy writing. You can’t wait to write tomorrow.

So, which writing personality type are you today? Share your story below.