After seeing a tweet by author Morgan Wright, I had to blog about this clever infographic by author Alexei Maxim Russell.
The Graphic
In humorous form, it depicts six types of writers. The graphic describes each, including a ‘plus side’ and ‘ugly side’ and provides famous examples of all but one.
Russell depicts, using amusing exaggeration, six motivations for writing—creativity, money, solitude, anger, success, and bitterness.
If you’re a writer, you’ll see yourself in at least one of those caricatures, and probably several. You may even detect an evolution of your writing efforts from one motivation to another.
My Self-Assessment
Based on those six, I’ve self-assessed the percentages of each at the beginning of my writing career, now, and where I hope to be.
When I started writing, I fit into the Space Cadet category, with a bit of Weird Recluse and Ray of Sunshine in the mix. Now, I’m more Ray of Sunshine, and starting to adopt Greasy Palm tendencies, but losing my Space Cadet and Weird Recluse attributes. In the future, I hope to be mostly Ray of Sunshine, a higher proportion of Greasy Palm, with a little Space Cadet left over.
I’ve never identified with the Angry Man or Bitter Failure types, and hope I don’t become them.
Other Types?
Did Russell leave some other types off his list? Possibly. I thought of two more:
- The Evangelist. Writes to inspire others, always envisioning a better world. Plus side: positive and uplifting. Ugly side: can be seen as pollyannish and preachy. Possible Famous Evangelists: Stephen R. Covey, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
- The Jester. Writes for laughs. Every line’s a joke. Plus side: there’s always a ready market for humor. Ugly side: eventually the jokes go stale and the well runs dry. Possible Famous Jesters: Mark Twain, Dave Barry, Bill Bryson
Your Self-Assessment
If we set aside the exaggerations of the infographic for a moment, you might find a benefit in identifying the motivations for your writing. As long as you avoid the Bitter Failure character, you can achieve a measure of success with any of the other categories.
Regarding the question in the title of this blogpost, what type of writer are you? Perhaps more important, what type do you aspire to be? Go ahead, you can tell—
Poseidon’s Scribe