Writer Stereotypes - The Creative Process

WRITER STEREOTYPES

A long while back, I did an author tag on Authortube about writer stereotypes (video found here) and I realised recently that it wasn't something I'd talked about here on the blog. While I try not to repeat myself too much for those who follow both, it makes sense to do something fun for those who just read rather than watch. Writer stereotypes are the kinda of thing that you hear about a lot.

We're addicted to tea/coffee/caffeine. We usually have cats (though I know more with dogs to be honest). We're anti-social introverts. We like to have lots of notebooks. We don't ever write in said notebooks. Our search histories are scary, and we're probably, depending on the genre, the best people to go to hide a body and/or get some random fact from. None of them are meant in a derogatory way, it's just something fun to think about. Like if you have someone in your life who fits all of these, maybe they might be a writer? Who knows, writing is such a broad term and there are so many people who don't consider themselves writers, but who will bang out a massive fanfic and go about their days.

I thought it would be fun to tell you what stereotypes I fit into, and maybe you can let me know about any others you're aware of and whether you fit into any, down in the comments.

#1 WE'RE ADDICTED TO TEA/COFFEE/CAFFEINE
This one is kinda true to be honest. I am very much British and love me a cup of it during my writing time. It's something you're bound to find on my desk, and while I don't drink anywhere near as much as I did, if I'm out and about at a coffee shop, that's gonna be my order.

BUT... I mostly drink decaf bar the two cups of caffeinated at like 4/5am. I'm also allergic to coffee and so have never really tried any of that because I have this weird quirk where I like being able to breathe!

#2 WE USUALLY HAVE CATS
We all know this is true. You only have to check my Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and so on to see that I do have cats. I live with five of them. There are more cats in our house than humans, and we are very much okay with that. We have Miss Spaghetti as the oldest at 15, she's also called Hetti. We have Miss Violet and Mr Dash, who are sister and brother, and both almost 14. They're tabbies and while Dash is gentle and kind, Violet will cut you if you mess with her. And we have Miss Tortellini and Miss Mink, one is mine, the other belongs to Mx. K, who's B's child. The last two will be 2 in July. I'll let you spot the theme between the cats that are mine!

#3 WE'RE ANTI-SOCIAL INTROVERTS
I don't know whether I'd call myself anti-social, my mother probably would. A lot of the time I spend alone is because my health makes it next to impossible to get out and do things on the regular. I do find that when I talk to people online, it's easier to be myself and from there I find I can get on with a lot of people. That said, I do only have a very small circle of friends offline. My two besties are the ones I talk to most and see most, though one lives in Finland so that makes that harder.

As for being an introvert, yeah that sounds like me. I don't know if it's because of my chronic illness that social events tire me out, or the introvert in me peaking their head up and saying enough. Either way, I think I hit that one on the head.

#4 WE LIKE TO HAVE A LOT OF NOTEBOOKS
This used to be true for me. I was very much someone who could be swayed by a pretty notebook. I have some on my desk shelf, and some that I'll probably never use, but I'd also happily give them to someone else if they had a use for it. I'm not a writer who hoards them though because I just don't have the space, and I also don't have the money to just keep buying them when I just don't use them.

#5 WE DON'T WRITE IN SAID NOTEBOOKS
This one is true, but it's not because I'm a writer, but because my chronic conditions make writing as in holding a pen painful, so they don't get used, which is why I'm happy to hand them off to people who do have a use for them. Until then, they sit on my desk shelf.

#6 OUR SEARCH HISTORIES ARE SCARY
Oh boy, do I meet this one! I have asked Siri and Alexa things that I'm sure have me on a watch list somewhere. I don't do that much searching on Goggle these days because over the years I've learned from contacts and have people I can reach out to if I need clarification on a plot point. I think if I didn't have those connections, then my search history would be a lot worse.

#7 WE'RE THE BEST PEOPLE TO HIDE A BODY AND/OR FIND RANDOM KNOWLEDGE
Yeah, I'd say this is kinda true for me. I write crime, I read crime, I could probably, in a pinch work out what to do with a body. But I don't want to, bit of a wimp where that's concerned!

The random knowledge one is also kinda true for me. I'm someone who collects facts. I might not always have a use for them, but when I do, it's a whole lot of fun to be able to blow someone's mind with them!

So there we go, those are the stereotypes and the ones I meet. Do you meet any of these? Lemme know in the comments below!

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