The Two Types Most Likely to Feel Like Utter Failures as Writers: INFJs and INFPs

For many years I considered myself an utter failure as a writer. I had a creative writing teacher in college who basically told me that I sucked at writing and I should find something else to do with my life. And the worst part was, I really kind of believed her. Because I had done horribly in every creative writing class I ever took. I came up with ideas for stories, but when I tried to write them down I lost all inspiration. I studied writing craft books, but every time I tried to use the tools they talked about, my story completely fizzled.

I was convinced there was something wrong with me.

It seemed like I just wasn’t cut out to be a writer.

The turning point came when I discovered that I was an INFJ and began to embrace my own intuition. I put down the writing guides and stopped listening to all the advice I found online. I started experimenting with unconventional tools — music, meditation, movement, talking directly to my characters — and everything changed. Suddenly, I wasn’t losing my inspiration halfway through the story, and I found I could work with a cast of characters until I finished an entire novel. This was huge for me. It changed my entire writing life.