forum I'm an INTJ if that helps you

Started February 20, 2019 by @Tiani

tune

ask me anything!

ask me anything!

hello fellow intj, hows it hangin

Pretty good, thanks for asking.

How are you doing

How are you doing

pretty good. idk how to talk. what's up

Nothing much, just chilling and going through my 11 notifications

Nothing much, just chilling and going through my 11 notifications

wow 11. fancy. okay so to stop being super awkward, do you think you could help me with writing flaws?

Yeah sure, I'd love to help.

Hello, fellow Architects! Do you mind if I join in to answer any personality questions and whatnot? I have a wealth of information on "useless" subjects, or I can at least direct folks in the right direction.

lol okay dudes. I think that breaking my characters out of a Mary Sue roll is really difficult… any tips?

Aside from the obligatory "give her a flaw" thing, I recommend basing characters off of people that you meet in real life. "Life imitates art," or so the saying goes, so I recommend creating characters based on traits that you see in other people (or adding them in where it's appropriate). I know many people with volume control issues, including myself, where we're either too loud or too soft and can't figure out a correct "talking volume." I know one person who means well but berates me for not knowing details that she finds trivial or commonly known. It's especially bad when talking about people I've only ever met once or twice, as I am terrible with remembering names and faces unless I spend the day with you or something like that.

Using traits that you find in the real world and planting them in your characters – but not having that define them, mind you– really aids in creating characters that feel human and not like an archetype. Hope this helps!

Aside from the obligatory "give her a flaw" thing, I recommend basing characters off of people that you meet in real life. "Life imitates art," or so the saying goes, so I recommend creating characters based on traits that you see in other people (or adding them in where it's appropriate). I know many people with volume control issues, including myself, where we're either too loud or too soft and can't figure out a correct "talking volume." I know one person who means well but berates me for not knowing details that she finds trivial or commonly known. It's especially bad when talking about people I've only ever met once or twice, as I am terrible with remembering names and faces unless I spend the day with you or something like that.

Using traits that you find in the real world and planting them in your characters – but not having that define them, mind you– really aids in creating characters that feel human and not like an archetype. Hope this helps!

wow okay that's really good advice lol

That’s a great idea, what would also be interesting is to base a character off of someone you know and jive your characters those flaws, but then ask the person you based your character off, what do they think their personality flaws are. This will then give you the insecurities of the character

That’s a great idea, what would also be interesting is to base a character off of someone you know and jive your characters those flaws, but then ask the person you based your character off, what do they think their personality flaws are. This will then give you the insecurities of the character

wow okay love that

So what about making a story flow? What helps you write dialogue and make the story interesting? I'm making a comic book, so mine works a little differently than writing a book will, but I'm just curious if other INTJ's have a similar process to mine.

I just kinda go with it and change things afterward. Most of my dialogue flows like a game, where I occasionally punctuate things with movement or action, but other times I have a few lines of straight talking because the characters are face-to-face and conversing like normal people. Not everyone moves when talking, and I don't always feel the need to add "stuff" between lines.

I try setting up the scene in my head, trying to make it as realistic as possible. I know where I want the story to go but then I think “what are the relationships between these characters”, “how are they feeling”, “are there any awkward silences”, “why are
the characters saying what they are saying and feeling what they are feeling”. When I ask these questions it seems to flow better and not get boring

I try setting up the scene in my head, trying to make it as realistic as possible. I know where I want the story to go but then I think “what are the relationships between these characters”, “how are they feeling”, “are there any awkward silences”, “why are
the characters saying what they are saying and feeling what they are feeling”. When I ask these questions it seems to flow better and not get boring

how do you write "uh"s and stutters and stuff like that?

how do you write "uh"s and stutters and stuff like that?

You just, uh… You just kinda… Do i– do it, I guess.
Most stutters aren't repeating the same sound over and over again unless you have a "tick." As someone who had a horrible stutter during elementary school, people usually repeat certain words or phrases. For me, it felt like I was always trying to pick the "correct" word for the current conversation, and I would trip over myself constantly. Writing stutters like that would feel more natural and realistic, though I did read a book by Brandon Mull called Fablehaven, where a character actually faked their stutter. If you know what a stutter sounds like, then you could tell because he would repeat letter sounds rather than what I described above. It was really cool!

how do you write "uh"s and stutters and stuff like that?

You just, uh… You just kinda… Do i– do it, I guess.
Most stutters aren't repeating the same sound over and over again unless you have a "tick." As someone who had a horrible stutter during elementary school, people usually repeat certain words or phrases. For me, it felt like I was always trying to pick the "correct" word for the current conversation, and I would trip over myself constantly. Writing stutters like that would feel more natural and realistic, though I did read a book by Brandon Mull called Fablehaven, where a character actually faked their stutter. If you know what a stutter sounds like, then you could tell because he would repeat letter sounds rather than what I described above. It was really cool!

neat! thanks for the help!

That's is a great example! I often like to write awkward characters to have more juxtaposition in my characters so I finf that the ellipsis(…) is super useful to make sure you have that gap in the characters dialogue.