It's a fact that many writers are also HSP or highly sensitive people. Stephanie Chandler says in the article Why Highly Sensitive People Make Great Writers by Kate Frank: “The trait of sensitivity is about being observant and aware of the details of events and situations.
Writers tend to be predominantly artistic individuals, meaning that they are creative and original and work well in a setting that allows for self-expression. They also tend to be investigative, which means that they are quite inquisitive and curious people that often like to spend time alone with their thoughts.
Creative people have a heightened sensitivity to their surroundings. Their sensory experiences (i.e. the way they perceive sound, light, smell, etc.) are intensified. They may pick up on the little things in the environment that others miss or see patterns where others see randomness.
HSPs tend to have more intense reactions to criticism than their non-sensitive counterparts, and as a result will often employ certain tactics to avoid criticism, such as people-pleasing, criticizing themselves first (before the other person has a chance to), and avoiding the source of the criticism altogether.
Intuitive types love to ruminate on ideas and imagine new possibilities or alternate realities, so they are certainly well-suited to be authors. Diplomats and Analysts share the Intuitive personality trait and a common purpose for writing: to transform, in one way or another, themselves or their world.
INFJs are highly sensitive to the words and deeds of those close to them. INFJ is regarded as the most sensitive personality type. Some estimates suggest that 80 to 90% of people who test as INFJs also test as highly sensitive people, because the traits of the two overlap so much.
The higher your IQ, the more likely you may be a highly sensitive person.
Since HSPs think and process things deeply, they often have a rich and complex inner world. They often have deep thoughts and strong feelings to go with them, as well as having vividly realistic dreams.
HSPs often struggle with overthinking, feeling like an imposter, and feeling like they are always doing something wrong.
While highly sensitive individuals tend to experience hyper-reactivity to sensory information, autistic individuals may have either a hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory information, a combination of both, or neither.
The Six Traits of writing are Voice, Ideas, Presentation, Conventions, Organization, Word Choice, and Sentence Fluency.
Large letters: You are outgoing, people-oriented, outspoken and love attention. This can also mean that you put up a front and pretend to have a lot of confidence. Average letters: You are well-adjusted and adaptable. Small letters: You are shy or withdrawn, studios, concentrated and meticulous.
Gifted writers are usually sensitive to style and can appreciate the writer's craft, realising the "whys" of effective language. This may be supported by their ability to articulate about writing. Because of this, they generally appreciate the opportunity to experiment with styles.
Famous Highly Sensitive People
Elton John, Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Einstein, Elanor Roosevelt, Robert Frost, and Emily Dickinson are just a few popular people with whose outward personas line up with the highly sensitive personality.
Not only are HSPs extra sensitive to environmental stimulation, they're also sensitive emotionally. According to Dr. Elaine Aaron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person, sensitive people tend to cry more easily than others. “Sensitive people can't help but express what they're feeling,” she told the Huffington Post.
In addition to being great listeners, highly sensitive people also have excellent memories. They remember all the details, especially those they believe are important to their companions and to their relationships.
Highly sensitive people may be more affected by certain situations such as tension, violence, and conflict, which may lead them to avoid things that make them feel uncomfortable. You might be highly touched by beauty or emotionality. Highly sensitive people tend to feel deeply moved by the beauty they see around them.
Most highly sensitive people display rare strengths in key areas of emotional intelligence, also known as emotional quotient (EQ) — the ability to recognize and understand emotions in themselves and others. These strengths including self-awareness and social-awareness.
Being highly sensitive is an invaluable trait that comes with many advantages. HSPs are known to be highly observant, intuitive, thoughtful, compassionate, empathetic, conscientious, loyal, and creative. In fact, managers consistently rate people with higher sensitivity as their top contributors.
It's hard because doing it well matters, because stories matter, and the details matter, and there are often a lot of details. Sometimes they take years to organize. The feelings and ideas and memories that we put into the writing also matter, and are layered, and we can't force an understanding of them.
One of the biggest challenges writers face is dealing with their own fear. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of criticism or rejection. A fear of not having anything worth saying.