[NF] composition for nf types

[the state i am in]

i want to learn how nf types go about writing, composing their thoughts, arranging their ideas, and producing mental/creative WORK.


infp: i've noticed the infps who have learned how to work their strengths to write, especially when working on something that requires more linearity than they would necessary like, do best at writing it all out, printing it, and then literally taking scissors to cut and paste it into a coherent direction. the seeing the whole spatially and then re-composing is crucial.

infj: as an infj, i have to free-write to explore all of the loose ends and strands of ideas in my head. my skill is in recognizing implications more so than in creating focused arguments. i need to allow my perceptions to wander in order to make the most of my Ni perceptual intelligence, and i need to think of emotional objectives by writing TO someone in order to maximize my voice, i need to rely on those kind of stylistics to create a sense of integrity and consistency throughout the work. which doesn't work in specific forms (formal) writing nearly as well. the free-write process helps me immensely, as does constant outlining and creating maps for thinking in different layers, seeing it all at once perceptually, and attempting to get as much encoded in easy-to-perceive representations so that i can take in as much info when i synthesize as possible.

enfj?

enfp?

i have no idea about how these extroverts work. i know that enfp, when someone is exploring their ideas, realizes their ideas easily into materialization. but they don't recognize the seeds or the relationships until they come up in conversation, or until they are part of the solution to a problem which must be asked first (or they have to be stoned and in a particularly thoughtful/silly/exploratory).

 

[speculative]

infp: i've noticed the infps who have learned how to work their strengths to write, especially when working on something that requires more linearity than they would necessary like, do best at writing it all out, printing it, and then literally taking scissors to cut and paste it into a coherent direction. the seeing the whole spatially and then re-composing is crucial.

This is how I used to write college papers. I started out writing the smaller papers from start to finish, and then as I got into my upper-level courses and then grad school, I took a "chunk" approach. Usually, I would end up with a Word file for each major section or heading, and then one main file that I would paste snippets into, or cut snippets out of. Normally, I would end up with as much "extra" writing as finished, final draft. Sometimes the extra writing was not good enough to include, whereas other times it was good writing but didn't fit tightly with the theme, while still other times it was good writing but would not allow me to fall within the length requirement.

Writing for Nano, this is also how I do things. I write out of sequence, and when I'm stuck I simply jump into the future of the story (or the past if I'm writing a flashback ) and then resume the main thread when I am inspired once more.

In the past, when I worked on fantasy novels, I would write from start to finish for the most part, grinding away as the characters made their typical fantasy genre journey from quest point A to quest point B...

 

[Seymour]

Huh, I have a very different approach for writing as an INFP (than the one described by the OP). If what I'm writing isn't too long (clearly this wouldn't work for a novel, for example), I do best if I think about it the background for a while and let it percolate. Sometimes I'll make a few notes on a piece of paper or on the computer, but mostly it's just about letting it gestate internally. I sometimes I'm mentally idly dive into some detail in my head while doing something else, modify it a bit, and then not think about it for a while.

When I'm ready to write, I can feel the readiness in the back of my mind, and can write it all down in one sitting (or in a few). It flows well the first time, so if I have to make lots of edits, usually it gets a lot worse before it gets better. Otherwise, with the first structural edits the flow from paragraph to paragraph is destroyed, and the nice transitions are lost.

So, for shorter things, waiting until it's ready is always better. (Yes, I'm a perceiver, can you tell?) I find writing before its time is like pulling teeth for me. Plus I don't have a lot of editing patience, either, especially for something I've just written.

speculative: Does the ring true for you, now? I haven't attempted a novel, but do you still do chunks as they are ready or interesting? I would imagine with practice one could reduce the percolation time, and develop more patience for editing.

 

[Sniffles]

infj: as an infj, i have to free-write to explore all of the loose ends and strands of ideas in my head. my skill is in recognizing implications more so than in creating focused arguments. i need to allow my perceptions to wander in order to make the most of my Ni perceptual intelligence, and i need to think of emotional objectives by writing TO someone in order to maximize my voice, i need to rely on those kind of stylistics to create a sense of integrity and consistency throughout the work. which doesn't work in specific forms (formal) writing nearly as well. the free-write process helps me immensely, as does constant outlining and creating maps for thinking in different layers, seeing it all at once perceptually, and attempting to get as much encoded in easy-to-perceive representations so that i can take in as much info when i synthesize as possible.

What she ^^^ wrote. Usually when I write down my thoughts, there's no real coherent order to them at all. It's not uncommon for me to draw lines trying to show where certain lines of thought are connected or what order they should be in. My mind often just jumps randomly from thought to thought and back again constantly.

 

[Phantonym]

I agree with what the OP said about the INFJ.

What she ^^^ wrote. Usually when I write down my thoughts, there's no real coherent order to them at all. It's not uncommon for me to draw lines trying to show where certain lines of thought are connected or what order they should be in. My mind often just jumps randomly from thought to thought and back again constantly.

And +1000000000 to this as well. I'm awful with coherence and different ideas run through my head like crazy. With formal papers, I use outlining but not in a strict manner, I can make adjustments when I come up with an idea that leads me to a different direction and I have to shift the focus on something else, much better in my mind. I write much more freely on a subject that I can sort of put myself into, when I can establish some kind of emotional attachment to it.

I have to write things down very quickly or the train of thought is lost. When I used to write everything by hand, I numbered or drew lines between chunks of text. Using a computer helps me immensely. I usually write chunks of text, following a thought, then start another thought, or use different colouring for different thoughts. I highlight the ideas that need to be fleshed out more. Then I can easily connect these chunks of text into a "finished product".

 

[The Outsider]

I sit around and think it through in my head, then put it on paper.

 

[Fidelia]

I am not good with formal papers unless I have had a lot of time to allow thought to crystallize into coherent sections. My main problem in writing is rabbit trailing and sorting out the extraneous from the essential. I need a person who is more ruthless than I to help me come up with an outline. Strangely enough, when teaching or helping someone else, I am much better at doing this. I can read the assignment's guidelines, come up with something quickly and be quite decisive. I wish this ability could be transferred to my own writing! I tend to get overwhelmed by all I want to say and turn it into a much bigger job than it is.

 

[OrangeAppled]

I think a lot first. I do some research. I research everything. Even my friendly emails . I often don't trust my own thoughts - I have to connect them to something that is verifiably real. I recognize I am in lala land 90% of the time.

I have weird self-imposed restrictions, such as not to overuse the same word. Instead, I overuse the thesaurus . I also try and vary sentence structure. I see writing almost visually, and each component is an element that needs to balance something else. It can't feel too repetitive so that it is redundant, but it also needs some repetition in phrasing to help tie it all together.

For formal papers, outlines do help me organize my thoughts and cut out tangent material (which is a big trap for me). Editing is probably the biggest issue for me - I tend to add for clarity, not cut.

I don't usually write in sequence. Even if I attempt to, I tend to jump to different parts, so when I am done getting my thoughts out, I have to go back and arrange it into a more linear format. I don't literally cut and paste paper, but I cut and paste on my computer. Once I get it in order, I go through and make sure there are connecting sentences.

When I was younger and my ISFJ mom would review my work for me, and that was always her complaint: "You jump from one thought to another without clearly connecting them". My mind makes the connection, it fills in blanks, so I naturally assume other people would do the same. I've realized in observing other writing that you have to spell it out for people, and now I can do that well when necessary.

When I write by hand, I tend to write a "rough draft" first, and then I re-write it in order. Even when I write thank you cards or something like that, I usually do a trial run on plain paper first.

 

[Orangey]

I think a lot first. I do some research. I research everything. Even my friendly emails . I often don't trust my own thoughts - I have to connect them to something that is verifiably real. I recognize I am in lala land 90% of the time.

I have weird self-imposed restrictions, such as not to overuse the same word. Instead, I overuse the thesaurus . I also try and vary sentence structure. I see writing almost visually, and each component is an element that needs to balance something else. It can't feel too repetitive so that it is redundant, but it also needs some repetition in phrasing to help tie it all together.

For formal papers, outlines do help me organize my thoughts and cut out tangent material (which is a big trap for me). Editing is probably the biggest issue for me - I tend to add for clarity, not cut.

I relate to this a lot. Sentence structure needs to vary in such a way that there is a pleasing balance and "ring" to it. And I hate being repetitive (either in terms of words choice, structure of the sentence, or content). The only thing different for me is that I usually use mapping instead of outlining (it's more visual), and once I have that all down I usually write straight through. There's something about not having an organizing introduction that makes writing anything else beyond that almost impossible for me.

I absolutely do not do the free write and subsequent "cut and paste" method, though, and I usually edit my sentences heavily as I write them so that later editing is not really necessary. But I'm an NT, so what does it matter?

 

[cascadeco]

When writing for personal pleasure, or to figure out my thoughts on a particular matter, I relate very much to the free-writing described in the OP. It's only post-school (past 10 years) that I've done this sort of writing, however.

While in school, when writing papers, I would spend the majority of my time thinking through everything in my head - that took up the bulk of the process. Once I actually began writing, it went much more quickly as I already knew generally what I was wanting to do and the format. It was still consuming in the sense that I was having to find quotes/sources to support my theme, but seamless/effortless in the sense that I had already established the 'roadmap' in my mind. Also I remember having a thing where I did my editing and such as I went, so that my first draft was for the most part my final draft - obviously a few changes might be needed in the end, but generally the 'draft' concept didn't apply much to me.

 

[Mad Hatter]

I have weird self-imposed restrictions, such as not to overuse the same word. Instead, I overuse the thesaurus . I also try and vary sentence structure. I see writing almost visually, and each component is an element that needs to balance something else. It can't feel too repetitive so that it is redundant, but it also needs some repetition in phrasing to help tie it all together.

Same here Everything, even formal writing, has to have at least some aesthetic quality

For formal papers, outlines do help me organize my thoughts and cut out tangent material (which is a big trap for me). Editing is probably the biggest issue for me - I tend to add for clarity, not cut.

If you want to make your point, make it short.
It applies more to writing than to speaking. In writing, you can always re-read a passage, in speaking an elaboration or a repetition can sometimes help to make your point.
Papers are always an enormous struggle in that respect. I'm always seeing connections which I find interesting to think about, but not really relevant to the subject (same applies for reading - I sometimes get lost in irrelevant literature).
I'm always amazed when people tell me that they were about to hand in their paper but it was "much too long." I literally struggle with every page and am usually at the lower limit.

I don't usually write in sequence. Even if I attempt to, I tend to jump to different parts, so when I am done getting my thoughts out, I have to go back and arrange it into a more linear format. I don't literally cut and paste paper, but I cut and paste on my computer. Once I get it in order, I go through and make sure there are connecting sentences.

When I was younger and my ISFJ mom would review my work for me, and that was always her complaint: "You jump from one thought to another without clearly connecting them". My mind makes the connection, it fills in blanks, so I naturally assume other people would do the same. I've realized in observing other writing that you have to spell it out for people, and now I can do that well when necessary.

To me, connections, moreover structure, are paramount when it comes to writing. Structuring usually takes up to 40% of my 'writing' time (as a guess). Though I have almost always received positive feedbacks for my structure, I find that to be the hardest part.

It takes a lot of effort to arrange my thoughts in a sequential pattern because, frankly, my mind doesn't work that way (as opposed to language) - I think of a lot of stuff rather simultaneously, and that's rather messy. The bad thing is: I'm often afraid that some brilliant thought I have simply vanishes from the screen. More than once I felt the urge to immediately rush to my desk or take a note to put down the inspiration I just had. That can happen anytime, even when I'm doing something completely different at the moment.

When I write by hand, I tend to write a "rough draft" first, and then I re-write it in order. Even when I write thank you cards or something like that, I usually do a trial run on plain paper first.

Writing something by hand is a piece of advice I'd like to give to everyone (though of course it helps some people more than others). It will help you to spot redundancies, unclear passages, sentence fragments etc. much more easily. Also, you can always jot down important thought on a foolscap whenever you have them without losing track of the 'big picture'. A slight drawback is that it's a bit slow (again, my fear of forgetting something important before I've written it down). That's why shorthand comes in handy sometimes.

 

[the state i am in]

as iNtuitives i think when we explore the connections in our mind the problem we are asking ourselves, especially as nfs, is often highly vague and indeterminate. ambiguity is our middle name. yet, when we stumble upon an area or a relationship/metaphor that helps answer this fuzzy question, we know, feel the epiphany, and rush to write it down. but we forget the question we were addressing far too easily, due to the tangential nature of the anti-linear HOLISM of Fness.

i like learning how to linear write from nts. entp and intj specifically help me in learning how to write. intps and istps help create a clarity and an evidencing that is excellent but they are far more Ti rigorous than i could/can ever be (causality is NOT my forte). my intelligence is in perception (as an infj Ni dom). intjs help define the objectives, working backwards like in a symbol logic or geometry (proofing) class, creating goals and sub-goals to get to where you need to go. this is ENORMOUSLY helpful for me.

i find the idea that one just formulates thought internally and then spews it all out suggestive of a lack of attention and probably a lack of clarity. intps would probably be the best at this overall, but not taking notes and organizing information, not expanding yourself beyond your mind and using representations and constructs to create mappings, seems counterproductive (and anti-intp). sketching improves articulation, i find. altho, for, say, enfjs, i could see that their highest cognitive center would be an oratorical kind of spoken rhetoric more so than a linear logical development. in that case, the sort of internal discourse that happens, and embodiment of voices and speakers internally would make sense as a viable method of composition. more of an emulation of a discourse practice for synthesis, but with actual faces.

fidelia, as far as what you say, i just think we need as much information as possible in front of us. we need to get close up and wander thru our ideas, trying out vague relationships and eventually pulling them thru a specific thread, a tautness emerges. like the ambiguity of emily dickinson, that comes into focus as she adds another layer going in a very different direction. and then kind of an ironic capper that still leaves much open room. but she's all slanty-eyed mystic when she's looking at the world.

 

[Wild horses]

Ok so if for example I am writing an article I write as though I am chatting to my computer about the subject... usually something I feel passionate about (Interesting as I know that ENFPs gain inspiration and learn via verbal communication... maybe a reason why I adopt that particualr style) I have to then revisit it a few times before it makes any readable sense... (Something I should consider doing with my posts here I guess HAHAHA) I find that if I chat about anything long enough I will get inspiration and so I don't find that I suffer writers block by doing it that way... sometimes have used a dictaphone but I hate transcribing as it is soooo boring and so it usually kills my buzz for the project

 

[neptunesnet]

infp: i've noticed the infps who have learned how to work their strengths to write, especially when working on something that requires more linearity than they would necessary like, do best at writing it all out, printing it, and then literally taking scissors to cut and paste it into a coherent direction. the seeing the whole spatially and then re-composing is crucial.

I really wish you'd stop reading my mind.
...It's getting creepy.

infj: as an infj, i have to free-write to explore all of the loose ends and strands of ideas in my head. my skill is in recognizing implications more so than in creating focused arguments. i need to allow my perceptions to wander in order to make the most of my Ni perceptual intelligence, and i need to think of emotional objectives by writing TO someone in order to maximize my voice, i need to rely on those kind of stylistics to create a sense of integrity and consistency throughout the work. which doesn't work in specific forms (formal) writing nearly as well. the free-write process helps me immensely, as does constant outlining and creating maps for thinking in different layers, seeing it all at once perceptually, and attempting to get as much encoded in easy-to-perceive representations so that i can take in as much info when i synthesize as possible.

I do most of this as an INFP.


EDIT: Plus everything OrangeAppled said, which is no surprise.

 

[BlueScreen]

In my head I tend to simulate actually doing things without doing them and correct the parts that don't feel right. A lot of the time I'll just let my thoughts flow and correct things on the fly or reread and correct things after I've written them. With art and anything that is a system, my mind just seems to jump around and fill in parts. Like in computer class I wrote 1000 lines of code with it all in modules and linked by just following my nose and tying up loose ends. This method can be dangerous though, because sometimes if I stop and come back a week later I don't find the train of thought again. Also I don't have a set approach for anything, which is probably the most confusing thing about ENFPs. Part of the approach to things is inventing the approach, and it doesn't seem to depend on anything standard, just what feels like the best way to approach it given what it is.

 

[Snuggletron]

This whole thread is a tl;dr already. I'll explain briefly:

- ideas shoot around my head all day like a free-for-all firefight involving a ton of soldiers running around with drum mag AA-12s, MGs, and RPGs
- Get home, eat my din din, then I get on my laptop
- if I'm writing, I open notepad and write an outline
- if I'm drawing, I plug in my tablet and open photoshop
- end result could equal a finished creative work or I could get bored and leave

 

[bronson]

For me it begins with loose, disconnected ideas flying around in my head.

Then my mind does that thing I love where I begin tying them altogether in various exciting ways - if its for a school paper it tends to be in very organised manner, if for my own leisure or my own purposes it can be a little more wild and exciting, i.e. writing fiction.


For me, I then head into this kind of feverish state in which I write and write... and I hate to stop or be interrupted, and I can sit for hours at a time refining my ideas through language.

Its wonderful.

I hate drafting, because I feel like what I write in that state is the prime stuff and adjusting it seems so dry and boring - but it can be beneficial I know.

 

[Serendipity]

When I was younger and my ISFJ mom would review my work for me, and that was always her complaint: "You jump from one thought to another without clearly connecting them". My mind makes the connection, it fills in blanks, so I naturally assume other people would do the same. I've realized in observing other writing that you have to spell it out for people, and now I can do that well when necessary.

I can relate to that. My mother told me to write as if a nine year old would recieve it and understand it. It works fairly well.

Tip.

 

[Thalassa]

When I write it very much starts in my head, I start musing about what I want to write about. I make connections between the topic assigned and things I either already know about or topics that interest me that I can connect somehow to the assignment. This way I learn something new, but in a context that is expanding my present knowledge of a current interest, or branching out in a new direction on a familiar topic.

This is easy for me because I write constantly in my free time in the form of journaling, blogging, creative writing, or on-line discussions. So there are always ideas I'm exploring one or two of which I generally can tie back to the assignment. I tend to think of my store of knowledge as a thousand small things that I tie together with threads. I may not be an expert at any one topic, but I have all of these ideas that I can explore a way to tie to something new or challenging. This is Ne, I'm sure. Ne also helps me to bullshit my way through parts of papers when I don't like the subject matter or can't think of anything else germain to say.

I tend to sit down and write and write, and then go back and edit sentences for better word choice, structure, and tone. When I seem to be "finished" in writing a paper I'll go back and tweak little parts of it until I'm happy with not only the content, but the form and presentation.

I fucking hate doing internal citation, though.

I've never tried literally cutting essays with scissors and pasting them together. However, I have taken paragraphs and sentences from old journals or papers and transformed them into something new or different.

 

[Thalassa]

This whole thread is a tl;dr already. I'll explain briefly:

- ideas shoot around my head all day like a free-for-all firefight involving a ton of soldiers running around with drum mag AA-12s, MGs, and RPGs
- Get home, eat my din din, then I get on my laptop
- if I'm writing, I open notepad and write an outline
- if I'm drawing, I plug in my tablet and open photoshop
- end result could equal a finished creative work or I could get bored and leave

You make a very good point here. I can't always write. I will get up and walk away, or just do something else if nothing is coming to me. There is nothing productive about that. In fact, sometimes something will come to me if I'm walking around, listening to music, or whatever.