What is introverted fiction?
Author Corinne Dyvis first began using the #ownvoices hashtag on Twitter in 2015. She used it to indicate an author from a marginalized population writing a story with a protagonist from that same group. For example, a person of color might write a protagonist of color to provide this perspective. The #ownvoices hashtag is no longer being used, but there is still a strong movement to encourage writers to write protagonists that share their identities. Introverted fiction aspires to join this movement, albeit cautiously. With so many different opinions out there about introverts, it would be understandable for people to claim to be writing introvert stories when they are actually extraverts writing with extravert protagonists. But this movement has great potential to encourage publishers to publish introvert voices, and also to encourage the reading public to be more open to genuinely introvert perspectives. |
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In that case, how do we know if someone is writing introverted fiction?
There doesn't seem to be agreement between psychologists, popular writers, and the public at large about what an introvert is. My take on introversion is based on my personal experience, and may not match what others identify as an "introvert." Even so, I think I'm probably describing a distinctive group of people here, whether we want to call them introverts, Highly Sensitive Persons, empaths, or something else. Here are some considerations we might think about in creating protagonists that are "introverted" in the way I'm describing it:
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What are some examples of introvert protagonists?
Here are a few possibilities that I would suggest looking into:
I could provide some other guesses, but I want to be careful not to give false positives. For example, I believe that Kaybree Andresdatter Staalvoss from my Kaybree versus the Angels series is an introvert. However, I recognize that I wasn’t aware of the extravert/introvert difference when I wrote the books between 2011 and 2015. She has some qualities of introverts, such as a preoccupation with morality, a feeling of alienation, being conflict averse, seeking her identity, and solving problems through moral reflection and introspection. However, she also solves problems by transforming into a magical girl and fighting supernatural creatures with punches, kicks, swords, and lightning bolts. In contrast, I deliberately wrote Aurora from my forthcoming Aurora Lightwalker series as an introvert, so I can claim she is an introverted protagonist with much more confidence. |