JT’s Profile: Dear fan in distant future

If you’re reading this, hopefully it’s just in curiosity about the writer behind my writing. I don’t like wasting the time of others, so if you’re an aspiring writer, know that this article isn’t equipped with any advice to help you along your path. Here, I just want to share innate details about myself that I think readers and potential followers might be interested in.

If you’re still here, I appreciate your curiosity and interest in me. I don’t typically promote myself, because I’m not really interested in being a brand. Many authors are successful, because they sell subsequent books to a fan base that enjoyed their previous works. You shop for an author because they’ve demonstrated their ability to tell a compelling story, so you know their stories are a safe investment.

And I get that. I really do.

I’m actually developing my name to some extent so that my stories are visible, which runs counter to what I’d prefer. If I could manage it, I’d publish every book under a different name because all I really care about is providing satisfying stories. If I could live a minimalist life off-screen—unknown to all—while sharing my stories and earning enough to not struggle financially...

I wouldn’t need anything else. Because that’s enough for me.

MBTI and charting story details

If you’re familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), my type is going to explain why my views are what they are. I’m part of the Diplomats group—intuitive and feeling types, known for their empathy, diplomatic skills, and passionate idealism. But specifically I’m a Mediator or INFP.

Supposedly, Mediators make up around 4% of all personalities and is one of the rarer types, grouping me with some some pretty interesting peers. Do you recognize any of these names?

• Heath Ledger
• Joaquin Phoenix
• Johnny Depp
• Jude Law
• Kurt Cobain
• Lana Del Rey
• William Shakespeare
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Homer
• J.K. Rowling
• J. R. R. Tolkien

Regarding my days as a teenager, I found that this Kurt Cobain quote hit a little close to home:

I knew I was different. I thought that I might be gay or something because I couldn’t identify with any of the guys at all. None of them liked art or music, they just wanted to fight and get laid.

And this quote by Jude Law echoes the sentiment I shared about my own name:

I honestly have no interest in celebrity whatsoever. If anything, I always cringe at it because it takes away from what I am.

What’s interesting about Jude Law’s quote is that I found it after sharing my thoughts on my notoriety. But I’m sharing this group of peers to talk about the last one—Tolkien.

I’m not sure how much confidence I contribute to identifying this list of celebrities as INFPs though. Having taken the test, I know that results are derived from you answering around 90 questions, where you honestly disclose your dispositions. The MBTI was published in 1962, so I find it unlikely that Tolkien would have taken this new test in his 70s. So, that means he, like others on the list, would have been labeled as an INFP by other people.

If it were that simple, there would be no market for a company to sell the MBTI personality test today because we could all just point to one another and say he/she is this or that type.

But I’m playing devil’s advocate here, being skeptical of logic that I realize has holes. Having said that, I can identify with the work of all of the individuals in that list. That list doesn’t include all celebrity INFPs, just the ones that I found parallels to within my self.

So. Back to Tolkien—

I’m not a passionate fan or follower compared to the rest of his fan base. And that’s by no means a criticism. I enjoy and respect his work, but I know I’m a poor fan, comparatively speaking.

I knew he perused and mined the Norse Eddas for content and inspiration for The Lord of the Rings, but I didn’t know there were so many parallels until I myself started studying the Eddas. For instance, there’s a scene where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimili are approached by The Riders of Rohan, where Gimli says this:

Give me your name horse master and I shall give you mine.

And this exchange is derived from the edda Harbardsljod, where Thor and a ferryman (Odin in disguise) are having a back and forth that amounts to this same exchange from Gimli.

Despite this understanding, I know that Middle Earth is an interpretation just like my Jormungrund is. The trouble though... is that I think a lot of my interpretations and world building is going to seem antagonistic. And it’s not the product of an attempt to subvert or upend something that someone else has done. Rather, it’s a testament to just how ingrained and influential Tolkien’s work has made several aspects within fantasy storytelling.

I’m specifically thinking of Dwarves and Elves, but there are other things too. His presentation of these two races has become something akin to rules for writing fantasy. If not done adhering to a specific criteria, then it isn’t an Elf. It’s almost become a non-fiction model, where all other stories have to use key elements to include the label ‘based on a true story.’

I saw a lot of related outrage when Disney tried to replace their Dwarfs with characters that couldn’t be played by actors with dwarfism, which is a two fold problem. On the one hand, dwarfism is a real world condition, not a race, even though the two have basically become synonymous. On the other hand, Disney’s original cartoon was already an adaptation for a preexisting Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale. So, of course adapting their own adaptation was going to be met with...skepticism.

They completely through out the source material! Which is where Disney and I differ.

When I present my Dwarves in book 2, I fully expect to receive some of the same flak that Disney saw—the difference being the presence of a source material. My Dwarves will actually depict what the Eddas describe, which is not what Tolkien adapted for his race. Yes, he used their names, their background as blacksmiths, and their propensity to live below ground, but their physical makeup, mannerism, and speech were wholly Tolkien.

I’m not going to get into specifics, but my Dwarves share the same details that Tolkien migrated. But as for Tolkien’s original details, mine are nothing of the sort. You can find out my details in the Eddas if you don’t mind searching, but the only thing I’ll give you freely is that my Dwarves have a significant commonality with vampires.

And my Elves? Well, let’s just say that my protagonist—Mioko—is going to be very confused when she encounters one because she has the exact same expectation that every other fantasy reader would. :)

In the most round about way, my sharing of my INFP personality was primarily to allow you to correlate my own motives with that of other known and respectable creators. But it was also to showcase my aptitude for empathy and character psychology.

At times, I think my grasp of character voice feels like what I imagine schizophrenia to be like. My characters aren’t so persistent as the mental disorder but still. They are pronounced. But hey, crazy in me just means believable character for you, am I right? :)

I have other life experiences that parallel Tolkien but neither of us want this article to become a dissertation!

StrengthsFinder 2.0

Another thing I wanted to share is similar to the MBTI in that it’s related to a test that defines aspects that make up who I am. What can I say? I enjoy psychology!

StrengthsFinder 2.0 is a similar test. Instead of charting personality details, it identifies your top five strengths so that you can employ them in your work. And mine? Well, let’s just say that storytelling is definitely something I should be pursuing.

Sharing these will give you an idea of what to expect from my world building and overall story assimilation. I didn’t expect to be interested in world building, being the character focused personality that I am. But then I got involved in adapting the Eddas and filling out details for Twilight Wolf... I learned exactly what my strengths were capable of.

So, here they are:

1. Intellection
2. Input
3. Ideation
4. Futuristic
5. Connectedness

There are four categories or quadrants that divide up the 34 strengths/themes. Those quadrants are:

1. Relating
2. Impacting
3. Striving
4. Thinking

...And all five of my strengths fall within Thinking. So, let’s look at what their specifics and examine why they equip me to be a powerful storyteller.

Intellection

You like to think. You like mental activity. You pose yourself questions and try out answers on yourself to see how they sound. Your introspection may tend towards more pragmatic matters such as a conversation you plan to have later.

I migrated only the relevant details of this strength, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had mental conversations with others, which subsequently never took place. But it’s undoubtedly given me as much experience in crafting dialogue, which has always been the first thing that past readers have praised.

Input

You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information—words, facts, books, and quotations. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives.

Alright, so my number one strength held little pizazz because there simply isn’t any tangible evidence. For obvious reasons. But strength number two has no such dilemma. This has been a powerhouse tool for researching the Eddas and for world building in general.

Ideation

You are fascinated by ideas. You are delighted when you discover beneath the complex surface an elegantly simple concept to explain why things are the way they are. An idea is a connection. Yours is the kind of mind that is always looking for connections, and so you are intrigued when seemingly disparate phenomena can be linked by an obscure connection. You revel in taking the world we all know and turning it around so we can view it from a strange but strangely enlightening angle.

Just don’t ask me about how we perceive the world. Or about time. Or about reality. :) You will see this suggestion of connection in action across the Grim Legacy series. There are only minor raised surfaces in book one, barely enough to grasp unless you have extensive knowledge of the Eddas. But as the series continues, all the way up to the end, you’re going to discover some foreshadowing that was present in book one.

So, even on familiar concepts, expect to see those in new ways. An example of which can be found with my world tree. Regardless of what you’ve seen, mine isn’t what you’re expecting. Yet, it embodies what’s laid out in the Eddas. The main difference between mine and others resides within my possessing this combination of strengths.

Futuristic

You are the kind of person who loves to peer over the horizon. The future fascinates you. As if it were projected on the wall, you see in detail what the future might hold, and this detailed picture keeps pulling you forward, into tomorrow. Very often people look to you to describe your visions of the future. They want a picture that can raise their sights and thereby their spirits. You can paint it for them.

The first sentence is quite literal considering my pilot background. The rest is pretty straightforward for world building. And it’s probably why I know the ending to my series and often decide conclusions to various story arcs, then work backwards from them. I’m not a plotter, but I think this strength is a more than adequate substitution that allows me to be an effective pantser.

Connectedness

Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. You gain confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. Your awareness of these responsibilities creates your value system. You are considerate, caring, and accepting. Certain of the unity of humankind, you are a bridge builder for people of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, you can give others comfort that there is a purpose behind our humdrum lives.

Uh huh. Welcome to my point of view. So, this last one should share a bit of insight on why I prioritize storytelling over promoting myself as a brand. Because if I can enrich your life, I am enriching my own.

Here’s some food for thought, written by an unknown monk around 1100 A.D.:

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town.

I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family.

My family and I could have made an impact on our town.

Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.

This is also related to both my motives and my storytelling. Sure, there’s the whole connectedness side of me, but I’m also aware that I am but a single action point in a web competing alongside a multitude of Internet uses that are connected via the web. So, my individual efforts are restrained in the immediate area surrounding me... But my characters? If I tell stories worth reading and shape characters that readers fall in love with, I multiply myself and my efforts. And I can reach far more lives than my singular form allows for.

It’s such a small goal: Change the World. But have you visited the world today? Let me tell you, we need some change. And change will happen. It’s inevitable. The problem resides in ensuring that change is for the good.

But who’s to decide what good even means? Well, that’s a conversation for another day.

In closing

Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside an editor, Julia, whose feedback has allowed me to personally witness my writing’s skill growth. Among these improvements, I’ve also experienced the delight of naturally applying literary techniques, only discovering that they are preexisting devices after my usage of them. One of those things was callbacks and I take great pleasure in drawing subtextual circles within my narrative. It’s perhaps my favorite thing to do.

Another treat for me is using a technique or ways of depicting something that someone as well read as Julia hasn’t seen before. I’ve had several onomatopoeias that expressed unique effects. One of which is encountered in Chapter 23 of Twilight Wolf. It’s the second train fight and involves an unexpected crossing signal. But I’ll let you discover that for yourself, if you haven’t at the time of reading this.

You might be wondering why I thought it was necessary to share any of this. And that’s fair. Did you need to know? No. Did I need you to know? Also, no. But maybe... this isn’t meant for anyone in this present moment. Perhaps, someday. Somewhere. There will be a fan, who finds a list of names similar to the first one I introduced. And they find my name among them. That fan might be interested in these sorts of details. So. Ultimately, I’m providing these answers to their yet asked questions.

When and where will this fan be? Heck if I know. Maybe they’re a year from now. Or 5. Or 10. Heck, I’m looking over Tolkien details and he died 50 years ago, so who can say?

But what is for the You in the here-and-now is this demonstration. Because this provided you with an example of how my mind works. I mentioned that I worked backwards from solutions. The assumed questions are from a fan in the future, where my answers are the solution that I’m sending to meet them. And it’s possible that this message won’t even be delivered in my lifetime.

1. So, the sending of this message is part of my strength in Connectedness.
2. The recipient’s location, part of Futuristic.
3. My delight in sharing these answers is my Ideation.
4. The referenced tests and quotes, my Input.
5. Thinking to do this in the first place is my Intellection.

And back to my Diplomat personality within the MBTI, this is a case of my journeying to greet someone that I have no chance of knowing. But still. I hope to call them friend.

If you’re a devotee of my stories, I hope something here provided you with insight on why or how I tell stories the way that I do. It’s regrettable that I couldn’t provide some value for you to apply in your own writing—these details being traits that I can’t impart. But I realize there are some people that purely delight in these sort of details. So, if that’s you, I’m happy to have obliged you.

Happy life to you, friend.

JT