tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post936810941312746144..comments2023-11-07T21:12:19.852-06:00Comments on Wyrdsmiths: Not All Writers Are Neurotic...At Least Not In The Same Waystate hallawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06631759014508937940noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-59114471382377631062008-05-17T15:17:00.000-05:002008-05-17T15:17:00.000-05:00Okay, I get the point about all the neurosis/drink...Okay, I get the point about all the neurosis/drinking stuff. But...I think that's really a mark of all creative people (from Hemingway through Dean to Cobain). Personally, I'm manic-depressive, so my moods are all over the place. What that has to do with my writing, though, I'm not sure. I always see room for improvement, am always striving for a more lucid description, better dialogue, a more fluid way of expression. I don't think I suck, but I don't think I'm putting out Nobel Prize literature, either. I'm writing in my own voice, enjoying the work, and am pleased enough with the outcome to have no fear in sending it out.trevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00543856054505338867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-79602409004148964402008-05-17T12:47:00.000-05:002008-05-17T12:47:00.000-05:00I'm usually all over the place emotionally when wr...I'm usually all over the place emotionally when writing, the more so when working on a novel. I can go from <I>This rocks! I'm rocking! </I> to <I>Oh no! Now I'm sucking!</I> in the space of a few words. <BR/><BR/>All in all, I tend to be a pretty happy writer. Sure I get frustrated and down on myself from time to time, but it doesn't stick, and frankly, if writing made me miserable all the time, I'd quit. <BR/><BR/>But I don't see that happening anytime soon!Michael Merriamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08042499537621785077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-52659568491803736652008-05-17T11:06:00.000-05:002008-05-17T11:06:00.000-05:00Eleanor, that wouldn't surprise me, and as I noted...Eleanor, that wouldn't surprise me, and as I noted there's nothing wrong with being neurotic and insecure. At least nothing wrong in terms of doing it wrong--I suspect that most of those who are neurotic and insecure would prefer to be less neurotic and more secure, but we don't get to chose our neuro-chemical states. There are as many ways to do this whole writer thing as there are writers. I just feel the need from time to time to note that there are writers who are mostly happy most of the time and while some suffer for their art, it's not a necessary precondition for writing.<BR/><BR/>Beth, much less stuffy now, though not completely unclogged. Either whatever was killing me stopped blooming or there was some headcold component to it.<BR/><BR/>Michael, that's really the reason I write this sort of post on occasion--to remind the world that there's no one right way to do this and no one right attitude. I'm glad you broke through the barrier to your writing and I'm sure the rewrite will go fine--hard but doable.Kelly McCulloughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06399122960869198042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-60435700591498792512008-05-17T10:37:00.000-05:002008-05-17T10:37:00.000-05:00I am personally a neurotic/insecure writer. I ende...I am personally a neurotic/insecure writer. I ended up not writing for about five years because my anxiety attacks from writing were getting the better of me. In my case, it’s all about being a competitive perfectionist. I’m better now, but it hasn’t completely gone away. I’m currently petrified about the upcoming rewrites on my first novel. <BR/><BR/>One of the many benefits of being the husband of the coolest SF Archivist on the planet is that I’ve met dozens of writers over the last few years. Many were of the neurotic/insecure variety. A surprising number, however, were cool and confident about their writing. Just like each writer has their own process, they also have their own unique attitudes. I would say that the only thing that causes every writer a bit of neuroses is the business side of writing.Michael Damian Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14801106830378983906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-89027281519910597902008-05-17T10:31:00.000-05:002008-05-17T10:31:00.000-05:00Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kelly/Sally. :-...Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kelly/Sally. :-) And for wise words - and permission to like ourselves and what we do. <BR/><BR/>Good to have you back, even in stuffed-up form. Hope your newfound allergies retreat soon - sympathies from a lifelong sufferer (sniff sniff).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-45721546606570629412008-05-17T10:01:00.000-05:002008-05-17T10:01:00.000-05:00There are studies -- none large and none more than...There are studies -- none large and none more than suggestive -- that show artists and writers are more prone to mood disorders than other professionals. I don't know if the studies controlled for reality. Writing tends to be an up and down kind of life. You get turned down. You sign a three book contract. Your book sinks. Your book ends on the Locus best seller list. In most cases, you never make a really good living, and your living is always a bit unsafe. What if the next book doesn't sell? What would happen if you compared writers to scientists in insecure lines of work. Adjunct faculty? Not yet tenured and having trouble getting grants?Eleanorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07014586558046317266noreply@blogger.com