Maladies Suffered by Great Writers

[Bill W]

I found this to be an interesting article and I wondered if their observations about creative genius might have implications for those of us who post our stories here. IMHO, it's worth taking a look.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-j-ross-md/author-maladies-_b_1989313.html?utm_hp_ref=books

[JamesSavik]

when we look at the list we can clearly see the two faces of alcohol: as muse and destroyer.

[NotNoNever]

Creativity is rarely valued when it comes in difficult guises. If it is lucky, it may be tolerated. But it takes history to realise its value. I very much doubt that alchohol is the problem. It is the personality which can be subdued by alchohol which is the 'problem'. The trouble is that in our perfect little worlds of the mind, we like things to be excessively safe and comfortable. Whereupon we get nothing but the same as we had before. The nice people forget that these creative geniuses have enough trouble living with themselves, never mind living with a criticising world which has no ability to recognise what it has till it's gone.

[Xtro]

There is also a worn belief that by altering your state of reality you can both (a) gain insight in ways that your readers cannot, and ( remain sober enough to either remember it, or write it down before you pass out.

 

In some respects, the criticising world knows exactly what it has - and that only becomes valuable when the supply is no longer available.

[Ashi]

Well, I read the slide show in that page, I don't think alcoholism is the only problem or solution to their problems (some suffered from STD and Asperger's, which I don't think alcoholism is a possible solution).

 

Anyways.... It's not just writers suffer from maladies (physical or mental) they may or may not able to control, most artists have some sort of problems also. I mentioned in chat one day, like Rachmaninoff (classical music composer/pianist), we can make a harvest of sorrow (he suffered from depression, just like Tchaikovsky and Mahler and probably more that I don't know). There are a lot of things we can learn from life experience, whether tragic or blissful. Just apply such event to something productive. I believe experience adds a lot of dimension to a story.

 

Anyways, Philip K Dick said, "A Scanner Darkly (1977) was the first complete novel I had written without speed." (retrieved from Wikipedia:Philip K. Dick). I've heard some English major students said they were taught in school that they should experience life as much as possible. If you have a unique life experience, then why not exploit it to its full extend?

Edited October 28, 2012 by Ashi

[NotNoNever]

Just remembered seeing this article a couple of weeks ago.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19959565