I often wonder how big the line is between a person who suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder and a writer. To be completely honest, it is a very thin, very blurred line and one that, in my opinion, we must cross daily in order to perfect our craft. You have all heard someone say, "Look at that guy...he's nuts" or "If she writes that stuff she must be crazy" and even "Only a crazy person could come up with that". I believe that writers are nuts. They are crazy. I am not talking about 'multiple medications four times a day' kind of crazy. I am not talking about 'popping Thorazine and shuffling into walls' kind of crazy. I surely don't mean 'burying the bodies in the basement' kind of crazy and I am definitely not referring to 'the world is out to get me kind of crazy' either. No. This kind of crazy is reserved just for us writer types. This kind of crazy is creating other people, other lives and being those people in those lives, as you write that story. It is speaking out loud in a British or Irish accent while that character speaks, even though you aren't British OR Irish. It can even be talking to, not only those characters, but also yourself and being completely OK with that.
Are authors crazy? Yes.
Will they admit to being crazy? Probably not but then, they are nuts...what are you doing listening to them anyway?
WAIT! Maybe you are just as crazy as that writer that you adore. As you are reading this post you may be asking, "Is she crazy?" Maybe. "Does she know she is crazy?" Perhaps. "Is she OK with being crazy?" Absolutely!
I guess I would call it an active, extra-strong imagination and the ability to put yourself in other people's shoes...even if those persons/characters are *way* out there in some fashion. And do it on a regular and *believable* basis.
ReplyDeleteI guess my notion of crazy with respect to writers is the time, creative energy, and the sacrifices a writer makes, especially a writer trying to break into the market, with the odds of success stacked so high against him (or her). Now that, in my opinion, is a true form of insanity ;)
But whether you're correct, or I am, or somewhere in between, it's really up to those who know and/or encounter us, or read our works that ultimately decide, "Yes, definitely crazy" or "No, probably not crazy...I think."
I have been pondering the same subject lately and I agree we writers are nuts and we need to be to do it! But I have to say it's great fun. A fun and interesting post. :)
ReplyDelete