There is perhaps no archetype more persistent throughout the history of art and literature than that of the tortured artist. From the tragically real cases (like Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, and David Foster Wallace), to self-conscious poseurs (who shall remain nameless), angst-filled writers in both fiction and real life are an enduring staple in culture.
Is there something to it? Is there a link between creativity and the darker sides of life? Does angst help you write?
For me, I can’t get a lick done when I’m feeling down. But then again, my books involve corn dogs and space monkeys.
What about you?
Some of the best books were written in the wake of divorces and deaths. Illusions of ultimate happiness are shattered, and we're reminded of our mortality during the most depressing experiences in our lives, so it only makes sense to me that that leads to some profound writing. Not everyone can turn angst into a thought-provoking, authentic story, of course. And I tend to think this fits best with literary fiction. Angst keeps me writing.
p.s. What Mira said. Except she said it better.
Embrace the dragon. And burn, baby, burn.
I think there's something to be said for being so emotion ridden that writing is how you choose to relieve the pressure. I hear about lots of authors who write like this.
That passed for me with my teens. I do still look back on it sometimes, but the emotional turmoil I require to write like that isn't worth it. I'll stick to daily writing sessions instead.
My best work comes from places of great emotion. I do stand-up comedy in NYC, and I am funniest on stage when I am coming from some place of strong feelings about some issue I am ranting about or something that happened during the days right before a show.
I write best when my feelings are right there beneath the surface. If it's angst, I own it. I write poetry, so If I am feeling down I am able to produce my best work.
My poems appear at:
http://marjorie-pentimentos.blogspot.com
Oh, yeah! Angst is a motivator and a vehicle for powerful writing. My angsty moods bring forth my best dark comedy material. Of course I'm making fun of serious stuff like death and murder and, well, I guess that's why they call it dark comedy.
Dear Nathan,
Completely unrelated to your great blog. Or maybe not entirely:
I really enjoy reading your blog. You probably put in at least an hour for each. You probably get these all the time, but I decided to award you the Versatile Blogger and One Lovely Blog awards. I don't have a query waiting in your mailbox – nor will there be on my current project, so this isn't a suck-up thing. I just figured, you know, agents are people, too 😉
For me, angst = writing poetry.
That's the only time I write poetry.
<3,
TL
I'm bipolar. I have the energy to write when I'm up, and I get tons of material to write when I'm down.
I've always wondered if all writers weren't just a little bit crazy…
Yes, very much.
When I was writing my novel, the best of my descriptive emotional scenes were written when I was either really down or really tired (like, eye-drooping, stupid spelling mistakes and not-knowing-if-I-should-click-save-or-cancel kind of tired). I re-read and edited later, of course – but it was only then when I could really do my best with my writing, and my plot twists. Weird, right? Hmm.. What matters now is that my novel, Rosie, will be published and released by early 2011.
Does angst help me write? Without writing I'd probably be locked up in a mental ward somewhere. I can't NOT write when I'm stressed, upset, depressed, angry, etc. I also love to write when I'm happy, cheerful, excited, etc. Without the emotions I feel, my characters wouldn't be able to feel them. Scenes that require certain moods I tend to write when my own mood matches because then, upon revision, it seems so much more real.
There's an old saying that I don't know if it's true, but it's said Hemingway quipped: "Write drunk; revise sober" — so I'd say "write pissed/depressed/woe-is-me, but revise when you're over yourself…" 😀
I can always tell a "rant" when I'm reading (my stuff or anyone elses) and it's not purty – so get the 'rant' out and then go in and delete the hell out of it.
I tend to write more when I'm angsty. Writing gets me out of my funk. I also seem to write the best character conflicts and resolutions during these 'moments'. It's cathartic. Of course, after writing a bit, I'm no longer angsty and then I just write, and write, and write.
Well, for me, it sort of gives me permission to write the things I am normally "afraid" to write.
Angst doesn't help me do the writing, but it definitely fuels the emotions behind the words.
And writing helps the angst. Gives me a place to put it, a way to revel in it without damaging my real life.
I think my brain likes to have multiple things going on at once. It can be slow-smoking one idea while its hot-searing another. In day-to-day life, the fiction is the slow smoker, and pull it out all tender and flavorful when I have time to type. And it reverses when I'm at the keyboard, which gives me time to digest the real-life issues and not just react to it blindly.
And now, I'm totally craving a steak and some ribs.
I think some of the very best writers are literally crazy. Which means there is no hope for me. I have my own crazy but too much normal dillutes it.
Angst is important in writing, but not in the way you're describing. If I'm feeling bad WHILE I'm writing, I'll only write trash, but if I feel bad BEFORE I start writing, then I have an experience worth writing about.
I think having a difficult life (aka being a "tortured artist") makes writing more interesting, as long as your happy enough long enough to actually get some writing done.
Angst is important in writing, but not in the way you're describing. If I'm feeling bad WHILE I'm writing, I'll only write trash, but if I feel bad BEFORE I start writing, then I have an experience worth writing about.
I think having a difficult life (aka being a "tortured artist") makes writing more interesting, as long as your happy enough long enough to actually get some writing done.
It angst was what it takes to be a writer, wouldn't everyone in prison have a novel published by now?
Oh – people talked to me. I shall talk back. 🙂
Anon 5:24 – thank you. It's good to find someone else who understands. 🙂
Terin – Ha! So, I'm done? I don't have to read Ulysses now? 😉
Other Lisa – thank you, and I thought your comment about the loss of ego was really insightful and rang true. I also just bought your book – looking forward to it. 🙂
Marilyn – HUGS BACK!! You are so supportive of me here. It means alot to me – more than you probably know. Thank you!! 🙂
No. If I'm angsty, it probably means I'm stresssed, and I can't focus when I'm stressed. I like to feel good and excited when I write – usually I'm feeling good and excited because I'm writing.
Now, if I'm writing angst for characters, that's a little different….but I'm still probably having a blast. ;D
Mira: yes!
At least, somehow you seem to have absorbed it without having to try to read it…:)
Though, just a thought, you might try reading it with your blog post in mind…
ROTFLMAO! Angst fuels the fire – doesn't help me actually sit down in front of the computer though!
In the third book of my Knittin' Kittens ™ trilogy, I find myself going to some dark places. A lot of heavy stuff is surfacing, especially for Socks.
Without angst, my work tends to run along the lines of unicorns and rainbows. With angst, it changes to were-unicorns (werewolves with horns) and rainbows of death.
In all seriousness, I write better with angst, the prose is dark and lyrical and my characters tend to find themselves in nearly impossible situations. It's almost as if they have to suffer along with me.
Definitely NOT. If I'm depressed, I just want to sit and do nothing.
Art occurs in times of surplus, we were taught in grade school. Only when we have enough to eat and a roof over our heads do we have time to create art.
This mistakes the true nature of art. Art is not an elective operation. Suffering produces great art. In times of surplus and prosperity, there is no need to speak out, no angst to express.
What is the foundation of American music? The blues. Who created the blues? Was is complacent New England burghers in their snug abodes? Was it the wealthy landowners of the South in their sultry mansions? Or was it the slaves, and then the sharecroppers, singing spirituals in the fields, grieving to a white god their black anguish?
Look at modern Russia. Who are the great modern Russian novelists? There are none. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Solzhenitsyn all lived in slave societies — first serfdom under the tsars, followed by Communist oppression.
Look at modern Australia, a happy country with a good social welfare net and low levels of income inequality. Name one great Australian storyteller. Australian movie at the box office? Run as fast as you can — in the other direction.
It's no wonder, then, that America, a nation of slaves (yes, if you have to go to work to pay off debt, you are still a slave), continues to produce greater works of literature than many other countries.
You ask, does angst help you write. Angst in the only reason to write. Anything else is a diddly intellectual exercise that lacks soul.
I'm with you, angst usually kills the creativity with me. I've also noticed that if I do write, my books tend to reflect my mood. And that's not usually a good idea.
Depression's Upside
I'm a bit late, but people might appreciate this fantastic article from the NY Times last winter:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/magazine/28depression-t.html?pagewanted=all
I agree with article and wonder if anyone else does.
Then of course there's unrequited love, the best fuel for a fire. So perhaps it's the type of angst . . .
I cannot write when angsty or depressed. If I try, I end up composing bad poetry which winds up in the recycle bin when I pull out of my funk. If I write stories in that space, I'm so self-critical I can press "delete" too often and convince myself to tank a lot of hard work that really just needs
… more work …
I do find, however, that my writing benefits when I finally kick the negativity. Something about questioning myself when I'm down makes me more…directed when I'm over it.
Sad songs on a radio way across the room is a definite YES. My writing becomes more fluid.
Angst always causes me to write a darker part of myself in the characters. Sometimes it is helpful. Sometimes the story gets too dark. I try to find a balance, but I usually have to step away from the computer for a few days.
Fear/Depression leaves me totally debilitated and I cannot write. It affected me for years this way. For me it was the worst (and only) type of writer's block. Another writer I know over at the Pen and Ink blog (thepenandinkblog.blogspot.com)gets more prolific, the more depression sets in! Normally, I would say this is a blessing, but once I read Lupe's description of his depression, I thought this is something you don't want in your Christmas stocking.
I would have to say anger is my driving force in all things! A fact and an awareness that creates my life’s most enduring dilemma; I don’t want to walk around with out a chip on my shoulder rest of my life. I fear, without the anger I carry along with that chip would be rendered unable to get my butt out of bed on any given morning.