I read a really interesting article on tumblr the other day about a psychological study that was conducted at the Iowa Young Writers program - a program similar to the Kenyon Review Young Writers program but a plane flight for me instead of a short car ride. Basically, the point was that the stereotype that writers are moping wallflowers is wrong, and it was proven by young writers including Kurt Vonnegut.
Basically, the way a person's mind works when it comes to mood is that there is eurythmia (the sort of baseline, feeling normal) and mania or depression, where the balance of your mood escalates to either a high (mania) or a low (depression). You'd think that all the writers waited until depression or mania struck to write, right?
Wrong. In fact, it was found that during periods of mania or depression it was impossible for the writers to find inspiration or write. It wasn't until after they were back in their normal flow, their eurythmia, that they could write. However, when the writers were in a normal mood state, they could reflect on their periods of depression or mania without being attached to them personally, being able to perfectly describe these periods without the effects returning to them.
I think it's really interesting, but also unsurprising. Writers are generally thought of as brooding or otherwise not sunny, happy creatures frolicking in meadows. (What I do in my spare time is not yours to judge, okay?) But the reason this is isn't because everyone knows a writer that sits in corners with their tea and stares listlessly out the window, it's because the literature describing depression and how it feels and acts on a human being is so vivid. I mean, writers are supposed to be able to make a reader feel how we want them to feel using description, so this comes as no surprise.
What's the point of this entire thing, you ask? Am I attempting to start a support group for depressed writers? Of course not. What I'm trying to say is, writing isn't all about the craft in your words or your character arcs or your ability to cause emotional trauma with your deaths. Part of it is the technicality of it all. I mean, good runners don't eat two Big Macs and a large Coke and expect to run a good time on their five miles. As writers, it's up to us to make sure our machinery is working. And more than many other pursuits in this world, that requires that we take care of our brains. Obviously there's no real 'cure' for this roller coaster of emotion - it's a natural alteration of serotonin and other chemicals in your brain. But there are things that you can do to keep yourself inspired, focused, and ready to write. Eat right, exercise a little, get good sleep, those are pretty common. But don't forget to give yourself a little lovin' every so often.
Everyone is so stressed nowadays with work or school or whatever else that it's easy to drop into these high or low periods because they're so busy with everything else. But as a writer you have to maintain your brain machine. Watch your favorite show, make yourself some cookies, lie on the floor, people watch. Do whatever you need to make you happy. When you're running at full steam, so is your brain. Let out those lovely ideas and ground-shattering philosophies, and don't worry if it's not coming for a little while. Like the study shows, that's just natural. I know a lot of writers who are slaves to their work, and I think we could all take this lesson to heart (especially myself). When you're good, your writing is good. Simple as that.
Brain food and good sleep,
Brie
Basically, the way a person's mind works when it comes to mood is that there is eurythmia (the sort of baseline, feeling normal) and mania or depression, where the balance of your mood escalates to either a high (mania) or a low (depression). You'd think that all the writers waited until depression or mania struck to write, right?
Wrong. In fact, it was found that during periods of mania or depression it was impossible for the writers to find inspiration or write. It wasn't until after they were back in their normal flow, their eurythmia, that they could write. However, when the writers were in a normal mood state, they could reflect on their periods of depression or mania without being attached to them personally, being able to perfectly describe these periods without the effects returning to them.
I think it's really interesting, but also unsurprising. Writers are generally thought of as brooding or otherwise not sunny, happy creatures frolicking in meadows. (What I do in my spare time is not yours to judge, okay?) But the reason this is isn't because everyone knows a writer that sits in corners with their tea and stares listlessly out the window, it's because the literature describing depression and how it feels and acts on a human being is so vivid. I mean, writers are supposed to be able to make a reader feel how we want them to feel using description, so this comes as no surprise.
What's the point of this entire thing, you ask? Am I attempting to start a support group for depressed writers? Of course not. What I'm trying to say is, writing isn't all about the craft in your words or your character arcs or your ability to cause emotional trauma with your deaths. Part of it is the technicality of it all. I mean, good runners don't eat two Big Macs and a large Coke and expect to run a good time on their five miles. As writers, it's up to us to make sure our machinery is working. And more than many other pursuits in this world, that requires that we take care of our brains. Obviously there's no real 'cure' for this roller coaster of emotion - it's a natural alteration of serotonin and other chemicals in your brain. But there are things that you can do to keep yourself inspired, focused, and ready to write. Eat right, exercise a little, get good sleep, those are pretty common. But don't forget to give yourself a little lovin' every so often.
Everyone is so stressed nowadays with work or school or whatever else that it's easy to drop into these high or low periods because they're so busy with everything else. But as a writer you have to maintain your brain machine. Watch your favorite show, make yourself some cookies, lie on the floor, people watch. Do whatever you need to make you happy. When you're running at full steam, so is your brain. Let out those lovely ideas and ground-shattering philosophies, and don't worry if it's not coming for a little while. Like the study shows, that's just natural. I know a lot of writers who are slaves to their work, and I think we could all take this lesson to heart (especially myself). When you're good, your writing is good. Simple as that.
Brain food and good sleep,
Brie
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