Madness And The Art

Do you have to be crazy to write? I've heard the words "All writers are crazy; it just differs on what specifically makes us crazy" so many times that I've started to wonder if there's even any truth to it. People, by nature, can be creative. All it takes, I believe, is a little prodding and a little push in the right direction. There's a best-seller inside every person's mind, but the discrepancy comes in whether or not those people have the skills and faculties to put that baby onto that blank page in front of them. But what is that missing quality, that unknown factor that makes a person able to put down his thoughts and emotions into the written word, while others are left gnawing their teeth and bewildered as to how to begin?

Is it madness?

I can understand the use of the phrase above in the Philippines. Artistic pursuits are looked upon with extreme disfavor by this country, unless you're a singer or actress. Even then, you're admired less for your art and more for...well, your visual (or comedic) appeal. However, other countries are not so inherently anti-artist in their culture, yet the phrase persists anyway. Writers are considered to have some sort of mental defect that inspires both envy and terror in other people. Writers are automatically seen to be very intelligent, well-read, and knowledgeable, but at the same time, they are stereotyped to me just this side of insane, not really "normal" in the social sense, and probably not that adept in the socio-cultural graces of others their age. I realize this is a bad stereotype, but the sad truth is, it wouldn't have become a stereotype if there wasn't some sort of evidence for it.

Do writers have to be detached from reality, even by just a small degree, to write effectively? It seems a little excessive, but there is a grain of truth to it. That is, if you include the common perception and acceptance of things as aspects of reality at large. Using this as a backdrop, then a little detachment can be useful in providing the observations and ideas that writers put forth in their work. However, this does not explain non-fiction and technical writers. Technical writers are exempt from this, as the common perception of technical writer is someone who is a little too obsessed with a specific field, such as computers or physics. Non-fiction, in theory, is also exempt, but for different reasons. Which leaves fiction writers.

Keeping that in mind, time to retool the question.

Are fiction writers all insane?

Well, fiction writers have to be detached from reality, I think. Otherwise, they would likely not be able to come up with good ideas or "spins" on old concepts. But does that make them batshit insane? Is the picture below the face of the typical, hardcore fiction writer?



It is an interesting idea, and an even more intriguing concept.