Write When You Are Happy
PSA: I know there is a strong community among writers who suffer true mental health disorders. I want to preface this article by stating THIS ARTICLE IS NOT INTENDED FOR YOU! YOU ARE STRONG AND WONDERFUL. IF EVER YOU NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO OR JUST SEND A RANT, MY INBOX IS ALWAYS OPEN.
How many times have you heard it? The phrase that has probably become the most annoying phrases in our profession: “the struggling artist.” What about the quote, “one must suffer for their art”? Over the next few blog posts we’re going to bust myths about the writing lifestyle and how to turn a negative disposition into a working, positive atmosphere for new and experienced writers alike.
I started writing at a young age. I was still in elementary school when I wrote my first few pages because of both my love for reading and my need to finish a story I knew I probably wouldn’t get the chance to buy. I was raised by a single mother and new books were a luxury. I never had any hard feelings towards this, it was just a simple fact of life. It made me start writing and in those first few years, I was really happy. Life was good for the young kid of my youth.
And then, at eleven years old, tragedy struck in multiple forms over a short period of time and I was no longer that sappy, innocent kid. In fact, by the age of twelve years old, if I had been taken to a professional, I most likely would’ve been diagnosed with clinical depression, something I would continue to struggle with up until my college years. One of the things I remember most during this time is that the reasons for the pain and anguish I felt always seemed to change, but the reasons for writing and reading never did. They became crutches, salvation for a kid who otherwise dismissed school and life in general. Everyday life became a necessary chore that I didn’t understand, nor did I want to at the time.
I remember thinking most during that time, “This is what it should feel like to be a writer.” After all, this was the same story of Hemingway and Poe, right? It wouldn’t occur to me until I took a class at university that this was an incredibly wrong and poor way of thinking about writing both mentally and professionally as well. It was more of a hindrance not only to my mental health, but to my health as a writer as well.
Were the issues I faced real? Most definitely. Did they make me a better writer? Most likely not. Could I be happy and be a writer? Absolutely, though I wouldn’t discover this until I hit university. Next week, we’ll discuss how I broke myself out of some of my darkest moments of my life and how I learned to be a happy writer.
But in the meantime, what about you dear reader, do you think you can be both happy and a writer? Do you think the term ‘struggling artist’ is overused by mass media culture? I’d love to hear your feedback.
And remember:
Say it with words.