If you paid attention in English class, you quickly discovered something that many writers have or had in common. (And, no, it's not that they wrote boring stories you don't understand.) They all had troubled childhoods! Poe's parents died when he was young, and he got drunk and married his cousin and died at a young age... etc, etc. And Poe's not isolated, either. I can't think of any other examples at the moment, but I know that writer after writer either had a troubled childhood or a troubled adulthood or died young or whatever---something unhappy!
Anyway, it's happened again. Some new dashing 33-year-old writer, Tristan Egolf, committed suicide last Saturday. His first novel caused critics to favorably compare his style to William Faulkner and John Steinbeck. Now I never heard of him while he was alive. But the point is: He was another writer, and he was another troubled writer.
I just can't figure out what writing novels has to do with living unhappy lives (or ending them)! It bothers me. Especially because I want to be an author. But more so because I love rationality and logic, and irrational things just bother me. If I had time I would research the lives of all these writers and isolate their forms of unhappiness. Some forms of unhappiness are unrelated to their actions---their parents dying, for instance. Some forms are related to their actions---getting drunk, or committing suicide. And of course there are many writers who didn't live such strikingly unhappy lives. But there are still too many that did.
I'm sure there's a logical reason for it. But until I figure out why, just memorize this axiom: Writers live unhappy lives.
I still want to be a writer, though. Now you know I'm crazy.
(Source: www.charlotte.com)
Edmond the Hun
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2 comments:
Freaky. I was just talking about the lives of authors yesterday. I figure I'm just destined to be poor. :) I think writers are unhappy because usually what causes people to write is dealing with pain or issues in their lives. I can give a few examples of this I think...J.K.Rowling (divorced, lived in a 1 room flat, wrote HP on paper napkins in a coffee shop). Or um...well my "random fiction books" such as Marianne Curley or Pamela Dean are generally by people who want to gab about their state by using the setting, or some such. Most are inspired by their family life. Good family life = happy book, bad family life = classic books. (dark and tormented are what hollywood likes, look at what movies win Oscars) Anyways, all that to say, what? I agree with you. ;) Hm. Now we know why there are stories about people who know their futures in advance and--usually come to tragic ends cuz they go insane. But that's ok, I'm used to being around crazy people ;D and I'm ready to join the published author's club. -Sanguine
p.s.
is that Hardee's site thingy secure? I don't want to give out my email without being sure (my dad would kill me if we got another virus after we just wiped the comp)^^ let me know! -Sanguine
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