The fine line between talented and bonkers
My question is kind of a personal question for me to ask and possibly for you to answer. I’ve been a writer, well you could say my entire life, because it’s more than a profession it’s an identity, isn’t it? I find that I spend a lot of time “in my head” so to speak. That is to say, I spend probably 80% of my day day dreaming and fantasizing and exploring my imagination. Something that I know could be easily misinterpreted as a mental illness but nobody’s perfect.
Do you find yourself in similar shoes? And if so, do you find that your writing in a way sort of hinders your life? How do you cope? I sometimes talk myself, well quite often I can be found talking to myself. It’s like all the characters of the story I’m currently working on just start having dialogue and I’m able to just listen and try to decide if this dialogue has the right rhythm, whether this dialogue sounds like real people talking. I’m comfortable with all this and when it comes to writing I don’t think I’m all that bad. I was just curious to see if I have something in common with a successful writer.
–Josiah Miles Pitchforth
When it comes to writers, there’s a fine line between talented and bonkers. Yes, I talk to myself. Yes, I zone out at times, and if you were to ask me where I was, the honest answer would be, “on a bridge in Mongolia.” But I think that’s fairly normal. I don’t worry about it much.
The closest I came to the far side of sane was during my tenure on “D.C.”, a television show I created for the WB in 2000. The wonder of TV, of course, was that I was writing for the same characters and the same sets week after week. But once exhaustion set in, any bit of external stimulation — a conversation with a friend, a song on the radio — went through this filter in my head to ask the Big Question: Could I use this on the show?
It’s like there were two worlds existing simultaneously, and the imaginary one was much more important. My job was to stoke its fires, and keep alive.
I got fired from the show before I could reach complete mental breakdown, but I’m sure it would have happened. The experience made me much more appreciative of normal life. Sometimes a conversation is just a conversation, and a song is just a song.
For those readers wondering if they might be Actually Crazy, rather than just artistic, I’d recommend taking an objective look at your daily life. Do you shower and go to work? Do you have meaningful conversations with friends and acquaintances? Is your living space reasonably tidy, and free of year-old newspapers? If so, keep on talking to yourself. If not, talk to a doctor or another mental health professional and get their considered opinion.
I don’t think you have to be nuts to be a good writer. Nor do I you should use writing as an excuse for not getting help when you need it.
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July 20th, 2004 at 2:00 pm
(This one I had to comment on John)
I have only ever adapted one book into a script (A Michael Crichton Book). Most of the time, with me, in my head. Its working out the best possable way to do a transition from one scene to the next.
I wouldn’t call this copying or anything. But whenever I watch a film and see a good setting. I like to use it if it whould fit into any part of my stories.
Most writers will confess that the ending part and the last scene, is the most mind draining part of writing. Well that is if you want people to recoment the film to their friends.
John hit it directly on the head with Big Fish. Last scene and the end five minutes (Where Will puts his father into the lake and the fish jumping out of the water).
July 23rd, 2004 at 11:32 pm
Josiah, take the following as friendly advice;
A writer certainly has to take a step off his own beliefs to invoke some character’s variety.
Once specific aspects of such personalities are defined, s/he must also discriminate the multiple views from personal interpretation.
I call that the schizo-looping; constantly fleshing inside & out of different “muppets” all attached by wires that are tangling from both hands, most often juggling without steady control over the left when the right is trying to pull a string. Knowing that a hand has fingers… thumb is the emotion, index might be a dialog & so on. Now, apply an elbow, wrist, shoulder – it’s an exercise of coordination by “moving” in the proper direction as required. Concentrate on the physical object, not the mind thinking what to do.
Here’s the character, under YOUR mastery – IT will obey as much as the action imposed.
It’s a stand-up singular creation that’s completely aside from the body & the brain holding it.
Take a deep breath, look at your hands. Step away a few seconds. Now, who are YOU? All of those at once OR a specific individual thinking.
That’s how much a writer has to concentrate at the task. Deviate from your identity and you’ll -probably- “become” too many characters.
Let them breathe, BUT keep a very hard/tight/solid grasp on the wires…. then, they’ll have a specific identity given, each and everyone.
March 29th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
In terms of living inside your imagination, I don’t think it is an issue of whether you are mentally ill or not. If you keep track of the time spent living inside your head and it’s 80% think about this. Try to harness some of those “daydreams” and start putting them on paper. This will be your ideas. Then, with the editing background you may have, work on making it a coherant whole. This will start you on the process of writing and making it a real part of your day. As long as you are not neglection your other obligations, you are probably fine. John suggested you talk to a mental health councelor, which is good advice. Most people don’t have such deep problems as they think. I worked in hospital and by that very nature exposed to people in different stages of mental illness. Most were having a hard time coping with even the easiest activities of daily living. My guess is that you are just worried about it and you don’t have much to worry about.