Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The Artist...tough or EMO?

Remember when you were in school and first learned about the famous painters and writers who were just a little...um....OFF? Yes, we know than Vincent Van Gogh had emotional/mental problems yet produced art that graces the walls of the most famous museums in the world. Edgar A. Poe was an addict, Hemingway committed suicide, and Emily Dickenson was a recluse who was afraid of the world. Today we watch wonderful actors and actresses and marvel at their talent yet hear news reports of their addictions, their inability to sustain relationships, or their outright 'flaky' behavior.

Is it the curse of a creative mind to be just a little whacky along with the genius?

I've always seen the creative person as a little more intuitive than most. They watch the world, study it, and sometimes feel too much. Admittedly, I am quick to laugh and cry and sometimes struggle with depression but, for me, it is just my life. I am who I am and nothing about that is going to change anytime soon. I have noticed lately, among my own circle of friends, writers all, that most are tough rather than EMO. Sure rejection comes with this business. That's a part of life. There is rejection or disappointment in any career. Before I became published, I took rejection hard but these days, not so much. I allow myself five or ten minutes to whine and then I pull up the big girl panties and return to my storytelling. Lately, I've noticed I'm not the only writer among my group of friends to do this. Yeah, we'll talk about the disappointment but the talk doesn't go on very long. After all, there is another story to tell.

So are we too EMO or are we tough? Tough, I think.

12 comments:

Fran Lee said...

I can't really tell anymore.I think it's "stylish" to be EMO for folks. They can get a lot of mileage out of being EMO. BTW...the word verification field for this post was "refalne" which, unscrambled, spells fran lee. How cool is that? :p

Regina Carlysle said...

You won't believe this but I had an interesting word verification this morning...scrotum. Wild, huh?

I don't get why folks would WANT to be depressed. Weird.

julia barrett said...

I am crazy and realistic at the same time. It's like this - I'm totally common sense, yet intuitive. I'm pretty much fearless but when I hear a noise in the middle of the night, instead of assuming the house is creaking, I assume it's a monster. I have a vivid imagination but at the same time, I see life exactly the way it is and I don't suffer fools well. I think to be a good writer, we must each be a combination of many things.

Teri Thackston said...

I think as writers we have 2 sides. We must be able to distance ourselves in order to record things impartially, but we must also be able to feel deeply in order to record the emotions of our characters.

Kelley Nyrae said...

Love the way Teri put it. I feel I am tough in a lot of ways but I'm also a very emotional person too. I take things in and it some times affects me more than it should.

Regina Carlysle said...

Me, too, Kelley.

Unknown said...

Artists are both in my opinion. We have to be in order to what we do and make a living. I think Teri puts it best.

Regina Carlysle said...

Fact is, none of us are all one thing or another. The mix of lots of strengths and weaknesses allows us to do what we do and provides the reader with a full view of life's little quirks and nuances.

Anny Cook said...

I think that writers have to have lived to some extent and experienced emotions before they're truly ready to write. They don't necessarily have to be living in an emotional state at the time that they're writing, but that experience will come to the fore when they write because they've "been there and done that."

Regina Carlysle said...

I agree with that, Anny. Our life experiences teach us such a better understanding of things. I always look for that 'calm' place inside myself that I hope helps me portray my characters as if I KNOW them and what they are thinking and why.

Word Actress said...

Being creative every day is what we all do and yet, sometimes I think we forget the utter toughness required. I remember in the beginning of my writing career, people would often say, 'I wish I had the kind of time you do to write.' It struck me as a bit sarcastic and really wrong. Writing is the hardest job I've ever had. You have to have a combination of blind faith, self-directedness, creativity is implied, of course, and I guess a bit of craziness. I love what I do. There aren't a lot of people who can say that. Here's my new writer's mantra: I really like my writing. I believe in my writing. To be successful you need to do your best every day for a very long time...Thanks for the post...Mary Kennedy Eastham, Author, 'The Shadpw pf a Dog I Can't Forget' and the novel-in-progress 'Night Surfing'

Anne Rainey said...

The EMO thing is just lost on me. I don't get it at all to be honest. My daughter used to talk about this kid at school who was EMO. he cut himself and stuff, but he seemed to do it for attn rather than any real depression. So, does that make him a fake emo?

Again, NOT my field. LOL