So I survived the flooding waters here in Georgia and have made it through a rough week. The day job is taking up all of my energy and I can barely keep my eyes open when I get home. However, I did get a chance to revise a few scenes and I’m reading a good craft book — I’ll have to fill you in on all that next week — but I had this really interesting conversation recently that I thought I would share.
I went to a happy hour last Friday — which in itself was welcoming — I needed the adult beverage(s) since I’ve been so stressed out. Anyway, at social gatherings I make it a point not to mention that I’m a writer to strangers just from experience, but one of my dear friends introduced me as “This is Karen. She’s a writer, you know.”
The person seemed interested but didn’t ask me the usual questions such as “Are you published?” or “Can you help me write a book?” No, it was really a question I must say I have never been asked before:
“Are you crazy?”
Uh, what?
Yes, the person asked me if was I crazy. He mentioned all the writers that he’s met have been emotionally unstable or just plain crazy. I told him that I wasn’t crazy but he didn’t really believe me. So he continued:
“Of course, you’re not going to admit to me that you’re crazy. That’s understandable. But I think most creative people — writers in particular — are crazy. They’re the ones who had imaginary friends and daydreamed stories and never stopped. They don’t live in the real world.”
Okay, so what if I had an imaginary friend (I was an only child who else was gonna talk to me? LOL) and yeah, I do still daydream. But crazy? I’m SO not crazy.
I didn’t even try to convince this person of my sanity because that would have been a waste of my time and plus my mango margarita was getting a little watery, so I thanked him for sharing his inaccurate views and parted ways.
It’s funny sometimes how some people who are not writers actually see writers. Maybe they do think it’s crazy — crazy to write when there is no guarantee that the words will ever be read by others, crazy to spend tons of time alone working on a project, crazy to submit our work for critique by people who don’t know us.
But for writers, it’s not crazy. It’s just what we do.
There’s a lot about writers that may be misunderstood. But one thing is for sure: writers are definitely NOT crazy*.
*Okay, maybe some writers really are certified. But you know what I mean…
Wow, I don’t know what I’d say if someone asked me that. If daydreaming and having imaginary friends (aka characters) as an adult is crazy, then honestly maybe writers do fall into that category. But I don’t consider that to be a bad thing. So maybe there’s good crazy and bad crazy – in which case, I’m proud to be on the good crazy side! :-)
Anna: I know right? He sort caught me off guard with that statement. I think he’s probably not in touch with his inner creative child. Ha.
I daydream about my characters all the time — they “speak” to me. I guess I may be crazy. But good crazy like you!
On the one hand there’s the Zen of writing, so to speak – the inherent joy and goodness of the process. On the other hand, the publishing world has gone completely bottom line over recent decades. So this individual was maybe just rude – or maybe knew something about how the publishing industry works – and doesn’t…
Paul: Ah, the Zen part of writing — yes, that’s what I love. But you’re right, publishing is really bottom line especially now with the tight economy. Emerging writers are finding it very hard to break in — enough to make anyone crazy.
I’m still not sure behind the logic of the crazy statement. I’m going to hope it wasn’t just him being rude but maybe not totally understanding — or maybe he really knows some *crazy* writers. Ha.