Welcome to the Keystone Research Symposium!

PSYCHIC MASOCHISM, WRITER'S BLOCK, AND MENTAL ILLNESS Welcome one and all to the 5th Annual Honors Humanities Keystone Research Symposium! My name is Vincent LaVel Moorehead and I am a sophomore at the University of Maryland, double major in Government & Politics and English. Today's an exciting day. I get to talk to you all about my research project AND I get to read some of my book to you, "Dragon Earth." This is so exciting for me and I hope you learn a little bit about my writing journey and the mysteries surrounding the elusive Writer's Block, which has kept writers stumped over time.


 What is Writer's Block?

 -The writer Hjortshoj wants to move away from Writer's Block as psychological disorder (8)
-WB (Hjortshoj’s definition) = capable, motivated writers who seem incapable of completing certain kinds of writing projects (8)
-task at hand often critical to:
- writer often has too many ideas to put down on page -writing not purely menial, thinking in itself doesn’t produce writing (9)
-both mental AND physical exercise (10)

 “For thirty years it has been my gradually developed belief that...a complete overhauling of our thinking concerning the structure of neurosis is necessary. It is my contention that the first and foremost conflict of the new-born, infant, baby, consists in the fact that he must come to terms with his inborn megalomania. That conflict invariably and without exception results in a masochistic solution, the ‘pleasure-in-displeasure pattern. This constitutes the ‘basic neurosis’.” (1) Edmund Bergler

-Bergler worked with Sigmund Freud in Vienna clinic in 1930s ; among first generation of psychoanalysts after Freud (2)

 Masochism: gratification gained from pain, deprivation, degradation, etc., inflicted or imposed on oneself, either as a result of one'sown actions or the actions of others, especially the tendency to seek this form of gratification.

Megalomania: a symptom of mental illness, marked by delusions of greatness, wealth, etc.

-Bergler was an Austrian Jew, fled Nazis in 1937-1938, wrote 25 psychology books, 273 articles published in professional journals (2)

-1. The ego ideal, as described by Freud, grows out of his infantile megalomania, which is by no means a characteristic negligible in any child.
2. Daimonion: a cruel inner jailer, tormentor, and torturer. (6)
-Daimonion confronts the ego with its self-created ego ideal, asking if all the aims promised during childhood have been achieved. If the answer is in the negative, the result is guilt.” (6) **Main point linked with Writer’s Block.
--Victoria Nelson “On Writer’s Block:” she argues that WB is related to conscious ego and unconscious self (creativity, 4)

-Top Study (Britain)

Schizophrenia Subgroup (pg 5)

-demonstrated no difference in having creative occupation

-decreased likelihood to hold scientific occupation

-increased occupation of holding artistic occupation

Bi-Polar Subgroup (5)

-increased likelihood of holding creative occupation

Unipolar Depression (5)

-no increased rate in holding creative occupation

 Other Research Studies:

 “Creativity and Mental Illness: Prevalence Rates in Writers and Their First-Degree Relatives” Nancy C. Andreasen (1987)

Sample: - 30 writers from University of Iowa Writers Workshop
- 30 controls matched for socio-demographics
-27 Men, 3 women
- first-degree relatives
Method: - diagnosis of writers and controls based on current criteria for mental disorders
Review of Findings •
writers were 3 times more likely to have mood disorder
4 times more likely to have bipolar disorder
4.5 times more likely to be alcoholic
• both creativity and mood disorders seem to run in families

“Affective disorder may be both a ‘hereditary taint’ and a hereditary gift” - Andreasen “Mood Disorders and Patterns of Creativity in British Writers and Artists” Kay Redfield Jamison

Purpose: - to ascertain rates of treatment for effective illness in a sample of eminent British writers and artists - to examine seasonal patterns of moods and productivity
- to inquire into the role of very intense moods in writers’ and artists’ work (1989)
Sample: 47 British Commonwealth artists and writers who had won high medals or awards
Findings:
• 16% poets treated for bipolar illness
• 55% poets treated for a mood disorder
• 62% playwrights treated for a mood disorder
• periods of high creative productivity roughly corresponded with hypomanic mood
• 60% of subjects felt that moods were integral and necessary or very important to their creativity

 “Creative Achievement and Psychopathology: Comparison Among Professions” Arnold Ludwig (1992)

Sample: All individuals whose biographies were reviewed in the New York Times Book Review section between 1960 and 1990
n = 1,006 Subjects were divided into 19 professions Method:
- Creativity ratings were based on Creative Achievement Scale (CAS)
- Psychopathology ratings were based on symptom clusters described in the ICD-9
Findings:
• significantly higher rates for psychopathology and treatment among persons in the creative arts
• patterns of psychopathology in creative arts were different than in other professions with creative arts showing earlier pathology
• Total lifetime Depression scores were found to significantly predict the level of creative achievement across all professions

-"More recent studies have further strengthened these conclusions. Andreasen, for example, demonstrated increased risk for affective disorder in general and for bipolar disorder in particular in 30 creative writers at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, compared with healthy controls.12 Similarly, Jamison found increased risk for affective disorder in 47 British writers. Ludwig used reviews of biographies published in the New York Times Book Review between 1960 and 1990 as selection criteria, identifying 1005 eminent individuals. Based on their biographies, he found an over-representation of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia-like psychosis and depression in the creative arts group." (British Study).

And now, I will read an excerpt from my book "Dragon Earth." It's from Chapter 6 of my book titled "Autumn Bash Party."~

Writer's Block Case Studies

Hello everyone! This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, and book blogger extraordinaire. I wanted to write about additional information on Writer's Block and on another writer's block case study. This was conducted in Britain where researchers examined 47 female writers. Tomorrow, I will post additional comments concerning this study and the past three studies that I looked at. Are you ready? All righty. Here are the notes from the powerpoint "Creativity and Psychopathology" that I found from the Harvard Website! :-)

Writer’s Block Case Study Notes:

Creative genius has been associated with three
types of psychopathology:
mood disorders
psychosis and psychosis-proneness
alcohol/drug abuse
(and sometimes OCD)

List of Artists with these kinds of disorders (or suspected to have had them):

Michelangelo
Vincent van Gogh
Cezanne
Shelley
Keats
Lord Byron
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Hemingway
Herman Hesse
Tchaikovsky
Wagner
Schumann
Edgar Allan Poe
Dostoevsky
Tolstoy
Faulkner
Nietzche
William James
Isaac Newton
Nikola Tesla
Virginia Woolf
Sylvia Plath
Anne Sexton
John Forbes Nash
Charles Parker
Jackson Pollock
Kurt Cobain

Romantic Period
• music, literature, art focused on emotional
rather than intellectual content
• importance of mysticism, dreams, supernatural
• creativity associated with nonrational process
• best work at the border of sanity/insanity
• The Proud Badge of Affliction
Romantic poets embodied the concept of the
“troubled spirit” and creativity

“Mood Disorders and Patterns of Creativity
in British Writers and Artists”
Kay Redfield Jamison Purpose: - to ascertain rates of treatment for affective illness
in a sample of eminent British writers and artists
- to examine seasonal patterns of moods and productivity
- to inquire into the role of very intense moods in writers’
and artists’ work (1989)
Sample: 47 British Commonwealth artists and writers
who had won high medals or awards
Findings
• 16% poets treated for bipolar illness
• 55% poets treated for a mood disorder
• 62% playwrights treated for a mood disorder
• periods of high creative productivity roughly
corresponded with hypomanic mood
• 60% of subjects felt that moods were integral
and necessary or very important to their creativity

Creativity and Mental Disorder Study Pt. 2

Hello everyone!! :-D This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, and book blogger extraordinaire. I have some concluding thoughts about the creativity and mental disorder study.

Creativity and Mental Disorder Study

Hello everyone! :-) This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, and book blogger extraordinaire. I am a little tired, but I just had to blog about this study concerning writers and their relationship to mental illness. This, of course, is a controversial topic but something that I want to dig into. There's an assumption that writers have a proclivity to illnesses such as unipolar depression and schizophrenia that the regular population does not. Is this true? Depends on who you ask. Let's look into this one study from researchers at the British College of Psychiatrists. :-D

Title: "Creativity and mental disorder: family study of 300 000 people with severe mental disorder."

By: Simon Kyaga, Paul Lichtenstein, Marcus Boman, Christina Hultman, Niklas Långström and Mikael Landen

Creativity and Mental Disorder: Family Study of 300,000 people with Severe Mental Disorder
-Throughout this article, creative professions denotes the aggregated artistic and scientific occupations, whereas creative occupations is used for creative professions as well as for any of
the subgroups (i.e. artistic, scientific, visual artistic and non-visual artistic) (2)
-study of 300,000 people with mental disorder (2)
-visual artistic = visual artists, photographers, designers, display artists
Non-visual artistic = performing artists, composers & musicians, authors, other literary and artistic work
-NEED TO POST DIAGRAM FROM PG.5!! 

-creativity is associated with mental disorder; Aristotle said: “No great genius has ever existed without a strain of madness.” (2)
-creativity – psychiatric disorder studies in 2 types: interviews and biography analyses
-Lange-Eirchbaum study of 800 people regarded as geniuses published in 1931 (2)
-Conclusion: no definite relationship between high mental capacity and mental illness, but these individuals had increased rates of psychopathology (2)
-increased creativity in 40 American adults with bipolar disorder compared to those using same treatment, 16 (2)
-Study: Swedish citizens, looked at people with Schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, and unipolar disorder (3) from 1973 to 2003
-diagnoses coded by ICD-8, ICD-9, and ICD-10 (3)
-Non-visual artistic occupations: performing artists, authors, composers, musicians, other literary and artistic work
-males (16,342) 63.7% and females (9,298) 36.3%
-median age = 43.6 years, mean age = 45.5 years
Schizophrenia Subgroup (5)
-demonstrated no difference in having creative occupation
-decreased likelihood to hold scientific occupation
-increased occupation of holding artistic occupation
Bi-Polar Subgroup (5)
-increased likelihood of holding creative occupation
Unipolar Depression
-no increased rate in holding creative occupation

Edmund Bergler Pt. 3

Hello, hello, and hello!! How are you doing today? :D This is Vincent LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, and book blogger extraordinare!!! This is the last post that I am writing concerning the one and only Edmund Bergler. Last time, I posted a whole host of notes! O.O This time, I'll post less notes, but I'll have a mini diagram to accompany this post (at the top). I hope you enjoy this last post on Mr. Bergler. :-D


-“Bergler further developed a unique clinical treatment regimen consisting of not only orthodox treatment methods (transference, resistance, dreams, etc.), but the inclusion of educational materials for clients, so that thay may learn about what they are dealing with, and, in effect, become their own therapist through setting up a 'dialogue' between the conscious
and unconscious components of their mind.” (13)



I: Drives (megalomania, aggression, libido)
II: Superego (Ego Ideal and Daimonion)
III:Conscious Ego
IV: Objective Reality (relationships, social
issues, environmental concerns)
The grey area represents self-realization as
a composite of all 4 areas.
UNCONSCIOUS DYNAMIC: I - II
CONSCIOUS DYNAMIC: III – IV


Group 1: “Inherited drives” such as aggression, megalomania,
Group 2: Unconscious Conscience, the Superego consisting of the Ego Ideal and Daimonion
Group 3: Counteracts groups 1 and 2, acts like a defense attorney
Group 4: demands of reality, adds to individual’s troubles (12)
Super Ego = Group 3
Group 2 = The Judge (12)

Some Examples of Psychic Masochism (from Bergler's View):

-Homosexuality
-Writer’s Block
-Fashion

Edmund Bergler Pt. 2

Hello everyone!! How are y'all doing today? This is Vincent LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire! :) Today, I want to follow up on Edmund Bergler. Remember him? Of course you do! He's the man who came up with the term 'Writer's Block.' We got into a lot of technical information and terms surrounding 'neurosis,' 'masochism', and 'megalomania.' Just to recap before I post more notes about Psychic Mashochism...what does that term mean? This is what Mr. Bergler said in his own words: "it is the unconscious wish to defeat one's conscious aims, and to enjoy that self-constructed defeat." Interesting, is it not? Let us continue and examine the theory of Psychic Masochism. :)


(The Superego) Made up of two things:
-1. The ego ideal, as described by Freud, grows out of his infantile megalomania, which is by no means a negligible characteristic in any child.
2. Daimonion: a cruel inner jailer, tormentor, and torturer. (6)

-Daimonion confronts the ego with its self-created ego ideal, asking if all the aims promised during childhood have been achieved. If the answer is in the negative, the result is guilt.” (6) **Main point linked with Writer’s Block.
Psychic Masochism in Adults:
“1. Unconsciously, the psychic masochist provokes disappointment or refusal, through his behavior or his misuse of an external situation. When disappointment or refusal materializes, the outer world is unconsciously identified with the image of the ‘refusing’ mother of the earliest stage of development, the pre-Oedipal, ‘gimme’ phase.
2. Pseudoaggresion, denoting unconsciously mobilized defensive aggression, aimed not at the outer enemy but as alibi presented to the unconscious conscience (the superego). On the surface, the pseudo aggression seems to be the product of righteous indignation, and a move made in self-defense against the external enemy; the psychic masochist remains unaware of the part he has played in bringing about his disappointment.
3. Still unaware of the part he has unconsciously played, the psychic masochist consciously pities himself for his defeat and humiliation; at the same time he unconsciously enjoys masochistic pleasure.” (8)

Edmund Bergler Pt. 1

Hello everyone! How are y'all? This is LaVel Moorehead: reader, writer, and book blogger extraordinare! :-) Today, I want to blog a little bit about Edmund Bergler. Do you know who he is? Well, of course you don't. He's the man who came up with the term Writer's Block back in 1947. Cool, huh? I took notes about him, his life, and his theory concerning what's known as "psychic masochism." Read on my friends, read on, and learn about the background on writer's block and Bergler's theory on how WB comes about.


Edmund Bergler and Psychic Masochism Notes
“For thirty years it has been my gradually developed belief that...a complete overhauling of our thinking concerning the structure of neurosis is necessary. It is my contention that the first and foremost conflict of the new-born, infant, baby, consists in the fact that he must come to terms with his inborn megalomania. That conflict invariably and without exception results in
a masochistic solution, the ‘pleasure-in-displeasure pattern. This constitutes the ‘basic neurosis’.” (1)

Masochism: gratification gained from pain, deprivation, degradation, etc.,inflicted or imposed on oneself, either as a result of one'sown actions or the actions of others, especially thetendency to seek this form of gratification.

-megalomania: a symptom of mental illness, marked by delusions of greatness, wealth, etc.
-Bergler was an Austrian Jew, fled Nazis in 1937-1938, wrote 25 psychology books, 273 articles published in professional journals (2)

-Bergler worked with Sigmund Freud in Vienna clinic in 1930s ; among first generation of psychoanalysts after Freud (2)

-“True, the neurotic outsmarts the torturer by changing his torture into inner pleasure. But this pleasure is unconscious; and every ounce of unconscious pleasure must be paid for with tons of conscious misery.”(3)


Development of Psychic Masochism in Infants:
“1. offense to infantile megalomania;
2. mobilization of fury, inexpressible fury;
3. turning of the child's aggression against himself." ...but this doesn’t work...the
child becomes too uncomfortable...
4. “Thus we have to add a fourth point:...libidinization* of the boomerang aggression by making it an UNCONSCIOUS pleasure. Nobody can go through the protracted helplessness of childhood without acquiring some traces of this psychic poison. Psychic masochism is a universal human trait...”” (2)

Examples of this:

“TROUBLEMAKER # 1: Infantile megalomania.
Each time the infant’s megalomania is offended (his needs not tended to
automatically), fury is aroused.
TROUBLEMAKER # 2: Helpless fury: Aggression. This is the aggressive DRIVE
operating. But the infant’s means of expressing this fury are ineffectual: crying,
vomitting, spitting, flailing of arms and legs, etc.
TROUBLEMAKER # 3: Psychic Masochism.
“The child’s intuitive genius finds a solution! By learning to ‘like’ displeasure, he extracts pleasure from an ‘impossible’ situation. This pleasure-in-displeasure pattern’ is technically called psychic masochism.” (It is important to understand that this ‘solution’ is not arrived at consciously by the child. His rational faculties have not yet developed. These ‘troublemakers’ form unconsciously.) (5)
-“We have said above, in describing the emergence of psychic masochism, that the child learns to like displeasure... libido can therefore add to the child’s troubles when frustrated or deposited in the wrong place. Unexpectedly, we find libido seated in the ‘trouble council’ as Troublemaker #4.” (5)
-Trouble Maker #5: The Super Ego also known as the Unconscious Conscience

Understanding Writing Blocks Pt. 3

Hi everyone! This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, and book blogger extraordinare. I have the third and final part to Keith Hjortshoj notes. His book "Understanding Writing Blocks" both illuminates a simple concept, but also the strange complexity of Writer's Block. You ready for the notes? Go get em'! :-)

Chapter 7: Putting Writing In Its Place
-writing blocks are psychophysical (93)
-writing blacks have emotional implications (93)
-Syntax Block: Andrea story (student of Hjortshoj) where instead of writing her dissertation, she drew complex diagrams chunk full of info (relates to idea of confusion, 95-96)
-Factors helping Andrea: 1. she’s unreliable judge of own work
2.writing became “interesting and clear” to friends and family when she implemented strategies
3.enjoying sensation of movement, not editing while writing as much, being able to explain
Gender
-75% people coming to Hjortshoj are women
-suspects that men suffer more from WB because of pride issues (I disagree, 103)
Productivity Requirement
1. Making writing a clear priority in your life
2. Set aside time for writing when you are most relaxed and alert
3. Find a particular place for writing
4. Decide the time and place to write (108-110)
Chapter 9: What Can You Do?
-How can you tell if you’re blocked or not > Are you making progress with writing projects are are you getting nowhere? (128)
1. Writing is a real psychophysical activity (129)
-Text you produce is also real (130)
Advice
*When considering q’s to one’s writing, write down answers
*put understanding into practice (133)
-compartmentalize writing projects and difficulties (more thoughts WON’T make you more productive, 134); keep work confined to less than 4 hrs a day
*Fine models for writing projects to examine (134)
*Try to avoice isolation with task (134)
*finally, don’t be stuck with defeatist attitude: “Woe is me, I have WB!” (135)

Understanding Writing Blocks Pt. 2

Hey everyone! This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinare! This is part two of the Keith Hjortshoj notes. :D Again, I'm posting notes in bullet form and then commenting on the end. I still need to make an ending comment about Hjortshoj and his definition of WB, so I'll get to that in this blog. Read on. :-)

-Hjortshoj wants to move away from WB as psychological disorder (8)
-WB (Hjortshoj’s definition) = capable, motivated writers who seem incapable of completing certain kinds of writing projects (8)
-task at hand often critical to
- writer often has too many ideas to put down on page
-writing not purely menial, thinking in itself doesn’t produce writing (9)
-both mental AND physical excercise (10)
-ex: F.M. Alexander (Australian Actor) lost voic b/c he stood a certain way thinking that he would project voice but he failed to do so properly (10)
-blocked writers often “very industrious” (11, hmm!) :)
-Chapter 4
-avoid editing while you compose
-editing breaks natural flow of writing, writer can feel immobilized while doing it
-many blocked writers edit and become frustrated
-some people need plans (outlines) before writing, some don’t; anthropologist Cliffort Geertz wrote and abandoned outlines when necessary (41)
-”If you feel that you are not able to write up to that standard you imagine the world has set for you, in theory you should be able to lower that standard to the point at which writing becomes possible, even easy.” (Don’t let conscious self get in the way! 51-52)
-Chapter 5: Transitional Blocks in Undergraduate Studies
-Belief: undergraduate students avoid WB because they can “adapt to changing expectations” (don’t know if I agree or disagree, 59)
-transitional blocks “positive” in writing process
-blocks may result from “confusion”
-confusion = complex issues can be simplified into brief sentences, clarity

Understanding Writing Blocks

Hi everyone! How are you? This is LaVel: reader, writer, and book blogger extraordinare! I've been gone for a while, but I'm back! I'm here to churn out more articles and blog posts about writer's block! You ready? I'm focusing on the author Keith Hjortshoj and his book "Understanding Writing Blocks." To make the blog post more concise, I'll be posting notes in bullet form. After, I'll share a few comments on what I think about the book so far. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts on whether you agree/disagree with what the author is saying, questions, etc! :-)

“Understanding Writing Blocks”
By: Keith Hjortshoj
-John S. Knight Director of Writing at Cornell University
-designed class specifically on writing blocks

Introduction
-Zachary Leader quote on Writers Block (1991): “The first point to make about Writer’s Block is that relatively little has been written about it.”
-people assume it’s a psychological disorder
-psychologists and writing teachers interchange Writer’s Block with Writer’s Anxiety (2)
-there’s a 1974 Dr. Upper essay titled “An Unsuccessful Tratment of a Case of Writer’s Block”
-also there’s a monograph by Mike Rose called “Writer’s Block” (check it out if you want)
-”Young, inexperienced writers rarely encounter serious blocks.” According to author, it’s related to advanced undergrates, graduates, scholars, professional writers (3)
-Writer’s Block traditionally linked to mental disorders, “just in their [writers’] head,” insecurity, anxiety, perfectionism (3)
-Jerrold Mundis’s book “Break Writer’s Block Now!’ (Check it out if you want)
-Victoria Nelson “On Writer’s Block:” she argues that WB is related to conscious ego and unconscious self (creativity, 4)
-Hjortshoj says that problem with Nelson and other WB books is that they focus on expressive writing, not writing projects such as undergrads might have (like a paper, 4)
-WB derived from term “mental block” obstacle, lapse, aversion (5)
-What WB is NOT (in Hjortshoj’s view): 1. isn’t a delay in writing process, delays are normal
2. lack of inspiration isn’t WB, inspiration not synonymous with being blocked from writing
3. Lack of motivation isn’t WB, but can result from a block
4. Lacking knowledge isn’t WB
5. WB not reliably linked to personality types and conditions
6. WB rarely affects all forms of one’s writing (agreed!)
7. WB occurs at certain stages in writing process (6-7)
-Hjortshoj wants to move away from WB as psychological disorder (8)
-WB (Hjortshoj’s definition) = capable, motivated writers who seem incapable of completing certain kinds of writing projects (8)
-task at hand often critical to
- writer often has too many ideas to put down on page
-writing not purely menial, thinking in itself doesn’t produce writing (9)
-both mental AND physical excercise (10)
-ex: F.M. Alexander (Australian Actor) lost voic b/c he stood a certain way thinking that he would project voice but he failed to do so properly (10)
-blocked writers often “very industrious” (11, hmm!) :)

-I enjoyed the first part of Hjortshoj's book, I really did. First, I think it's correct of him to say that not much research has been devoted to Writer's Block because let's face it, he uses a lot of conjecture instead of "hard" evidence. For example, such and such percent of writers exprience depression, so on and so forth.

-He remarks that the traditional defition of Writer's Block is tied with mental disorders. This is true, in fact, he takes issue with the traditional view. To some extent, I agree with him but I believe that disorders such as depression can be a writing block. More on this later.

-Hjortshoj's definition of writing block...now this is the more controversia portion of his book. In fact, Hjortshoj stakes his whole book on WB being tied solely to academic writers, not creative writers. I totally disagree that WB is only a problem with academic writers. I would argue that creative writer's have to "adapt to changing expectations" like academic writers do (like myself.) Sure, I have different professors that want me to turn in papers for different subjects, i.e. biology, english, government and politics. Hjortshoj acts like creative writers don't have changing expectatios, that an editor will take a fiction author's work w/ no "expectations." Most editors don't take other writers' work because their work isn't different than other writers; thus, new writers have to find their own unique voice. I would think that it's harder for a creative writer like myself to find a unique voice than an academic writer that has to write with in a specific, elevated form of writing.

-More on WB later! I need to get to bed, but I will blog more about Hjortshoj's "Understanding Writing Blocks" tomorrow, okay? Hav a good night! I'll see you tomorrow. :-)

-LaVel

New Book on Writer's Block!

Hi everyone! How are you? This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire. Unfortunately these past couple of weeks, I've been hemmed in by schoolwork. Hopefully, I'll get to blog more in the upcoming weeks. For now, let me skip the intros and get right to the new book I just picked up: "Writer's Block and How to Use It" by Victoria Nelson!

I just read chapter one of the book titled "What Is Writers Block." Surprisingly, I even read the preface! Shocker. The lovely Ms. Nelson says in the preface that she draws her approaches to writer's block from precepts on humanistic psychology and "its ideological forebears." What a mouthful! I had to turn away from the book and blink a couple of times. It's not as sciency as the last book, which is a relief. Also, this chapter is short; in fact, this book is approximately 170 pages. Thank GOD! Let me share a few points from chapter one. :-)

-Writers Block = temporary or chronic inability to put words to paper; yes, I've had this problem multiple times!
-Writers Block isn't bad per se. Wow, when I read this, I was shocked, but Ms. Nelson explains herself beautifully. Writers Block isn't "bad" because it's a "unconscious" reassessing of one's work. As Ms. Nelson says "the block is a signal to readjust the way you are approaching your work it is not the problem itself."
-Nelson cites the poet Carolyn Kizer who said, "The unconscious creates, the ego edits." Images and thoughts form the unconscious, the ego forms the conscious. One point that I disagree with Ms. Nelson is that Writers Block is involuntary. She says that Writer's Block solely stems from writers having a "blockage" from images and thoughts. However, writers block can stem from the ego; a writer can look down on his/her work and refuse to write. Ms. Nelson admits so herself later in the chapter. ;-)
-The child analogy: you may be an adult, but if you want to learn how to play, be a child and play child games once again! Likewise with writing, we need to learn how to love ourselves instead of looking down on her work. Of course, their is a difference between caring for oneself and narcissism. Writers need to encourage each other because the art is hard enough without negative thoughts!
-The Harvard Analogy: Ms. Nelson says that sometimes, we need to rip up out "Harvard application" because it can overwhelm our "ignominy of kindergarten." In other words, thinking that one's writing must be on the level of Jane Austen for example takes the fun out of writing. We want to stack up when 1, your writing may not be on that level and two, writing is supposed to be fun and a learning process. So breathe! Writing is an art and there's so much to learn. :D

Thankfully, this is all I have tonight. I need to settle down for the night and breathe; I've done so much today that I feel like I'm running in circles. :] Have a wonderful day, y'all. Post a comment on my blog and share your thoughts on whether writer's block is solely voluntary, involuntary, or in the middle. Have a great night. :]

-LaVel

End of " The Midnight Disease"

Good afternoon, everyone. How are y'all? This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, and book blogger extraordinaire. I just finished the rest of "The Midnight Disease" by Alice W. Flaherty. Interestingly enough, I really enjoyed the last chapter which is titled "Metaphor, the Inner Voice, and the Muse." Here, Ms. Flaherty endorses the idea that writing is 99% drive and 1% inspiration. But where does this "inspiration" come from? She introduces a few theories in this last chapter. :)

Metaphor in this chapter is tied to the idea of meaning. Meaning, Ms. Flaherty writes, has 2 components to it: one is linked to the temporal lobe or semantics and the second is tied to the frontal lobes or emotions. This will help us understand her idea of inspiration. Last year in college, I read some of Plato's works and it was interesting to learn his views on poetry. He detested many poets because in his view, they didn't represent 'reality' through the use of metaphors. He thought that metaphors were misleading, but on the other hand his pupil Aristotle loved metaphors. *Gasp* I've always had difficulty writing poetry because I want to come up with distinct comparisons, metaphors or other trophes which I relate to. Of course, the metaphors that I come up with may not relate to someone else. It's just hard to put words onto paper, especially something as refined as poetry. O.O

Ms. Flaherty shares the poem "For Anne Gregory" by Butler Yeats. Read this:
"Never shall a young man
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-colored
Ramparts at your ear
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair"

So in the poem, the limbic (emotional) and sensory (semantic) overtones are "complicated, not simplified" in Ms. Flaherty's view. She says that we're more familiar with blondes than towers; a fun fact is that Yeats lived in a tower so the metaphor meant more to him than us. The poem ties together "a vivid exaggeration of her sexual impregnability and of the massy thickness of her hair." I'm not sure if I agree that it complicates the overtones because most of us know what a tower is; most of us would read the word "tower" and could picture it, right? I think so. So, a little over-analyzed on Ms. Flaherty's part (I believe).

Okay, we must talk about the "muse," the "force" or "being" that gives writers inspiration to write. But before I talk about that, can you name all 9 Greek Muses? Come on, you know you want to. Here they are. :D Calliope the epic Muse, Clio the Muse of history, Erato the Muse of love poetry, Euterpe the Muse of lyric poetry, Melpomene the Muse of tragedy, Polyhymnia the Muse of sacred poetry, Terpsichore the Muse of choral song and dance, Thalia the Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry, and Urania the Muse of astronomy. Wow, that was a mouthful! >__< I didn't know most of their names, so that was cool to learn them. Thanks, Ms. Flaherty. :) Anyway, Ms. FLaherty asks the question: why would artists attribute their best ideas to something outside themselves? Well, some would say that it's a pride issue. Some would say that they feel special that the "muse" visited them, so they MUST have it going on. Another is that writers are humbled and feel the need to be helped by something or someone other than themselves like God. As many know, I'm a Christian and I believe that God has given me gifts for a purpose: to glorify Him and His Kingdom. I don't believe that the muse is some outside force that visits on a whim. I believe that if I ask God to help me with my writing with an open and a humble heart, He will help if it's in His will. :)

I thought this description of Frued was funny in chapter 7. Freud thought that being alienated from or subconscious (subconscious is tied to the idea of the muse) makes us "neurotic" but being too involved with the subconscious makes us "psychotic." It's like, we need the muse or the inner voice sometimes. Haha. :) I think it definitely helps to have the creative juices flowing. Just don't have voices speaking to you all the time or you'll go loopy. ;)

I had a fun time reading and blogging about this book. I learned so much about the cerebral cortex, the limbic system, the temporal lobes, frontal lobes...okay you get the picture. The book dealt a lot about the structure and function of the brain with creative writing. I look forward to reading books dealing with overcoming Writer's Block. The next book I'm reading is "Writers Block and How to Use It" by Victoria Nelson. I will blog about it in the coming days so STAY TUNED. Alright? Have a great rest of the day and I will chat with you later.

~LaVel :-)

"Dragon Earth" Excerpt & The Midnight Disease

Hello, hello everyone! How are y'all? :-) This is Vincent LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, and book blogger extraordinaire. I am doing absolutely great this morning. Oh, it's 1 o'clock am. Wow. I really should go to sleep, but guess what? It's Saturday morning. Wohoo! And I have been doing a lot this week, so much that I haven't been able to blog. But now I'm back. :) I wanted to give y'all a nice update so listen up. Plus, I have a little something something for y'all at the end.

I have been hard at work these past few weeks. I've written 2 chapters for "Dragon Earth" and I'm in the middle of chapter seven titled "Séraphine Soleil." This is a chapter that I'm having SO much fun writing. The character Séraphine is such a tease, such a kitty-cat character so to speak. She's so gritty, so silly, and so sensible at the same time. :) Confusing, no? I have an excerpt from chapter seven at the bottom of the blog that y'all DON'T WANT TO MISS. :0)

Guess what the picture above shows? Well, forget the one showing me. The other shows a picture of a lynx, a mythological creature guarding the forest. There's a lynx in chapter seven. I can't wait to really develop the lynx character. His name is Leflorhys by the way. Say hi to him. Hehe. ;) In chapter six, my characters were attacked by the Coven, a band of witches and wizards flooding the city of Cambridge. Don't fret! The Xenphiri are here! :0) I will explain who the Xenphiri are in later blog posts.

Now, I wanted to post a few points on chapter six of "The Midnight Disease" by Alice Flaherty. I said before that I would skirt through this chapter because it's very science-y and it's interesting, but not integral to my research. Chapter six is titled "Why We Write" and Ms. Flaherty asks the question what part of our brain drives us to write. The limbic system gives writers motivation to write. It lies under another system called the cerebral cortex. The limbic system controls fear, food, fighting, sexual desire, and more complex things such as social bonding, learning, and memory. Ooh, let's get a little deeper, shall we? The hypothalamus is part of the limbic system. It deals with our sleep cycles, and as we should know, sleep is related to depression and anxiety. If you get necessary rest, you will have a lower chance of being depressed than someone who doesn't get the right amount of sleep. The hypothalamus also deals with appetite, blood sugar level, and temperature regulation. Wohoo. So all in all, maintain your body so you lower your chance of depression and anxiety, which affects motivation to write. o___o

Ms. Flaherty asks us what is the motivation to write? Is it a "core emotion?" She replies that it's a secondary emotion. Core emotions are like joy and fear, she says, and it isn't a biological desire to procreate and have children. Her answer is that the motivation to write is similar to guilt, hope, and smugness. The motivation to write is linked to the desire to communicate. Her evidence for this relies on 3 areas. First is that humans have a distinct area in the brain that controls speech. Second is that everyone speaks and that cultures cannot get along without an elaborate language. Third is that we learn to speak at an early age. This was a cute quote from neurologist Frank Wilson: "[a young child] behaves as if she has been given a teristic fizz, that the young child behaves as if she has been given a labeling gun whose relentless operation compels her to take possession of the world by putting labels on everything she possibly can." Aaw! :) We try to make sense of things, Ms. Flaherty says and the desire to communicate is how we channel this "sense-making." Psychologist Dylan Evans says that writing can serve in 3 ways. One, it can alter mood by consoling, by entertaining, and by venting.

Writing consoles us by using language that can encourage us, so that's understandable. I think writing out Bible verses applies to this perfectly. I'm getting into this practice. :0) Second is that writing can be a source of entertainment, a source of pleasure. Third is that we can vent through writing, something that can be negative, but something that can be positive. This brushes a little bit against consolation. I don't know if you feel angry right now and you want to blog about it and vent, vent, VENT! But Ms. Flaherty says that venting can help someone overcome trials someone is dealing with.

One thing that I want to post before I go is the idea of the "desire to be published" or graphomania. Evolutionary psychologists see the desire for fame as part of the already established dominance hierarchy. Orwell says writing for fame as "sheer egoism." What do y'all think about writing for fame? I won't post anything about that...maybe later. ;) The novelist Milan Kundera saw graphomania as something destructive to society because "the resulting flood of words drowns out the chance for anyone to be heard." Now, I would love for all writers to share their work. I think that's great. But let's be honest...writing is a BUSINESS, an INDUSTRY. Publishers (particularly the large publishers) choose manuscripts and authors that they think will bolster their profits. I don't necessarily get him just because there is and always will be a limit to how many "famous authors" live in the world. Other than this, I would love to have your thoughts on writing for fame. Is that "okay?" Is that enough for a writer? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

:) I am posting the excerpt from the chapter "Séraphine Soleil" below. I hope you like it. Enjoy and God Bless! :0)

Chapter 7: Séraphine Soleil (Excerpt)
The tinkling of a bell announced that Alexis had stepped into the restaurant. Looking back at the door, Alexis saw a sign with black letters etched on the door. “Be happy, be healthy, be French.” A few giggles escaped Alexis. Turning, she jogged ahead and then coughed. Thick drapes covered her and she struggled until she wound herself out of them. Waving the drapes away, Alexis looked above at thick purple drapes which rose over her like vines. They drooped down from the faraway ceiling, waving in the air like silk violets. Craning her head, Alexis searched, but couldn’t find any fans. Looking back at the drapes and then shrugging, she moved
past until she walked down several steps. A thick red veil covered the next entrance and Alexis pushed through it and then saw what she had seen long before. Round tables covered with rich plum cloths layered each round dining table. A candle stood on top of every table, glowing in the dimness of the loghouse. In the center of the restaurant sat everyone else, Gloria dragging a seat towards the crowded table. A lone, piercing sound like that of a train whistle shot through the restaurant. Looking at the far side of the restaurant, Alexis saw lights blaring in the
restaurant kitchen. She saw several dark figures running through the kitchen and Alexis didn’t stop staring at them until Gloria waved a hand at her. Carefully, Alexis wended her way through the maze of tables until she reached the company.
“Weird, isn’t it that Séraphine’s is open,” Alexis whispered and then dragged a seat from a table beside theirs. “I mean, wasn’t it supposed to be closed at ten or something?”
“Not my restaurant, mon enfant!” cried a loud, piercing, guttural voice. Whipping her head around, Alexis saw a woman in a thin, slick brocade jockeying through the winding tables. Alexis’s eyes widened. The woman was clothed in a black dress colored in gold. Peering closer, Alexis thought that the gold was actually trees, limbs, and leaves inking through the black of her dress. The woman was tall, even taller than Gloria and Alexis saw a perfect blessing of lipstick on her bubble lips. She swayed so expertly, a hand on one side and her other flailing through the air like she was painting. A great clomping sound drowned out the chatter of the
company and Alexis’s friends fell silent as the woman drew level with them.
“Come, mon enfant, come. I will not bite. I am an ange, harmless!” The woman passed the company staring at her from their seats. Soon she reached Alexis, placing her free hand on Alexis’s shoulder. “Sit, sit, sit! I cannot have guests falling over in boredom and exhaustion. Especially, mon enfants! Sit down, and let Madame Séraphine take care of you.”
“Move, move!” shouted Madame Séraphine, waving her hands at Nahshon and
Rozella. Looking at each other, the two moved so that Alexis could put her seat in the middle of them. “That is better,” Madame Séraphine said, rolling her tongue. “I cannot have my famille working against me. I won’t have it.” Sighing, she looked around at the table. “Such happy faces, eh? No room for me?” She looked at the already crowded table. “I guess I must stand, but I will not mind it. I love the sight of such beautiful people, such lovely guests. Merveilleux!” Striding
around the table until she was in back of Gloria, Madame Séraphine clasped her hands together.
“My friends, welcome to my humble abode. I am forever and always, Madame Séraphine, at the service of the Xenphiri and all things dragon.” She played a quick curtsy, looking at the faces about her. “Of course, you may call me Séra. I am like the Gloria. I do not like everyone saying my full name all the time. It is useless. Ennuyeux!” Laughing, Séra waved a hand in the air and whispered. “But don’t tell anyone or I will have to revoke the privilege.”

Next WB Chapter and...my Novelette is Complete!!!

Hello everyone! Hello, hello, hello! How are you doing??? This is Vincent LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire. I can't believe that I just threw out my first name. Shocker, right? :-) I just feel more like an academic today. I've done SO much reading that I feel like my brain is about to burst. Let's see, I have International Relations, British Literature, Intermediate Creative Writing, A Vietnam War Seminar....yes. :)

Anyway, I wanted to give y'all some GREAT News! I wanted to tell y'all something that I have waited for such a long time. On Sunday, right when the Super Bowl ended, I finished writing my novelette "The DNA of Souls." It's a science-fiction story about an alien named Marcellion that's imprisoned in a human facility. Dun, dun, dun! I had such a fun time writing the novelette. It's 38 pages and as I said before, I'm submitting it to the Writer's of the Future Contest. That's a fantasy/science fiction novelette competition so if y'all are considering a contest, this one is a great opportunity. I've only allowed a select group of people to look at the novelette while I edit. I may post some of it when I have a cleaner draft of the novelette. I cannot wait to submit it, but I need to be patient and let the editing process be. This is an exciting time!

Which means, I can get back into my novel. :D I have put my manuscript to the side for approximately 2 and 1/2 months. I had around 100 pages, 4 chapters and a prologue for my novel "Dragon Earth." I needed time to rest from a rough patch I experienced last semester, but now I'm back in action! I am reviewing my outline this week and I'll probably jump back into the novel today. :D I can't believe I would say that this soon, but I ask myself "what am I waiting for?" I have so many ideas spinning in my head. Hopefully, I'll look at my outline and see what I need to change and tweak before I get deeper into my novel. :)

So, chapter 5 of "The Midnight Disease." Alice W. Flaherty wrote this chapter called "How We Write." Now, I want to tell you. I spent a limited amount of time highlighting this chapter because my main focus is on Writer's Block, how it's caused, and how it can be reversed. Because this chapter focuses on more evolutionary and neurological challenges to writing and reading, I skimmed through this chapter. The next chapter is similar to the next chapter, called "Why We Write." Also, another chapter that will be interesting but doesn't totally relate to my research. So, let me give you my thoughts and a brief overview of the chapter and I will be gone. :D

From the get-go, Ms. Flaherty says that she is partially distinguishing the "drive" to write from the "control" of human language. She talks a lot about humans primarily learning to speak and then putting their thoughts down on paper. Particularly in the middle of the chapter, she distinguishes from writing and reading, which is quite interesting and I think you'll understand as I get into the chapter. The first sciency term she uses in the Doctrine of Modularity. Basically, this means that different brain functions are located in different parts of the brain. Easy. :) The sensory region of the brain means brain input while the motor of the brain means brain output. Sensory regions relate to speech, sight for reading, and sign language while motor regions relate to controlling the larynx, mouth, and hand. Neurologists have found that language is controlled by the left hemisphere. However, scientists have asked themselves why injuries to one hemisphere of the brain affects the opposite side of the body (example is damage to left side of brain affects right side of body.) One theory holds that humans used to walk with their heads on backwards. Funny, I know. :) Just a theory, but that's one that exists. A different theory states that a function spread over two hemispheres of brain would require longer nerve fiber connections, which would result in slower processing feeds. I think the second theory is interesting, although those who created it sort of assume that the body knew this somehow and kept these nerve fibers on side side to achieve supremacy. Again, not sure what I believe but it sure is interesting.

Ms. Flaherty connects semantics or figurative language which the temporal lobes and syntax with the frontal lobes. This is because of research conducted with Wernicke and Broca aphasics patients and those with Broca dealt with issues with syntax and the opposite with Wernicke patients. It's interesting because semantics deals more with poetry, such as words linking boat to ship. Syntax deals more with what we call "realism" and metonymy, and deals more with cause and effect or simply logic.

One thing I'll leave you with before I go is with some stats/facts. They're quite mind-boggling:

-10% of American adults are illiterate and read at less than a 6 grade level. (This is absolutely terrible!!!)
-Oral language evolved more than 100,000 years ago according to the Theory of Evolution; however writing evolved 5,000 years ago (first in Sumeria and kept changing with Chinese, Sumerian, and Mayan cultures).
-More right hemispheric activity with speech than writing

The last fact deals with how speech deals more with emotion and writing sucks out emotion. One can easily place voice inflections in their speech to distinguish how he/she/they are feeling, but writing requires thinking to convey this emotion. Ms. Flaherty discusses the Nixon tapes and how the President and his counsel used grammatically incorrect language, but in writing, humans are more pressed to write grammatically. Interesting, is it not? ;-)

Well, I had better get back to the "land of the living," wherever that is. I must read and study and hang out with friends a bit more. So goes the world of college. Have a wonderful day and I will see you soon. Mwah! :-)

-LaVel

"The DNA of Souls:" Slow But Steady Progress

Hello, hello, hello everyone! How are you? :-0) This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire. Today, I worked on my novelette titled "The DNA of Souls." I had a blast writing this afternoon. As you can see above, one of the photos shows a waterfall. I listened to a 1 hour video of a waterfall while I wrote. It was absolutely soothing. Sometimes, silence can be oppressive and I feel the need to get my mind clear. Let me be clear though: I don't want a television or a radio blaring while I'm writing. That's the total opposite from the sound of beautiful...nature. ;) So, I just wanted to update y'all on that.

I'm approximately one-third through the story. I just wrote a scene where the main character, a prisoner named Marcellion meets with the Commander of the Galactic Federation. And what happens isn't pretty! Let's just say that he gets hit with a silver gun and than a bracelet gets attached to his skin. O__O On top of that, let's just say that our friend Marcellion is forced to undertake mission against his will by...the captors. Dun dun duuun. I wish I could share some of the manuscript with y'all now. However, I want to at least finish it and then I'll share some of it when I can. Okay? I must go. Laser Tag with my friends at Campus Crusade for Christ awaits! Have a good weekend and I'll see y'all soon. Bye. :-)

-LaVel

Lit Fest Short Story Update & New WB Chapter!

Hello everyone! How are you? This is LaVel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire. This week has been such a whirlwind. :) I've been doing a million readings for my International Relations course, Intermediate Creative Writing, and English. I mean, I LOVE all my classes, don't get me wrong! It's just that when you're trying to balance schoolwork with extra-curricular activities, the blog, a novelette, and a novel, life can get tough! But it's okay. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. I believe this verse more strongly than the first time I heard it. So let's keep the "yo-factor" going this week and into the weekend. Less whining, more action!

So, I met with my creative writing teacher about my short story. This is interesting. My professor, Alison Hennessee, HATES the Twilight Series. Gasp. I'm not the series's biggest fan, so it was interesting to get a female's take on the series (one that doesn't like the series. Shocker.) She could only receive my short story because she had to meet with other students, but she promised to get back to me on my story. "Blood of a Vampire" is due February 15th. If anyone would like to comment on the story, feel free. Ms. Erin told me about a several subject (noun, pronoun, etc) issues towards the beginning of the story. If anyone found parts where you were unsure which subject agreed with a verb, send me suggestions. Also, I edited the previous post but if you could not access the google document of "Blood of a Vampire" email me at vlavel@hotmail.com and I will send you a copy of the short story. I'm going to polish this rough draft so it's perfect for judging. ^___^

Anyway, let's get to the next chapter of "The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain" by Alice Flaherty. The chapter that I read today and I'm blogging on is chapter 4: "Writer's Block As a Brain State." Again, I encourage writers and readers alike to purchase a copy of "The Midnight Disease." Whether or not you believe that Writer's Block exists or that mental disorders influence how writers develop Writer's Block, pick it up. It's still worthwhile to read. Now, let's get into the book. I'll promise to be more concise than last time because I don't want to bore the heck out of y'all with superfluous details. ;)

So, what's up with the picture of the human sketch? That's from Leonardo Da Vinci and his "Notebooks," where he drew cerebral ventricles. What's that? I have no idea. The point is that Mr. Da Vinci experienced block and had many works left unfinished. I never knew this...this is one of the main reasons why I encourage you to buy a copy of this book. Ms. Flaherty reveals facts that I didn't know and are worthwhile to know. :D Ms. Flaherty begins the chapter by pointing out 2 reasons why people don't like to call Writer's Block a biological condition. The first relates to the relation with biological and genetic, meaning that if a brain shape can be changed, it can be limited by intelligence or creativity. Let's face it: most people would call that flat out wrong. However, Ms. Flaherty also points out that experience such as education can affect someone's mind and that "nurture" instead of "nature can have an effect on writers developing Writer's Block. The second reason is that Writer's Block is being lumped in as a neurological problem and that it can be cured. I totally understand writers objecting to the notion that they can be "cured" or that there's some great oppression they're under. I balance that with some of the facts Ms. Flaherty presents that writers experience depression 8 times more than the regular population. If this is the case (and this is something I'll look at more), then writers need to get the necessary help to counteract mental illness. It should be about making things up, it should be about getting the necessary help to maintain one's health and that's what I'm all about. :)

There are several analogies Ms. Flaherty ties to Writer's Block. The first is the "writer's cramp!" Bleh. :P What's the writer's cramp? It's a brain disorder of "the movements that form words." The more effort a writer puts into trying to write, the more stress they're under and the less capable to write. Gasp. :O She notes that writers should rest or take up some form of activity to lower the amount of stress from this writer's cramp. The second analogy is procrastination. Dun, dun, duun. No one likes it, but many people engage in it. I engage in procrastination, sadly. ;) Ms. Flaherty's disclaimer in the middle of the chapter is that Writer's Block and procrastination are different in theory. Those with Writer's Block have the "discipline" to sit down, but they cannot write. Those who procrastinate don't sit down to write, but when they're forced to, they can write a plenty. ^__^ Apparently, Charles Dickens was a procrastinator and especially procrastinated when he wrote his novel "Little Dorrit." Bad Charles Dickens, bad!

Apparently, scientists conducted an experiment with a pigeon. They had a lever above the pigeons and they couldn't reach the high lever that much. Because it couldn't reach it, the pigeons only went for it a few times to get the delicious seeds and treats. However, the scientists allowed more benefits to rain down from the lever each time the pigeon would succeed and because of that, the pigeon went for the lever more. Ms. Flaherty connects this to writing. If writers can reward themselves more from doing their work, perhaps they will be more motivated to sit down and write. I think that's fascinating. In general, I haven't heard a particular "strategy" where writers reward themselves for their hard work. I will have to ask my writer friends about this, but I would be willing to add "rewards," whatever they are to experiment. :)

Depression has also been linked to Writer's Block. Most clinicians link depression as the first cause of Writer's Block. As I said before, depression affects writers EIGHT TIMES more than the general population. Shocking! :O I never knew that. Anyway classic symptoms of depression are thus: lack of energy/imagination/ability to concentrate, change of appetite/sleep, feelings of guilt, disorganized thinking and action, and suicidal thoughts. French psychologist Julia Kristeva uses a rhetorical question in "The Midnight Disease:" "out of what eerie galaxy do its invisible, lethargic rays reach me, pinning me down to the ground, to my bed, compelling me to silence?" That;s exactly how I felt when I experienced depression last semester. I didn't want to write at all because I had little energy. As well, I had very disorganized, debilitating thoughts about my writing and I didn't believe in Ol' LaVel. Thank God I've moved on and I'm in a better place now. It's just that writers experiencing depression like me should be willing to reach out for help because the problem can keep reoccurring. A producer named Joseph Papp told his staff to avoid therapy for depression because they wouldn't be able to write. He tried to tap into the myth that if one doesn't get help for depression, the ebbs and flows caused by depression will cause an extreme high in creativity, despite the extreme low. If someone takes medication or counseling, a writer's creativity will somehow be "average." That's nonsense. Go get help for counseling if you need it. You'll only suffer inside and hurt the people around you who love you the most. It's not good at all to have someone unstable (and that's what people dealing with depression are, unstable) in the house negatively affecting everyone. It's not fair and it's not right. Ms. Flaherty briefly writes about "Cycles of Productivity" as the process where writers get lots and lots of ideas and then they have a season where ideas dry up. That can be true, unfortunately. :) I wish ideas would just keep coming, but it takes time. A way to water this "dry desert" of ideas would be to follow some battle plan like writers editing in the winter and write in the summer. That's a bit of a strange idea, but it's one in the book. ;) Ms. Flaherty promotes the idea of balance and a writer resting a bit for ideas to replenish. I don't think writers need to be extreme like that, but it's just an idea.

Before I go, I'll end with possible medical assistance which can curb depression and anxiety. Anxiety has the opposite affect that depression has where one has more nervous energy, but can't write because they're sweaty or jumpy. To combat anxiety, one can take relaxation techniques, biofeedback, medicine such as diazepam and alpralozam. Ms. Flaherty warns though that the medicines such as diazepam could lower a writer's performance. I don't know to what degree this is true, but she says it in the book. I would definitely recommend a writer speaking constantly with their doctor and getting the run-down on side effects from these medications. Ask the tough questions and see if the doctor thinks the medications will affect one's ability to think clearly and coherently when he/she's writing. Beta blockers however such as propranolol reduce anxiety but do not dull thinking like the one's above can. This is definitely good news for writers bearing anxiety. Go get that medicine y'all! ;)

I would leave this blog with just one word of advice: if you're experiencing something like depression, go to other writers who've experienced something like depression for help. I've dealt with depression and I know how I constantly thought that I couldn't work anymore and I was worthless. That's a lie. You know that? A complete LIE. Whether or not you're depression, writers can have anxious problems. We want our work to be perfect, but none of us are. Embrace your humanity, we have weaknesses and MOVE ON. We have work to do and we can't complete it if we keep asking ourselves why we are so HUMAN. It's ok. Breathe. Today is a day of opportunity. Tomorrow brings a new day. Take one step at a time and if need be, don't hesitate. Reach out to friends so they can pray and help work with you through any hard times you're going through. It worked for me, and it can work for you.

-LaVel

Lit Fest 2012

Hello everyone. This is Lavel Moorehead: writer, reader, book blogger extraordinaire. I told y'all that I would post the rough draft of my short story "Blood of a Vampire." I won't give anything away; all I'll say is "read it." Hehe. :) Tell me what you all think of the story. All comments are welcome. I'm meeting with a professor of mine to look over the story. It's due February 15th to the Stylus Magazine at the University of Maryland. I'm entering the story into the Lit Fest 2012 Writing Competition so wish me luck! :)

Here's the link to the story:

document/d/1x440T1RM-hKg_ohRHnuxPTQgn8OAM2lIPfJIWlHtVDg/edit?hl=en_US

UPDATE: If you can't access the story, post your email below and I'll send it to you.

-I hope you like it. :)
LaVel

Writer's Block: That Tricky Bugger!

"A grief without a pang, void, dark, and drear
A stifled drowsy, unimpassioned grief
Which finds no natural outlet, no relief
In words, or sigh, or tear...
My genial spirits fail
And what can these avail
To lift the smothering weight from off my breast?"
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "Dejection: An Ode"

This is part of "Dejection: An Ode" from Cooleridge, the famous Romantic Poet. In chapter 3 of "The Midnight Disease," Ms. Flaherty describes how the Romantics dealt with Writer's Block: they wrote about it! Mr. Cooleridge didn't have a problem sharing how his spirits or inspiration was down. So, is inspiration really tied to Writer's Block? Read on. :)

Before I go on, I want to encourage you to pick up a copy of "The Midnight Disease: by Alice W. Flaherty. This book has given me so much information concerning Hypergraphia and Writer's Block. I didn't expect the beginning of the book to deal with the opposite or what Ms. Flaherty would say the "compliment" of Writer's Block. I've heard enough about the temporal lobes and the limbic system. I almost cringed when I saw those terms in the book, but she soothed my reservation. Chapter 3 is called "Writer's Block As A State of Mind. Writer's Block has been called a "state of mind" by some because they say that it doesn't really exist and it's all in a writers head. Is it really "in your head" or does Writer's Block really exist. Ms. Flaherty introduces some interesting theories concerning Writer's Block and I would say she more-so believes that it does exist. There are 2 conditions though where a Writer can gain Writer's Block (she believes).

The first is that a writer doesn't write when he/she has the intellectual capability to do so and two, he/she suffers because of not writing. This is a disclaimer though! Ms. Flaherty admits that one can be hypergraphic and experience Writer's Block at the same time. That's why she said both conditions are compliments. Here's a quick example: Joseph Conrad is a writer who wrote many, many letters to his friends but put off writing his novel. It's interesting because when I think of Writer's Block, I think of someone not writing at all, whether letters, a manuscript, anything. But perhaps that's the stereotypical way of looking at Writer's Block. Let's look at the condition of suffering though. Why must a writer suffer when experiencing Writer's Block? She answers by saying that a writer is "merely not writing," but can gather new ideas when he/she isn't writing. I would tend to agree with her on this point. When a writer feels like they have an obstruction in front of them, he/she should feel down. I mean, who wouldn't feel dejected when he/she can't pursue their craft for whatever reason? It's saddening. If you don't feel sad, I would assume that you're reorganizing. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Is suffering essential for Writer's Block to exist?

Some interesting words which I'm sure you'll want to remember are agraphia, which is the loss of skill to write and aphasia, the loss of skill to communicate. Ms. Flaherty writes that Writer's Block doesn't equal agraphia because you don't lose intellectual skill. However, she says that Writer's Block is similar to aphasia because a writer that cannot communicate falls into depression, which can lead to a loss of ability to communicate to others or the readers.

Interestingly enough, Ms. Flaherty says that Writer's Block may be an American idea. American Psychiatrist Edmund Bergler came up with the term "Writer's Block" and writer Jay Parini talks about it being historically rooted within America. He notes British writers such as Anthony Burgess, Iris Murdoch, Graham Greene, and A.N. Wilson "whom regard productivity as a virtue" and writers such as Norman Mailer, Thomas Pynchon, Mary McCarthy, and Sasul Bellow who experienced Writer's Block. I don't know if you can make a leap and say that "oh, Americans are the only ones experience Writer's Block. Darn those Americans!" It doesn't make sense. Here's a funny quote by Ms. Flaherty: "there is a paradoxical sense in which suffering writer's block is necessary to the American writer." I don't know if that's true, but there is a sense that being blocked and unable to write is an essential part of the writing process. There are hills and valleys with all writers, but I would say that there's something particularly significant in extended periods of time when a writer suffers when he/she cannot write.

On pg. 85, Ms. Flaherty that taking away motivation and skill, the problem of inspiration is left. I would agree with that because many writers with Writer's Block speak about a a deficit of desire for their story. Mark Twain wrote " The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" over a series of years. Some said that he had no emotional connection to parts of his story (the emotivist point of view). The cognitivist point of view espouses the point that writers such as Mark Twain need to be more engaged in the editing process and be less criticizing of themselves, a more logical and practical approach. Which side is right? Ms. Flaherty doesn't say but she says that these points of view exist. I would say that both are right because someone can obviously be detached from a scene if it's less exciting than other scenes and two, one can be disengaged from the editing process and change the text without consulting outside sources. Both are real.
The theory of Psychodynamic explanation emphasizes the point that unconscious desires and fear affect a writer more-so than conscious cognition. This school of thought was influenced by Sigmund Freud. A summary of his theory suggests that the problem with Writer's Block lay with a writer being fearful of "punishment by or rebellion against a parent-like authority." This suggests an emotional fear tied to one's work. Another school of thought lies with the Ernst Kris theory where creativity needs aa "strong ego and a strong id," self belief and going out and writing plenty of text. Abigal Lipson and David Perkins's book "Block" espouses the belief that our will or conscious intention is one of the many forces affecting us. You have to identify and change the forces that are stopping you from writing. That's an engaging thought but as Ms. Flaherty says (and I agree), that can come with an advantage and a disadvantage. A writer may not know where to look and capture ALL of the problems affecting his/her writing. But then again, nothing can change unless a writer tries. :)

Ms. Flaherty gives plenty of nice advice in this chapter. She writes that one should decrease writer perfectionism because guess what, nobody's perfect at writing. Not even the greats! Engaging in brainstorming to boost ideas, nurture self-esteem so you can handle criticism, and visualization so you can increase your imagination can help you work and your writing grow. I love engaging in visualization because the scenes that I'm placing in my novel become like a movie-reel in my head. It's so beautiful and exciting. You should do it! ;) And of course, embrace your "inner child." Ms. Flaherty ends saying that the inner child is the one who you were long ago, the little bitty one that never stopped playing, looking at things curiously, and wanted an identical book read to them each night. It's like going back in time! I enjoy this because in the eyes of a child, anything is possible. I think as young adults and adults we start to lose the ability to dream beyond what we can see here and now. Writing requires imagination because sometimes you're forced to look beyond what we can physically see. Reality can encompass the subconscious and what we traditionally do not think is reality. So all in all, I implore you as a writer (or even if you're not a writer) to look beyond your self and see the seemingly impossible. You just might see something great.

Now I have to go. I wish I could write more but I have a bit of studying to do. Today, I wrote a 10 page short story called "Blood of a Vampire." Sounds dark, huh? Well, I hope not. I will post it on this blog so I can hear y'all and your thoughts, okay? I hope you have a wonderful day. I will return tomorrow! :-)

-LaVel