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
No comments:
Post a Comment