Creativity and Misery

It is stereotypical for artists and writers to be miserable. Many are the tales of drunkeness, depression, and suicide amongst the creative class. Why is it like this? And can happy people create?

I remember hearing advice that if you ever had writer's block that the antidote is to write about writer's block. I am using this antidote now as I seem to have a case of it at the moment. I have projects I can work on, but I don't feel inspired to actually work on them. The reason is because I am in a period of absolute bliss. Bliss cuts down on the creative impulse. People are motivated by pain, and creative people are no different. Creation is relief from pain.

The easiest way for me to bring back the pain would be to fuck things up with the source of my bliss, but that simply isn't going to happen. So, I must learn to create from a state of bliss as opposed to a state of misery. I think I can do this because I was already doing it before. I was happy in the flourishing sense before this bliss came into my life. I should be able to maintain it.

When we think of misery in creativity, we automatically consider Hemingway or Van Gogh. But I like to look to those who seemed happy while creating. I think Shakespeare was one of those people. Granted, not all was sweetness and light with the Bard, but he did enjoy considerable success in his own lifetime and lived a superb life for his times. He also produced a large body of work that stands the test of time. Similarly, the Beatles were very happy but still managed to produce music that literally changed the world.

I think the reason misery has become so prized in today's creative climate is as a direct result of nihilistic worldviews. People look to gloom and despair in creative work because it reflects the gloom and despair they feel in their own lives. In order to feed this insatiable demand for misery, creative people who are miserable enjoy great success. This would be the likes of Kurt Cobain.

I think you can use both happiness and sadness in your work. I don't think life always has to be sour and dark. There are good things in life, too. The challenge for the creative person is to capture the good which is a bigger task than capturing the bad. In the end, the secret to creativity isn't misery. It is work. Pain is a great motivator. But pleasure can be a motivator, too. You just have to stop being lazy and soaking in your bliss.

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