If I had enough incentive, I would create an introductory paragraph to this essay, one full of elusive synonyms and graceful analogies that would subtly hint at my chosen opinion. However, I’ve decided to take a more direct approach, given that I believe that anyone who truly understands my topic will appreciate my lack of assumption that anyone who reads this is prone to ignorance.
In short, all writers and artists are crazy.
Now that I’ve opened this essay with such a bold statement, let me explain. My general definition of the term “crazy” is everything that you may assume, and many things that you may not. However, in this context, I am more referring to the term as it is used to distinguish people who are generally more difficult to integrate into ‘acceptable’ normal society. This is not necessarily a poignant degradation of a person’s actual level of mental sanity, simply a reflection on the fact that there are some talents that tend not to be classified as ’socially acceptable’, not when taken in their truly raw context. I suppose some examples are in order, for me to correctly illustrate my reason for classifying an entire group of people as ‘crazy’. To avoid upsetting anyone that has already considered abandoning the reading of this essay, I must elaborate that I am not saying that “I believe writers, artists and musicians are crazy”. However, I am simply reflecting on the fact that society, though it may not speak it directly, tends to classify them as such.
For my first example, let us take the writer. This is, of course, my easiest comparison to make, since I myself generally fall into this category. A writer is a very unique type of person, who possesses the ability to weave a sensory tapestry of ideas, sounds, emotions, colors and events simply through the use of the right combination of words. A true writer has the option of constructing a world of their own making, complete with customs, landscapes, societal structures, languages, supernatural events, and so on. However, for a writer to truly be able to create this type of immersion, the writer themselves is required to become fully immersed in this world. This involves daydreams about the history of various fictional cultures, exploration on development of different personality types, spending time drawing rough maps of fantasy lands, researching methods to construct a new language, and so on. However, one of the most essential parts of this process is that the writer is truly able to **visualize** the world, scenario, character or landscape that they are focusing on describing. For the writing to feel truly natural, the writer themselves has to believe that their world is real, even for a short period of time. This is how some of the world’s best stories are written.
This ‘immersion’ concept is also true of writing non-fiction work, such as medical texts. During a process of ‘true’ writing, I often find myself completely lost in the sequence of words, my mind filled with the intricate complexities surrounding the topic that I’m working on. Microbial genetics, biological engineering, pharmaceutical drug effects, NASA’s research history, psychological disorders… the true nature of the topic doesn’t matter. After a period of time spent researching, I’m usually able to fall into that writing ‘zone’ where explanation and exploration of the topic seems to flow effortlessly. This ‘zone’ is very similar to the way I feel when writing fiction.
However, this type of fictional immersion is technically not classified as being socially acceptable. There have been situations in which, when discussing something writing-related with an acquaintance, I have digressed into talking about how I’m currently constructing my latest novel. I usually end up saying something like, “To work on the story, I have to lose myself in the writing, and truly believe that I am experiencing the character’s emotions”. As a general rule, admitting to a casual acquaintance that you spend time daydreaming about fantasy worlds is not entirely well-advised, especially if they are unfamiliar with the writing process. After experiencing a negative reaction to my writing process several times, I was a bit confused. In my study of Creative Writing at JHU, I’m certain that I learned this process to be the most effective method of constructing good writing. However, after much study on the topic, it seems that the majority of ‘normal’ people are more than willing to commend good writing, as long as they don’t have to be exposed to the process that is utilized in creating it.
Let me simplify a bit. Let’s say that you are having a conversation with a casual friend, and they ask how your day was. Instead of answering with the proper response of “My day was great, thank you. How was yours?” you instead answer with “It was incredible! First, I imagined new ways to use magic over breakfast. After that, I sketched a few drawings of the Chthoe cultural history, since I’ve decided to write about them as if they immigrated from a far-off planet. Next, I spent time visualizing myself as a Dorthaki noble, in order to write the historical aspects of my novel.” I believe saying “I abandoned all outside thoughts and became completely immersed in the technical aspects of computer circuits for an essay” would most likely induce a similar response. Though to a writer, this may be a familiar part of the writing process, most people would not be able to relate with the type of passion, excitement and creativity that is involved in truly magnificent writing. Because of this, I have decided that society deems writers “crazy”, in that the thought process of a writer is not generally accepted when exposed to the scrutiny of general society.
Artists are extremely creative individuals, able to construct emotions, scenes and incite response simply by the use of artistic mediums. Some of the most stunning artwork that I’ve ever seen has been sufficient enough, in its visual appearance, to truly take my breath away. I’ve mulled over abstract art, marveled at realistic art, and taken several art classes through which I wonder if I’ve discovered that I, too, am an artist. I appreciate the tiny, almost unnoticeable details that are integrated into certain pieces of artwork, which lend an almost imperceptible air of complexity to the piece. As with writers, some of the best artwork is created when an artist truly becomes lost in their work, enamored with the contrasting colors, brush strokes, penciled curves and emerging depth in their piece. My artistic style is that I always focus on tiny details, even if it means it takes me next to forever to finish a piece. Attention to detail is one way to display a true love and dedication to your art, so that a trained eye can appreciate that you are truly passionate about your work.
It is a fact that the creativity involved in creating a finished piece of artwork does tend to spill over into other aspects of your life. In contrast, events in your life also end up being reflected in your artwork. I’ve seen some of the darkest, most sinister pieces of artwork created by people I had thought were cheerful and optimistic. Art is a form of expression, in which you can truly release any emotions, sensory aspects and scenes that you wish. It could be said that art is a reflection of the contents of the artist’s mind, the pieces that are too often hidden in corners and stuffed in boxes in order to avoid disrupting the ‘normal’ thought process required to be a part of society. When these pieces are released in art form, people don’t think back on where they came from, only reflect on their current presence as a piece of visual art.
Since these points are best illustrated with examples, let me attempt to construct one. Imagine that you are with a group of people, observing a tall skyscraper. It stretches impossibly high, the sides gleaming in polished perfection. As an artist, you would recognize this as a significant object that can be manipulated (or revered) in your artwork. However, imagine that a person in your group asks you what you’re thinking. If you respond, “I’m thinking about ways in which I can destroy the perfection of this building in my artwork”, or “I’m considering doing a painting of this building, wreathed in flames” this would generally cause the people in your group to classify you as destructive, pessimistic and extremely odd. However, when faced with the reality of it, these are often thoughts that cross the mind of an artist. When presented with an object in real life, we tend to relate it to art, and then consider all of the possible ways that it can be integrated, manipulated, modified or flawlessly transferred into art form. A true artist sees life as a potential canvas, with every object, situation, person and emotion possessing the ability to become the inspiration for art.
I hope I’ve accurately illustrated my point. I was reflecting on this fact while I was constructing a historical background for a novel that I’m working on. In reality, who am I able to discuss my novel’s fantasy world with? Could I comfortably bring up the subject of imagining myself as a magic-wielding female warrior with someone I met on the subway? Would anyone be receptive to hearing about the complicated process, the intricate details involved in creating an entire fictional universe from scratch? If I spoke of creating a piece of art that pictured a famous landmark being destroyed by fire, would anyone appreciate the symbolism of the picture, or would they simply think I was crazy? I tend to think the latter, as it has been my personal experience such far. It takes a large amount of creativity to be either a writer or an artist, and it seems that not everyone is ready to be exposed to the “creative process”, to use the cliche phrase. Many people even think that writers and artists are useless, as they do not contribute to the advancement of society. I beg to differ. Without creativity, our society would not be full of such richly diverse ideals, such intelligent minds or such mystical questions and concepts.
If I write any more, I’ll simply end up rambling, most likely digressing to other topics. As usual, I didn’t cover everything that I wanted to. :-P Please let me know your thoughts on this topic, as it’s something I’ve recently found interesting. ^_^
Now, I haven’t been neglecting my blog because I haven’t been writing – Actually, it’s quite the opposite. In the past few months, I’ve written more than I could have imagined myself capable of. For example, in November, I participated in “National Novel Writing Month” (often shortened to “NaNoWriMo”), blowing out a surprising 65,000 words in the thirty days of the event. I also submitted a last-minute story as a submission to Writer’s Digest, in lieu of being invited to participate in one of their many writing contests. However, since the story that I submitted lacked any sort of editing (I was kind of in a rush, it was written one hour before the deadline), I will completely understand if it’s a bit.. lacking. Once the grace period for the contest is up, I’ll most likely publish it here, in all its unedited glory. :p
I did devote a good amount of time to playing Dragon Age: Origins, which has incited me to write many glowing reviews of it on several gaming sites. One of my reviews was even quoted on GreyWardens.com! ^_^ I really wish more games could capture the attention of RPG-lovers with the same methods as Dragon Age. I’ll have to devote a full post to it on a later date, since I really could go on and on about why it’s such a successful game. :p
