This is a sort of "Left" idea. (here): " you instantly see that the art stems from an intriguing, even dangerous artist." It is leading the reader to believe that ALL writers are like that. What is interesting here is that this is a fort of seeming "transition" from recognizing that, gee, an awful lot of writers were "rebels" of some sort and don't try to deceive me about it, to a new formulation which says that literally ALL writers or all artists ("all art" are his words) are intriguing, dangerous characters of some kind. They were characters of their time, and yes many of them were pretty intriguing or even ..rebellious ad dangerous. But to make the sweeping generalization that you cannot encounter an artist who is not "dangerous" is impractical. And it misrepresents American history. Puleeeeeze, Mr. Mohr!
Bravo to everything you said! “Writers write and they don’t need goading” is true of any artistry, acting, directing, singing etc....there is money to be made for sure but those who seek riches first usually aren’t successful in the business of creativity. You have to be committed to the craft first. I love how you write. You tap into what I feel. Thank you!
Your words resonate to the point where I could have said all the same things. The only difference, my addiction is creating art. And because of life’s wild twists and turns, I began using not just visual art to express but words. I needed to say the things I was thinking and share or I was going to implode. So I went public. Thank you for confirming so much of what I espouse about writing, creating, and the importance of sharing experiences through art. Michelle
"But we need to also have space for artists, for writers. For people who are spiritual outsiders, who have the special outsider’s view of society. This is what artists are, and not just writers, but particularly them. They see things from outside of traditional life and experience. They’re just “visitors,” almost like aliens, as a writer friend of mine once quipped."
This quote speaks volumes of not only writers but also me in particular. Out of my spiritual necessity, I am a critical thinker, scanning the environment, people around me, and our systems from political institutions to religion. And this means, I have to write the flaws that I observed in traditional life and Package as an article worthy for the rest of the society. Critical thinkers are not celebrated and often neglected until their innovations Bloom to life. Nikola Tesla was a mad scientist but his mode of expression was writing. And in line with that, I thank Substack for creating such a platform for writers only. I write about Africa: her problems and possibilities.
So many things to say.... I am reminded of a Basquiat documentary I watched recently where he gets a job, comes home to his girlfriend and tells her he simply can't do it. That it stripped his soul. I am, too, self employed. My businesses do well enough but even if they didn't, the thought of getting a "real job" feels icky. I would simply prefer to live with less. I grew up poor to working class so I fear a lack of money, which also means I spend it unnecessarily. In terms of writing, writers and addiction... Well yes, I see a potential story in everything. Just the other day I was at the funeral parlour arranging my dad's funeral and all I could think was, are there dead people in the next room? What do they look like? I should visit a morgue to get a feel for what it's like. Would make a great addition to... So yeah, of course we're prone to addiction. Our minds do not shut off!
This is insanely accurate. For the most part. Except for the narcissist part. Some are, but I’d argue the dichotomy bw narcissism and insecurity. Though one does beg the other. I’ve written about so much of what I’m reading here. That not everyone who writes is a writer, that we are just different and yes often misunderstood bc why not, that we see the world with a much wider lens, and think more deeply than the rest, that writers are born not made. But I also do love my MFA. And wouldn’t have honed my craft as well without it. I just wish I knew how to mint money from it. Another enjoyable and relatable piece. 👏🏼
I like your perspective on how writers seem to be. I agree that creative people can come through as unique in some people's eyes and I like that. I have been a creative person since I was young. But it has only been a couple of years now since I realized how much I enjoy writing fiction. I enjoy writing other things as well but diving deep into my imagination is the most fun to me. Excellent post though Michael.
I found this to be a very enjoyable read and enjoyed your perspective on writers.
I've been an Indie Author now for 10 years and have found that it isn't an easy road. You are in this profession because you love it. Not for the notoriety or the fame. You do intend to show your readers your perspective on the world and hope that they share the same perspective or that you in fact provide them a new onw.
"the history of 20th century writers and writing cannot be ignored" Yes! I want to scream this every time I hear people make the "it's all just a construct" argument. And you're right to cite the existence of a kind of writer's "tribe." It wasn't confidence in my ideas that made me want to write: that came later. But reading the Art of Fiction interviews and realizing: these are my people. That understanding will do a lot more for any prospective writer than any amount of practical writing advice.
It's difficult for writers to stand up for their profession and art nowadays because it seems like we're asking for special privileges and stuff like that. In reality, all we really want is the same thing as other professions: the right to judge within our domain, the right of exclusivity, the right to be eccentric like hell and the right to believe we are more special than everybody else. Like every other profession does. I don't go out and tell truck drivers that they're not allowed to feel exclusive and special about themselves. But it feels different because "to publish" comes from the Latin publicare: to make public. (Which is also why we have a right to an opinion about Roald Dahl even if his estate is corrupted: literature is a gift to the public, a gift to us readers)
You caught me as I'm reading *The Happiest Man Alive*, almost certainly on your recommendation. Reading this outstanding biography of Henry Miller brings me right back to when I started writing a few years ago, when my first writing teacher suggested that I read Sexus, and that I might find an affinity not just with Miller's work, but his worldview and way of being. I find myself re-learning in my writing now what another teacher transmitted to me, that we are well advised to "write like you talk," which he said came from Miller as well—and it does, but apparently, actually, from advice given to him by his friend and reader, Emil Schnellock. You, my friend, perhaps more than anyone I know here, actually succeed in doing that, writing like you talk. It doesn't always make for perfect syntax, but who the fuck cares about that. Well done.
Are "we" "different" as a category? I don't know if I'd claim so, but perhaps also only because I resist so very strongly putting myself in a category with *anyone* (aside from you, and you and all of you that I do choose to align myself with—but *all* writers? no.) Do I feel different though, perhaps not made for the world of work, 'born' an artist? I think we all are. I mean: fuck work, really. Work is for civilians—that is, others who haven't figured out how to do otherwise—and there should really, ideally, be none of those. We are all artists—or are we? Of course there are actual differences between individuals, some are more inclined to accounting or riding elephants, deep-sea diving, defusing explosive devices, psychoanalysis, or beating each other senseless, and although I know that I _could be_, I'm no helicopter pilot... and I do feel so much like Miller. Casting about for years, attempting, even desperate to fit in while simultaneously rejecting the whole goddamned idea of doing so as so obviously ridiculous and contemptible. It's a sort of torture, I suppose, but a delicious torture, and one that feels completely natural to me. I do reject the "normal," working for a living, beaten down husband-and-father loading groceries while the children run wild in the streets, begging them to *please get in the car,* my hangdog look so heavy and sad, and yet still contagious. Henry almost caught it himself, and I've tried, dammit, I have, and it nearly beat me.
What I want most of all is to be one of the few that got away.
Touching my nerves. Thanks Michael. I write because I must and because it helps me stay sober. I drank because I was working and succeeding in work that I didn’t give a fuck about and I wasn’t scratching the itch.
You are far more than a writer. It took me more than a Mama's minute to figure out that you are a Storyteller of the finest sort. You are earnest, and as emotionally precise as reality. You sometime seem mundane, but then the reader hears the crack of ice under the feet of a dog. Sincerity works. The tent was cold for anyone who wondered what would pass between you and your Dad before you broke camp, and headed back down the mountain.
This is a sort of "Left" idea. (here): " you instantly see that the art stems from an intriguing, even dangerous artist." It is leading the reader to believe that ALL writers are like that. What is interesting here is that this is a fort of seeming "transition" from recognizing that, gee, an awful lot of writers were "rebels" of some sort and don't try to deceive me about it, to a new formulation which says that literally ALL writers or all artists ("all art" are his words) are intriguing, dangerous characters of some kind. They were characters of their time, and yes many of them were pretty intriguing or even ..rebellious ad dangerous. But to make the sweeping generalization that you cannot encounter an artist who is not "dangerous" is impractical. And it misrepresents American history. Puleeeeeze, Mr. Mohr!
Oh! Another member of the tribe I'm looking for!
Bravo to everything you said! “Writers write and they don’t need goading” is true of any artistry, acting, directing, singing etc....there is money to be made for sure but those who seek riches first usually aren’t successful in the business of creativity. You have to be committed to the craft first. I love how you write. You tap into what I feel. Thank you!
Your words resonate to the point where I could have said all the same things. The only difference, my addiction is creating art. And because of life’s wild twists and turns, I began using not just visual art to express but words. I needed to say the things I was thinking and share or I was going to implode. So I went public. Thank you for confirming so much of what I espouse about writing, creating, and the importance of sharing experiences through art. Michelle
"But we need to also have space for artists, for writers. For people who are spiritual outsiders, who have the special outsider’s view of society. This is what artists are, and not just writers, but particularly them. They see things from outside of traditional life and experience. They’re just “visitors,” almost like aliens, as a writer friend of mine once quipped."
This quote speaks volumes of not only writers but also me in particular. Out of my spiritual necessity, I am a critical thinker, scanning the environment, people around me, and our systems from political institutions to religion. And this means, I have to write the flaws that I observed in traditional life and Package as an article worthy for the rest of the society. Critical thinkers are not celebrated and often neglected until their innovations Bloom to life. Nikola Tesla was a mad scientist but his mode of expression was writing. And in line with that, I thank Substack for creating such a platform for writers only. I write about Africa: her problems and possibilities.
So many things to say.... I am reminded of a Basquiat documentary I watched recently where he gets a job, comes home to his girlfriend and tells her he simply can't do it. That it stripped his soul. I am, too, self employed. My businesses do well enough but even if they didn't, the thought of getting a "real job" feels icky. I would simply prefer to live with less. I grew up poor to working class so I fear a lack of money, which also means I spend it unnecessarily. In terms of writing, writers and addiction... Well yes, I see a potential story in everything. Just the other day I was at the funeral parlour arranging my dad's funeral and all I could think was, are there dead people in the next room? What do they look like? I should visit a morgue to get a feel for what it's like. Would make a great addition to... So yeah, of course we're prone to addiction. Our minds do not shut off!
This is insanely accurate. For the most part. Except for the narcissist part. Some are, but I’d argue the dichotomy bw narcissism and insecurity. Though one does beg the other. I’ve written about so much of what I’m reading here. That not everyone who writes is a writer, that we are just different and yes often misunderstood bc why not, that we see the world with a much wider lens, and think more deeply than the rest, that writers are born not made. But I also do love my MFA. And wouldn’t have honed my craft as well without it. I just wish I knew how to mint money from it. Another enjoyable and relatable piece. 👏🏼
I like your perspective on how writers seem to be. I agree that creative people can come through as unique in some people's eyes and I like that. I have been a creative person since I was young. But it has only been a couple of years now since I realized how much I enjoy writing fiction. I enjoy writing other things as well but diving deep into my imagination is the most fun to me. Excellent post though Michael.
This reminds me of the YouTubers who'd say, "I was filming things as soon as I could hold a camera in my hand. I did it before I made money!"
I always hear these sentiments with YouTubers, but it's the same for writers! It's in our bloodstream. Simply CAN'T live without writing.
This was a great deep dive!
I found this to be a very enjoyable read and enjoyed your perspective on writers.
I've been an Indie Author now for 10 years and have found that it isn't an easy road. You are in this profession because you love it. Not for the notoriety or the fame. You do intend to show your readers your perspective on the world and hope that they share the same perspective or that you in fact provide them a new onw.
"the history of 20th century writers and writing cannot be ignored" Yes! I want to scream this every time I hear people make the "it's all just a construct" argument. And you're right to cite the existence of a kind of writer's "tribe." It wasn't confidence in my ideas that made me want to write: that came later. But reading the Art of Fiction interviews and realizing: these are my people. That understanding will do a lot more for any prospective writer than any amount of practical writing advice.
It's difficult for writers to stand up for their profession and art nowadays because it seems like we're asking for special privileges and stuff like that. In reality, all we really want is the same thing as other professions: the right to judge within our domain, the right of exclusivity, the right to be eccentric like hell and the right to believe we are more special than everybody else. Like every other profession does. I don't go out and tell truck drivers that they're not allowed to feel exclusive and special about themselves. But it feels different because "to publish" comes from the Latin publicare: to make public. (Which is also why we have a right to an opinion about Roald Dahl even if his estate is corrupted: literature is a gift to the public, a gift to us readers)
Great piece!
You caught me as I'm reading *The Happiest Man Alive*, almost certainly on your recommendation. Reading this outstanding biography of Henry Miller brings me right back to when I started writing a few years ago, when my first writing teacher suggested that I read Sexus, and that I might find an affinity not just with Miller's work, but his worldview and way of being. I find myself re-learning in my writing now what another teacher transmitted to me, that we are well advised to "write like you talk," which he said came from Miller as well—and it does, but apparently, actually, from advice given to him by his friend and reader, Emil Schnellock. You, my friend, perhaps more than anyone I know here, actually succeed in doing that, writing like you talk. It doesn't always make for perfect syntax, but who the fuck cares about that. Well done.
Are "we" "different" as a category? I don't know if I'd claim so, but perhaps also only because I resist so very strongly putting myself in a category with *anyone* (aside from you, and you and all of you that I do choose to align myself with—but *all* writers? no.) Do I feel different though, perhaps not made for the world of work, 'born' an artist? I think we all are. I mean: fuck work, really. Work is for civilians—that is, others who haven't figured out how to do otherwise—and there should really, ideally, be none of those. We are all artists—or are we? Of course there are actual differences between individuals, some are more inclined to accounting or riding elephants, deep-sea diving, defusing explosive devices, psychoanalysis, or beating each other senseless, and although I know that I _could be_, I'm no helicopter pilot... and I do feel so much like Miller. Casting about for years, attempting, even desperate to fit in while simultaneously rejecting the whole goddamned idea of doing so as so obviously ridiculous and contemptible. It's a sort of torture, I suppose, but a delicious torture, and one that feels completely natural to me. I do reject the "normal," working for a living, beaten down husband-and-father loading groceries while the children run wild in the streets, begging them to *please get in the car,* my hangdog look so heavy and sad, and yet still contagious. Henry almost caught it himself, and I've tried, dammit, I have, and it nearly beat me.
What I want most of all is to be one of the few that got away.
I know you know the feeling.
After 12 years as a journalist, I quit, ran to Australia and trained to be a nurse.
Three years later I was back as a writer/editor.
I tried many times to run away from writing but each time I did I felt like my soul died.
It takes a special kind of insanity to carve out a 20-year career as a writer 😆
I could have been a software engineer. I had a knack for coding. Buuut writing seduced me away.
Touching my nerves. Thanks Michael. I write because I must and because it helps me stay sober. I drank because I was working and succeeding in work that I didn’t give a fuck about and I wasn’t scratching the itch.
Thanks for the essay.
You are far more than a writer. It took me more than a Mama's minute to figure out that you are a Storyteller of the finest sort. You are earnest, and as emotionally precise as reality. You sometime seem mundane, but then the reader hears the crack of ice under the feet of a dog. Sincerity works. The tent was cold for anyone who wondered what would pass between you and your Dad before you broke camp, and headed back down the mountain.
"The deeper truth is that writers write; they don’t need goading. They do it out of cold hard spiritual necessity." Spot on