If you’re struggling with being creatively empty during these dark wintry days, here’s a little something that may help you wake up your writing spirit. Try letting yourself get mad.
I know many others will try to convince you that writing is best done by a quiet, serene lake with no distractions but the birds gently singing in the background. Sorry, doesn’t work for me. In fact, dropped into a scene like that, honestly, I’d probably take a nap. And not much good writing comes out of nap time.
I first realized the amazing connection between being mad and writing during a writing class I once took. I wondered why the professor had us reading a dull collection of academic essays on children and the media. I didn’t understand at the time why we weren’t instead reading books about writing.
But the essays would inevitably lead to heated class discussions, and the childless members of the class would start blaming all of the ills of society on parents who fail to adequately monitor their kid’s TV viewing.
As one of the few parents in that class, those discussions really made me mad. And you know what? That anger energized my writing. I turned out some great, thought-provoking essays in that class, in large part due to the anger I felt over the topics we were discussing.
Writing anything worth reading is all about harnessing emotion. And there’s nothing like getting really mad to get right to your gut, which I believe is where all great writing comes from.
So the next time you’re feeling creatively uninspired, don’t imagine yourself sitting by that serene lake, turn to something that makes you mad.
Here are a few things that make me mad, maybe they’ll work for you too:
• Reading articles about CEO bonuses
• Thinking about my old boss
• Watching Fox News
• My mother-in-law’s terrible re-gifting
• Faceless companies that spam relentlessly
• Reading about publishing industry layoffs
• Trying to accomplish anything with a PC
Next time you’re stuck, remember that getting mad might be just what you need to get writing.
What gets you mad enough to write? Share here!
-Maria Schneider
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flikr photo by Noah Sussman
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So, ah, have a little HTML issue this morning did you? ;)
You’re right. The best writing comes from our emotions. Anger. Joy. Sadness. My poetry usually sucks, but when I have some sort of deep emotional stimulus (a half a billion would work OK for me) more often than not I’ll be moved to write a poem.
Of course if you do write when angry, it might be best to cool down and read it over before delivery. Words spoken or written in anger, once delivered, cannot be taken back.
~jon
Yes, writing when mad can be an explosive way to get clear about what it is you want to say! I find that passionate writing (which is how I see the process of writing while mad) pushes the words right past the inner editor/critic.
Of course, I do think its best to review the work before it is unleashed into the world just to be sure it reads as you want it to.
Thanks for this post!
Karen
Yep. Passion always helps. Extreme sadness and anxiety sometimes helps as well.
When I am writing my fiction, I often choose which scene(s) to work on based on my mood; if the scene requires melancholy, I write when depressed; an explosive scene might be written after a particularly awful day at work.
The result may or may not be drivel, but at least I’ve catharsed. Peace, Linda
Exquisite advice. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anybody recommend this. I mean for creativity. To vent, yes. Never to create. But makes a whole lot of sense. Thanks for sharing!
So true! Write when mad, but edit when calm. Some of my best poems came from that process. Maybe I need to write some poems about the publishing industry…?
PS: Love the LOLcat! I”d replace “HTML” with “EMedia”. ;-)
I do hope that’s not actually your cat. If so, you may want to contact an exorcist. ;)
~jon
A writing teacher I had long ago said to me, “Most people go around all day avoiding their own worst thoughts. As a writer, it’s your job to embrace the things you hide, and the things from which you hide.”
Getting mad is one of those things! I don’t like being mad at the people I love, but my life is far too normal and serene to make a good book. So I let myself imagine going after a neighbour’s car with a golf club.
Writing through any emotion is helpful, the emotions do tend to show through in the writing.
@Nixy: I love the advice your writing teacher gave you! Reminds me of a John Berryman quote: “We must travel in the direction of our fear.”
Thanks all for your wonderful, witty comments.
And no, Jon, the demon cat is not mine but I wish it was. ;)
Thanks also for pointing out that you really need to edit after you write mad! (in fact, that’s probably a good follow up post).
If emotions show through in your writing, then what should I think about myself when I write crime/suspense and horror? Maybe I’m more scary than my characters.
Good post, Maria. But don’t get me started on the old boss thing. I once wrote a piece (never submitted) where my old boss just had to die in the end. Names were changed, but I knew if I ever published it the character would probably be recognized and then I would find a constable at my door serving me with papers. Not good.
Punxsutawney Phil is sitting next to me with a keyboard in his lap and I’m telling him “DON’T WRITE ANGRY” (no matter what the rest of you say).
;-)
–John
Hmmm…I agree in part. I interpret “writing about something that makes you mad” as “writing about something that you are passionate about”. That’s what makes for heated debates and in your own writing. A character must be passionate about something so that the reader can identify with why the character is doing what they’re doing. Why they are being moved, why every bit of conflict to prevent them from , makes them much more passionate about getting .
I once had a boss who fired me, and then asked me, seriously, to give back all the money I’d earned. He was a loon who ended up firing the whole office (and his design agency too). He was mad, and he made me mad, and I’ll use him as my anger-writing touchstone when the time is right. Cat claws out!
Fox News! There’s an oxymoron.
http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/Fox_News
Writing for revenge is good too–since we are civilized people who can’t go club our friends and coworkers when they do terrible things to us. It’s very similar to writing when angry :)
Great post, Maria!
What an excellent point. I usually blog news and opinion type pieces but reserve my most emotional (sometimes angry) for my journal. But it first took creative writing courses to stir me up. What I initially thought would be lessons in story format and style turned into deep and philosophical debates about hidden message. It was very therapeutic as some of the subjects forced me to dig deep and many times I was shocked and scared of what I discovered. Talk about group therapy without the psycho-babble! But I digress. Overall, yes my most intense and sometimes angry feelings reveal a very different side of my writing. Angry, moody, happy or sappy = it’s all good, or, it’s all human.
http://sfnative2008.blogspot.com
Interesting post, Maria. I understand what you’re saying, but I think it depends on what you’re writing. As a humorist, I find that anger, resentment, etc. is saltpeter to my pen, unless of course I’m going for sarcasm, in which case a little anger can be helpful. I just can’t turn on the old laugh machine until I get past whatever’s teeing me off, and, frankly, I feel a lot better too once I put it behind me.
When I’m angry I usually just watch TV. I’ll try it out sometime, though.