Magical, drunk and weird are some of the labels attached to writers, but we never hear how brilliant, intelligent and bright they are. Authors Holbrook, Teri and Hundley, Melanie in “WRITERS ARE MYTHICAL, MAGICAL, AND DAMAGED” BAD IDEAS ABOUT WRITING make the argument that these are all myths. The Authors believe that Writers are regular people with a career in writing. The creator Marlowe, Andrew W. of Television Series Castle also, believes that writers are normal people in his depiction of a career novelist with regular family issues.
Writers don’t slay dragons or use magic potions to create stories. Some readers think they are magical because they create such great stories. Writer have the ability to take the minds on a journey and makes the reader think outside the box. As the writer open up the imagination with such well put together words one may think this has to me magic. Unfortunately, that is far from
Open book and magical glowing letters.
the truth. “Absent is what Stephen King calls the grunt work, which happens when authors wrestle with the page”. (p53) Weather it’s an article like the one mentioned above or a 500-page book, writing is a process that is not done overnight. A process that takes small Ideas and put them on paper. From rewriting of a small paragraph to crossing out words. Starting completely over is sometimes needed to get it right.
Once the writing has been completed, then the critiquing process begins. The proofreading, the editing and all of the revisions. This can be a stressful process for a writer and can be seen as a form of rejection. So much so, it can lead to anxiety and a loss in confidence in their craft. Every writer handles stress differently and, in some cases, alcohol is the calm to the storm. Does this make all writers alcoholics? Absolutely not. Some writers don’t drink at all. Just because there are several writers that were known for being alcoholics does not speak for them all.
Guy stressed and results to drinking to much
In the television series Castle , the main character Richard is a famous mystery novelist that decides to assisting the NYPD. They have a copycat murderer that is recreating murders scenes from his book. After every case he has a drink while writing is his journal. He has a drink while having dinner with his family. The creator portrays him as a drinker but not an alcoholic. He’s a regular single father that just so happens to be a writer and a drinker. Writers are regular people with regular lives that have a savvy way of putting great ideas to paper. Its not magic, its their job.
Citation:
1.Holbrook, Teri and Hundley, Melanie, “Writers Are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged,” in Bad Ideals About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E.Ball
and Drew M. Loewe, 53-59. Web.
- Marlowe, Andrew W., creator.Castle(TV Series 2009-2016) Season 1, ABC Studios, Marth 9th,2009, Episode 1-3