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Transcript

The Myth of the Tortured Artist · The Daily Writer

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not mechanically inclined, maybe you can relate to this scenario.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: You're driving down the road one day, and all of a sudden you realize that your car has been running kind of rough.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: The engine is a bit noisier than it used to be, and you wonder what in the world could be wrong.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Then it dawns on you.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: You can't remember the last time you changed the oil.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: You wonder if maybe you've done some damage to the engine, and you're so thankful you haven't let it go on for much longer because it might be catastrophic for your car.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of writers and creative types operate this way.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: They keep working, they keep driving, they keep pushing, and they never do the basic maintenance required to keep their emotional, physical, and mental engine running smoothly.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, there's a common narrative among creative types that giving birth to your art is by definition a painful, destructive process.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: People who live by this code are called tortured artists.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: They usually suffer from addictions to drugs or alcohol, and they're convinced that their darkness is an essential part of their art.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Case in point, there's a group known as the 27 Club.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: These are famous musicians who died at the age of 27, and that club includes Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse, among others.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: The greatness of their music is never in question, but you can't help but wonder how much more music could they have given to the world if their lives had not been cut short by substance abuse, suicide, or other circumstances fueled by a reckless approach to life.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: So let's be clear.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: The narrative of the tortured artist is a complete myth.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Bad behavior and reckless living does not create the best scenario for your creativity to flourish.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, your first responsibility as a writer and creator is to take care of yourself.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: The author Parker Palmer wrote, Self-care is never a selfish act.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: It is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to torture yourself to create great art.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: There are plenty of great writers who not only write great books, but they also live happy, healthy, and well-adjusted lives.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: The best course of action any of us could possibly take is to focus on habits, behaviors, and creative systems that allow us to keep writing not only to age 27, but hopefully many decades beyond that.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's episode.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much, and I'll see you tomorrow.