“Writing requires a dour temperament and failure in life seems so key to success in writing; it has a way of stripping away illusion.” - Cary Tennis
Random quote
There is nothing divine about the scientist's morality; it is a purely human affair.Random reviews
-
Random album
SCSI controller
Date: 05/19/2008
2 Comments
I can’t say that I would agree with that. I would agree that great writers probably have the ability to cull the dark times in their lives for inspiration and motivation. There are alot of writers that I enjoy who have won awards (so they are fairly good writers) who are as far from having a “dour temperment” as one could possibly be. Talent and discipline would be things that I would think are keys to success in writing.
I guess when I think of writers like Poe or Hemmingway or Salinger, I think… yeah, Tennis seems to be right. Sure, they were all talented, disciplined writers. But they seemed to be predisposed to a gloomier outlook.
Not saying that’s the only way to do it. Just seems like a pattern.