Category: Psychology

The Order of the Good Death

2/6/2016

I have finally had a moment to review the work of the wonderful Caitlin Doughty. If you don't know her, she's the founder of The Order of the Good Death, an organization designed to overturn the sad, uncomfortable notions we have of death care in our society.

Death has been medicalized, dare I say criminalized, to the point of ridiculousness. I'll have another post soon about my friend's loss of her dear mother - peacefully at home, mind you - and the three-ring circus it turned into.

In the meantime, check out my Amazon review, and pay a visit to The Order of the Good Death!
Caitlin is a great speaker who does some super cool events. Wish I could make it to Seattle!

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The Dark Side: Part 2

2/14/2015

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Well, look at that, it’s Valentine’s Day – a day that should fill all right-thinking people with shuddering horror, and the perfect day to continue my musings on the Darkness of the Human Soul.

Why is horror is so enticing, so arousing? It seems like sex and death, desire and fear, are closely linked. Is it an affirmation of life to follow up a really good scare with a really good shag? I don’t know. Enough pop psychology, I can really only speak from my own experience.

The depths of my subconscious have always been filled with outlandish romantic imagery. As a child I had a recurring dream of going up into an attic and finding a living skeleton. He would dance with me and I knew he was my one true love. As a teen I dreamed I was Pinhead’s girlfriend. He was very gentlemanly. I don’t know how we kissed, so don’t ask. He may have been asexual. It was still awesome. As an adult it follows that the dreams developed darker and more explicit scenarios, but you’ll have to pay to read about those. Suffice to say it’s all rather fascinating and makes for great writing fodder.

Not that I’m holding myself up as the example of the typical human psyche; that would be a bit alarming. But I do think that everyone has a dark streak. Why not celebrate it? (And I don’t mean in the grey silk tie kind of way). On this day of overblown, farcical, commercialized love, celebrate the right way: Watch Hellraiser. Snap the heads off some roses. Eat your chocolates from the tip of a sharp knife. Embrace the Darkness.

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Wrong to Write?

6/21/2014

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I've been in a rousing debate recently with another writer about the writing process. He's got what I think of as the Typical Writer Personality: He prefers a process that is slow, careful, methodical, painstaking, and deeply private. He never shares work until it has been through multiple revisions, and he doesn't see the point in self publishing (to put it mildly).

Me, on the other hand, I think I display an Abnormal Writer Temperament: I write and share compulsively. When I finish a 20 or 30 page segment I must run it by a trusted friend for a reality check, or I feel practically unable to continue. What if it stinks? Is heading in the wrong direction? Is setting the wrong tone? What if it's just plain boring? I desperately need feedback and reinforcement and I absolutely can't work in a vacuum. I love the self-publishing model because I can get my stuff out into the world and get a real idea of the reception.

It's not that I can't be thorough, but I write quickly and compulsively. I do revise, sure, but first I just want to get it out n paper. And I expect it to be good. I feel like if I can't get something about 75% right on the first draft then I should just scrap it and move on. Or not move on. Maybe just throw my hands in the air and go back to bookkeeping.

In short, I'm impatient, volatile, emotional, hypersensitive, and deeply vulnerable to criticism. Does this make me the worst candidate ever for a writing career, or what?

Maybe the problem is that I never wanted to be a writer. I did plenty of writing in my school years, even won some awards and scholarships. But the creative pursuit I chose for most of my life was performing arts. Now that makes sense with my temperament. But it wasn't what I wanted to spend my whole life doing, and it sure doesn't fit into my life now.

So what do I do? I feel the compulsion to write; the stories and characters are burning in the back of my brain. But I have very limited time and tolerance. Is there room in the writing process for someone like me? Can I develop some kind of hybrid method that will fit my personality and also produce good results?

I'll tell you what, If I can survive revising and publishing my first full-length work of fiction, then maybe the reading public can decide. In the meantime, I'd love to hear the thoughts of other writers on this subject: Is there such thing as the proper temperament for a writer, and what do we do if we don't have it? Comment, email, or tweet to me!

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"The Reluctant Blogger"

Very much of two minds about this blogging thing, in case you hadn't noticed. But there's so much wonderful geekery to share! Posting here about sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and more.

The Order of the Good Death

The Dark Side: Part 2

Wrong to Write?

"The Reluctant Blogger"

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The Order of the Good Death﻿

The Dark Side: Part 2

Wrong to Write?

"The Reluctant Blogger"

Archives

Categories

The Order of the Good Death