tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post6982611144380410255..comments2024-02-05T10:41:31.777-05:00Comments on I Saw Lightning Fall: The Miserable Muse?Loren Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-15860057957164679552010-01-06T09:41:07.849-05:002010-01-06T09:41:07.849-05:00SC,
My ancient computer started stuttering around...SC,<br /><br />My ancient computer started stuttering around the fifth stage, but <i>PvZ</i> was quite fun while it lasted! I particularly liked the pole-vaulting zombies.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-58463585428559273502010-01-01T21:57:53.339-05:002010-01-01T21:57:53.339-05:00If you like Tower Defense games at all, Plants vs....If you like Tower Defense games at all, Plants vs. Zombies is quite enjoyable. Actually, it's closer to a Defend the Castle game than a TD game; no mazing to speak of, just resource management, weapon placement, and being fast on the mouse button. Hardly an innovator in terms of gameplay, but the sense of humor is quite wry enough for my tastes. (And my tastes run pretty wry.)Scattercathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302815654553659644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-80710748330310896752009-12-31T08:58:49.067-05:002009-12-31T08:58:49.067-05:00SC,
Being cheerful makes me eager to keep going, ...SC,<br /><br /><i>Being cheerful makes me eager to keep going, whereas being in a "low intensity negative mood" makes me go play flash games and generally avoid my responsibilities.</i><br /><br />Yes, yes, <i>yes</i>. I got really down earlier in the week, and my productivity just disappeared. When I write something well, it gives me a little boost, which then makes it easier to write a little more and so on. It's a great postitive feedback loop.<br /><br />BTW, I've never played <i>Plants vs. Zombies</i>, but I really like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N1_0SUGlDQ" rel="nofollow">this video</a>. Particularly the undead dolphin bit.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-36610611908600981062009-12-31T08:53:02.418-05:002009-12-31T08:53:02.418-05:00Patti,
In fact, that was what I did last night! T...Patti,<br /><br />In fact, that was what I did last night! Turns out I need to do some research on medieval tanning practices. Never thought I'd write about <i>that</i>.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-57234081169764502592009-12-31T08:52:06.704-05:002009-12-31T08:52:06.704-05:00B.,
Speaking of the literary greats' predelic...B.,<br /><br />Speaking of the literary greats' predeliction for getting snockered, did I ever send you <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114064777175280550.html" rel="nofollow">this article</a>? I like a glass of wine from time to time, but it seems to me that lots of drink sinks your writing prospects pretty darn fast. Think of what Dylan Thomas <i>could've</i> done if he'd stayed sober.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-76673491488966446242009-12-31T08:42:40.666-05:002009-12-31T08:42:40.666-05:00Nevets,
Disagreement ain't bad! Indeed, I wou...Nevets,<br /><br />Disagreement ain't bad! Indeed, I wouldn't consider myself 100% onboard with Peters' hypothesis.<br /><br />Regarding your second point, I have to wonder how much critical bias plays a part in the whole darker-is-better paradigm. I mean, I like horror and noir and their ilk, but I also find myself yearing for something upbeat and well-executed. And when it comes to actual writing, I always do better when I've had a good night's sleep and am in a decent mood.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-50631303344371593192009-12-31T01:07:49.209-05:002009-12-31T01:07:49.209-05:00More details and more realism are good, but not ne...More details and more realism are good, but not necessarily "better" writing, depending on exactly what you're trying to accomplish. I suspect this study is just another way of getting at that fact that depressed people tend to have more realistic assessments of their own skills (as measured in predicting their scores on a knowledge test) than happy people do (who tend to overestimate their own competence.) We lie to ourselves a lot; it's how we make it through life. Only people at risk of suicide tell themselves the truth. Think about that the next time you need that "low intensity negative mood."<br /><br />Mostly I just get rankled when people insist you have to be depressed to be a good writer, because I think the rest of the world mistakes introversion for depression. I get depressed when I *don't* write, and then I end up producing a bunch of crap before I get it out of my system and get back in the rhythm of things. Being cheerful makes me eager to keep going, whereas being in a "low intensity negative mood" makes me go play flash games and generally avoid my responsibilities. <br /><br />On the other hand, I'm arguing against a large-scale study on the basis of my own experience. Which one is likelier to be abnormal, Nathan? <br /><br />*mutters peevishly* <br />*turns on Plants vs. Zombies*Scattercathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302815654553659644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-77061995707086708762009-12-30T17:04:20.228-05:002009-12-30T17:04:20.228-05:00My feeling is you never know what will greet you a...My feeling is you never know what will greet you at the WP. You need to show up to find out though. Happy New Year!pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-38354623868628479342009-12-30T16:08:08.119-05:002009-12-30T16:08:08.119-05:00I'll agree with Nevets that positivity does no...I'll agree with Nevets that positivity does not win any favors with the critics or the critically minded. From an early age, students are taught to look for the lie in literature, whether it be the supremely ironic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal" rel="nofollow"><i>Modest Proposal</i></a> by Swift or the weighted equality of Orwell's <i>Animal Farm</i>. <br /><br />Sex and murder and drugs and blood sell stories and newspapers. But that's another subject. <br /><br />I can see how the 'low intensity negative moods' would increase concentration and clarity. The occasional drink will chemically induce a similar brain state. But in the case of alcohol, tolerance increases and occasion can lead to constancy. And then you're just chasing that white dragon, ending up choked to death on a spoon like Tennessee Williams. <br /><br />There is no substitute for practice and practice and more practice. The muse will not come until the work's begun, regardless of chemical enticements. <br /><br />Phew. Long comment.B. Nagelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07620736939701035617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-36210366164795096072009-12-30T13:43:38.508-05:002009-12-30T13:43:38.508-05:00I hesitate to disagree, because I have anecdotally...I hesitate to disagree, because I have anecdotally noticed the same thing in my writing, but I've also come to believe a couple of other things:<br /><br />1) Part of the reason that negative emotional conditions spawn better writing, is that the expression of emotions in writing is cathartic, and we are anxious to get rid of negative emotions. As such, when we're writing from a negative emotional base we're often more open, more honest, and more willing to throw it all there. We don't have any urgency to get rid of a more pleasant emotional experience, and so I think our catharsis is hampered. The trick is therefore to figure how to be just as open, honest and all-out when we're in a positive place.<br /><br />And...<br /><br />2) I think there's a certain crtitical appreciation for stuff that arises from negativity. It seems more honest, because critically positive emotional experiences are often linked to falseness, delusion, temporary states overlying a darker, gritter "reality." When you're writing in a negative place, you're often more jaded, more synical, more suspicious... Those things have a critical appeal and therefore the writing just seems better, whether it really is or not.<br /><br />FWIWC. N. Nevetshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00375714948653196993noreply@blogger.com