Do you speak with 'the Writers Spirit's or with your personal spirit?

Are you possessed or inspired?


  • Total voters
    7

The_Lover

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Not sure if most people are 'possessed by the spirits ' or if they write on their own. I'm a person who barely writes unless 'possessed by emotions ' was wondering how people feel about such
 

CharlesEBrown

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It often feels like I'm given a glimpse of another world where this could be happening or did happen, and feel a need to share what I've seen. Guess that's "other"
 

The_Lover

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It often feels like I'm given a glimpse of another world where this could be happening or did happen, and feel a need to share what I've seen. Guess that's "other"
I kinda get that, I've imagined other lives where I had a wife, not sure if that's the same
 

Tempokai

The Overworked One
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If you're getting possessed when writing, that means the quality of the written text will be varied in quality. If you can't rationally see how your words suck while you're writing them, how you percieve the quality of your piece?

Emotions are fickle, they must be controlled during writing, or else the ego—or even worse, incoherence—will take over, making you blind to the percieved quality of the text.

Stories are designed to manipulate the emotions of the reader ethically, and if the author fails to do that while being "possessed", I don't see how it will end well to the author.
 

The_Lover

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If you're getting possessed when writing, that means the quality of the written text will be varied in quality. If you can't rationally see how your words suck while you're writing them, how you percieve the quality of your piece?

Emotions are fickle, they must be controlled during writing, or else the ego—or even worse, incoherence—will take over, making you blind to the percieved quality of the text.

Stories are designed to manipulate the emotions of the reader ethically, and if the author fails to do that while being "possessed", I don't see how it will end well to the author.
That's what editing after the 'possesion' is for. I wrote my small chapters in a moment of passion but I did edit them after ( still missed a couple writing errors)
 

Tempokai

The Overworked One
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That's what editing after the 'possesion' is for. I wrote my small chapters in a moment of passion but I did edit them after ( still missed a couple writing errors)
Then how do you know that the edit made is perfectly readable for an average bloke? Sure, let's say you've done your job.

Congratulations, you edited!

But have you thought what your uncontrolled emotions during writing made the reader feel? Does it follow the structure, or it's just a bloat upon bloat of emotions? Does that emotion you felt perfectly got encapsulated in words?

If for one of those questions you answered "no", then you fail to persuade the reader to continue to read further. This is why "being possessed" is always a bad idea. Sure, on the short run, or on the emotional impact it will work, but not every single time of your writing time.
 

The_Lover

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Then how do you know that the edit made is perfectly readable for an average bloke? Sure, let's say you've done your job.

Congratulations, you edited!

But have you thought what your uncontrolled emotions during writing made the reader feel? Does it follow the structure, or it's just a bloat upon bloat of emotions? Does that emotion you felt perfectly got encapsulated in words?

If for one of those questions you answered "no", then you fail to persuade the reader to continue to read further. This is why "being possessed" is always a bad idea. Sure, on the short run, or on the emotional impact it will work, but not every single time of your writing time.
My writing purpose was not for the 'average bloke' but my love. I cared not for the random readers emotions, there are different focuses for writing than the general public. Do you really believe mark twain was not 'posessed' when he wrote his short poems? Writing is not a science but a loving art. Would you sculpt a stone or wood the exact same each time? No you would look at the grain and remove the dirt or excess like a lover would. Art is how you treat a lover, not something to scream to the public.
 

Tempokai

The Overworked One
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My writing purpose was not for the 'average bloke' but my love. I cared not for the random readers emotions, there are different focuses for writing than the general public. Do you really believe mark twain was not 'posessed' when he wrote his short poems? Writing is not a science but a loving art. Would you sculpt a stone or wood the exact same each time? No you would look at the grain and remove the dirt or excess like a lover would. Art is how you treat a lover, not something to scream to the public.
And with that, you just contradicted with purpose of storytelling, which is to communicate something effectively. Even if you are writing for one person, you still need to understand yourself, innit? If you lose your memory, and read your own story and you didn't understand a thing, whose problem is that?

Also, if you truly don’t care about the reader’s emotions, why even bring up Twain or artistic integrity? He was all about readers. He addressed them specifically in his writings, he understood that readers what make his stories good. Why he used to write meta fiction if he didn't care about audience and so called "artistic integrity"? You're trying to mislead people that only "being possessed" is the proper way to write an engaging story. It isnt.

Storytelling is linguistics. A language game about communicating something to make the reader to understand. It's both art, and in studing art, it is science. You are being fallacious here.

With this in mind, I see that you're just being defensive about your storytelling view. You don't sound like a person who understands the deep rabbit hole that is storytelling, therefore you are writing only by being "possessed", because it's the only way you know how to write. That's pitiful.
 

ShrimpShady

The One With the Wurlitzer
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Not sure if most people are 'possessed by the spirits ' or if they write on their own. I'm a person who barely writes unless 'possessed by emotions ' was wondering how people feel about such
I'd say I experience the same, but I see it in a much more clinical way. I don't get possessed by emotions, I just get inspiration. I can write without it, but it's not nearly as pleasant or as immediate.

Then how do you know that the edit made is perfectly readable for an average bloke? Sure, let's say you've done your job.

Congratulations, you edited!

But have you thought what your uncontrolled emotions during writing made the reader feel? Does it follow the structure, or it's just a bloat upon bloat of emotions? Does that emotion you felt perfectly got encapsulated in words?

If for one of those questions you answered "no", then you fail to persuade the reader to continue to read further. This is why "being possessed" is always a bad idea. Sure, on the short run, or on the emotional impact it will work, but not every single time of your writing time.
I don't think this is so much an issue with "possession", as @The_Lover calls it, as much as it is a reflection of whether or not you're a good writer in the first place. You could say that about any way someone crafts stories. Maybe they write by taking psychedelics or pulling strips out of a paper shredder, but if they're a halfway decent writer, then I don't think there's really a point to calling out their methodology in particular.

I do agree though that you shouldn't rely on a single method to get your ideas into word form.
 

The_Lover

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And with that, you just contradicted with purpose of storytelling, which is to communicate something effectively. Even if you are writing for one person, you still need to understand yourself, innit? If you lose your memory, and read your own story and you didn't understand a thing, whose problem is that?

Also, if you truly don’t care about the reader’s emotions, why even bring up Twain or artistic integrity? He was all about readers. He addressed them specifically in his writings, he understood that readers what make his stories good. Why he used to write meta fiction if he didn't care about audience and so called "artistic integrity"? You're trying to mislead people that only "being possessed" is the proper way to write an engaging story. It isnt.

Storytelling is linguistics. A language game about communicating something to make the reader to understand. It's both art, and in studing art, it is science. You are being fallacious here.

With this in mind, I see that you're just being defensive about your storytelling view. You don't sound like a person who understands the deep rabbit hole that is storytelling, therefore you are writing only by being "possessed", because it's the only way you know how to write. That's pitiful.
You are funny, twain wanted to express express emotions, not science. There is a science to emotions, I don't deny that, but you seem to deny the basic expression of art without science. Do you think Grandma (the one who became an artist at 70/80) became an artist through science? No she Loved her work. You wish to find fault in feeling, linguistics is an art like any other, do you really think dialects can diverge with simple science? No it's culture that causes divergent dialects. I will not deny science has an aspect, but the main divergent constant is culture.
And with that, you just contradicted with purpose of storytelling, which is to communicate something effectively. Even if you are writing for one person, you still need to understand yourself, innit? If you lose your memory, and read your own story and you didn't understand a thing, whose problem is that?

Also, if you truly don’t care about the reader’s emotions, why even bring up Twain or artistic integrity? He was all about readers. He addressed them specifically in his writings, he understood that readers what make his stories good. Why he used to write meta fiction if he didn't care about audience and so called "artistic integrity"? You're trying to mislead people that only "being possessed" is the proper way to write an engaging story. It isnt.

Storytelling is linguistics. A language game about communicating something to make the reader to understand. It's both art, and in studing art, it is science. You are being fallacious here.

With this in mind, I see that you're just being defensive about your storytelling view. You don't sound like a person who understands the deep rabbit hole that is storytelling, therefore you are writing only by being "possessed", because it's the only way you know how to write. That's pitiful.
Communicating effectively is for science editorials and essays, not love stories, you think differently and I respect that. But do not throw my own view out the window if you have such a narrow view.
 

Tempokai

The Overworked One
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You are funny, twain wanted to express express emotions, not science. There is a science to emotions, I don't deny that, but you seem to deny the basic expression of art without science. Do you think Grandma (the one who became an artist at 70/80) became an artist through science? No she Loved her work. You wish to find fault in feeling, linguistics is an art like any other, do you really think dialects can diverge with simple science? No it's culture that causes divergent dialects. I will not deny science has an aspect, but the main divergent constant is culture.

Communicating effectively is for science editorials and essays, not love stories, you think differently and I respect that. But do not throw my own view out the window if you have such a narrow view.

Wow, thank you for contradicting yourself! Oh man, you are really reaching now. First, you drag Twain into this, completely ignoring the fact that he was a master of structure and revision, not some mystical, emotion-driven madman scribbling feverishly in a trance. And now, you’re throwing in Grandma and dialects like that somehow proves your point? Come on. If an old lady picks up painting at 80, do you really think she just wildly slaps paint on a canvas with no understanding of technique? No—she studies, she refines, she learns. Just like Twain did. Just like any decent writer does. You’re acting like storytelling is some untouchable, divine art that should never be questioned, but even the most emotional, "possessed" writers edit, refine, and shape their work so other people can actually understand it. That’s kind of the whole point.

Don’t even get me started on this whole dialects thing—yes, culture influences language, but language still has rules and structure, or else no one would understand a damn thing. Same with writing. You can have all the emotions in the world, but if your writing is just a chaotic mess, then congratulations, you’ve written something only you can understand—which, sure, might be fun for you, but it’s useless to anyone else. And here’s the real kicker: everything you’re saying? It just proves you’re clinging to this idea that passion alone makes good writing because deep down, you don’t want to admit that maybe you need to put in more effort. You don’t love writing—you love the fantasy of being a writer without actually doing the work. And that? That’s just sad.
 

The_Lover

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Wow, thank you for contradicting yourself! Oh man, you are really reaching now. First, you drag Twain into this, completely ignoring the fact that he was a master of structure and revision, not some mystical, emotion-driven madman scribbling feverishly in a trance. And now, you’re throwing in Grandma and dialects like that somehow proves your point? Come on. If an old lady picks up painting at 80, do you really think she just wildly slaps paint on a canvas with no understanding of technique? No—she studies, she refines, she learns. Just like Twain did. Just like any decent writer does. You’re acting like storytelling is some untouchable, divine art that should never be questioned, but even the most emotional, "possessed" writers edit, refine, and shape their work so other people can actually understand it. That’s kind of the whole point.

Don’t even get me started on this whole dialects thing—yes, culture influences language, but language still has rules and structure, or else no one would understand a damn thing. Same with writing. You can have all the emotions in the world, but if your writing is just a chaotic mess, then congratulations, you’ve written something only you can understand—which, sure, might be fun for you, but it’s useless to anyone else. And here’s the real kicker: everything you’re saying? It just proves you’re clinging to this idea that passion alone makes good writing because deep down, you don’t want to admit that maybe you need to put in more effort. You don’t love writing—you love the fantasy of being a writer without actually doing the work. And that? That’s just sad.
Passion alone doesn't make good writing, I know you like arguing with people from your posts , but don't just throw random accusations. I never said I was a writer, never said anything of the sort. I believe writing is BETTER with passion, not required. You're freaking out about me mentioning twain and GMA mosses, but they had passion, not just a scientific want to write. That's why its better to read. You keep reading more into my writing than there is. I wrote a tiny short story, does that a writer make? NO, so stop acting like I think I'm some saint or bullshit, I wrote a story for a small group to share my spiritual tale of love and loss. Is it great, NO. It's a story I vented out. Is it meaningful to most NO, it's a personal story.
 

Leti

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Me monke.

 

CharlesEBrown

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Passion alone doesn't make good writing, I know you like arguing with people from your posts , but don't just throw random accusations. I never said I was a writer, never said anything of the sort.
And yet... what are you doing in this thread BUT writing, using language to express ideas, to show your passion for said ideas?
I believe writing is BETTER with passion, not required. You're freaking out about me mentioning twain and GMA mosses, but they had passion, not just a scientific want to write.
Twain was an irascible, cantankerous cuss who took very little seriously EXCEPT writing, and it showed in everything he did. I don't know anything about Grandma Moses but suspect she spent a lot of time studying art before trying it.
I wrote a tiny short story, does that a writer make?
Actually that quite literally DOES make a writer. Maybe not a master storyteller or a SUCCESSFUL writer, but a writer.

Don’t even get me started on this whole dialects thing—yes, culture influences language, but language still has rules and structure, or else no one would understand a damn thing.
I would go further - having studied language origins (Automata Theory), Language IS structure, or a way of applying structure to the world in a order to communicate experiences with others.
 

minacia

perpetually sour
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I think there's a disconnect here between what it takes to write something 'successful' and something that you think is 'meaningful'.

For the latter, you can generally do whatever you want.

For the former, if you're a professional, there's a relatively limited scope and style of material that will actually sell.

To use many historical artists as an example, many famous artists during their lifetime were not appreciated for their ground-breaking form of art. For example, Claude Monet is famous for impressionism but his impressionist paintings did not sell (while he was alive). He made his living off painting generic portraits, and the major French art institutions ridiculed his methods.

That being said, it's probably fairly egotistical to think that you're the next Picasso/Mahler -- and for each one of those famous groundbreakers, there are probably thousands of other artists who died poor and faded away to irrelevance while stubbornly doing something iconoclastic/strange.

But if it's just a hobby, nothing really matters either.
 
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