Do you have to lead an exciting life to be a good writer?

Kafka probably didn't actually turn into a cockroach, but he was a good writer.

 

Imagation with some abstractness brings forth a good writer. It has little to do with the personal life of the individual. Actually an active person has less time to write, edit and publish.

Writing daily, even in a journal, does enhance ones skill to write. Through schooling I was an adequate writer but as a professional who writes to attorneys daily & summarizes large claims in two pages or less as well as keeping a journal of thoughts I have become a pretty decent writer/author. But it truly comes down to who wants to read your material. For example Kafka is God to many and I find his writing boring (perhaps because we are in very similar profession) and Hemingway is simple yet descriptive. Kafta led a simple boring life/Hemingway a "full, active" life (loved in my country of Spain and hometown of Madrid because he embraced us). What kind of life does Stephen King live? Simple I trust in his state of Maine. I find John Irving the best - read "Until I Find You" and his other material.

My two euro for the day & this thread.

 

I never heard of gonorrhea solving anyone's problems. Sounds like Twain got it, and misery loves company.

 

Mark Twain was a big dumbass twat that had no imagination and told illiterate stories

 

interesting thread.
Douglas Adams ( Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) invented the most amazing outlandish stuff , and guess what - he shovelled pig shit round a farm all day.

Theres a saying " necessity is the mother of invention".

Hemingway , I think was a bit of a bullshitter , built up by his cronies in the upper/upper middle class.

Tolkien , was inspired by wait for it 1920s Birmingham , which hadnt had a habit of giving most people dazzling visions of Fantasist epics.

I think its actually shit circumstances that bring out the greatest artistry.
Noel Gallagher did his best work when he was unemployed playing with booze and drugs
and girls
Now hes rich he says he'll never write anything top quality again.
Look at rich musicians writing rubbish about "the problems of being a superstar" , and compare it to their quality work when they were non entities.

Im writing my first book.Much of it is based on real life experiences.But not all.
( I might get into legal diffics if I said it was all based on real life)LOL
I think the feelings need to be real- your inspiration.
But you can do a lot with good research.ANd you need that hunger too - and if your life's perfect you lose some of the hunger.

 

Ressotaspiks Man - I totally agree and to be honest even though you meant it another way - I happen to believe that hunger - physical lack of food produces a better imagination - a lot of my friends are paid artists in one field or another from music to photography - writing to sculpture etc etc - and whenever we have discussed the very thing you mention - most would agree a full stomach and a pocket full of money is not that conducive to making decent art - its more important to strive for the attainment of art as it keeps you thinking - the well fed and rich have nothing more to play for

 

To answer the threads question Id say no. Personally I think it depends mostly on the writers imagination and overall literacy. However having a life worth writing about as Ive found, is definetly a plus!

 

No? Yes?

I don't know.


When I've been poor and drunk I write with something that resembles soul......


When I was successful (in the worlds prospective) and happy (In my vision of the worlds prospective) ??? My words and sentences lack essential truth...

What does this mean?

Nothing.

What do I feel?

Creative.......

 

Sure. Imagination is better than experience, with so many writers... People who lead full lives sometimes don't even care about writing anything...

 

Hemingway a bullshitter? Which of his works are you referring to?

 

You don't have to lead an exciting life, just have an exciting imagination. For some they probably need the exciting life to get them to that point or make the writing more based on actual experience.

But I'm such a dreamer, so I'm bias to that.