Terrible Article in Salon Romanticizes "The Suffering Artist"

It actually promotes self-loathing as a productivity strategy!

My comment:

Sorry, this is the kind of grandiose macho posturing bunk that holds many writers back. Writing, absent perfectionism, is not that hard. And true self-loathing (as opposed to facile expressions of it) is far more likely to lead to a block than anything.

There are plenty of examples of successful writers who write from places of ease and joy--and perhaps most successful writers do. For examples, see Stephen King from On Writing, Trollope from his Autobiography, Jane Yolen's Take Joy, and my own The 7 Secrets of the Prolific.

What this article promotes is actually a romanticization of suffering, and that's a very immature viewpoint. I actually find quotes about how awful writing and the writing life are to be not just perfectionist, but self-indulgent. No one's forcing anyone to write, and writing happens to be a great way to spend one's time, not to mention earn one's living. Beyond all that, all worthwhile endeavors require hard, and occasionally tedious, work; and, if anything, we writers have it easy, with unparalleled freedom to work where and how we wish.