Psychological angst about the quality of your writing is a most interesting phenomenon, familiar to even the most seasoned of writers. If we want to understand what makes a writer tick, then we need to look at the psychology behind the art, right into the world of a professional writer.
Of course the notion that successful writers are dysfunctional human beings, or "tortured" artists, is widely accepted and who can deny that occasionally, they all fall into that stereotypical role? Every good writer (who is not delusional), is affected by their emotions, suffering self-doubt on occasion, simply because they are human beings.
It is with interest that I read well known authors, who have prolific sales of books and for whom we would have thought the spectre of "doubt" could never creep in, humbly reveal that they feel like "imposters" from time to time. The actual psychology behind this reveals that indeed, this element of self-doubt, in small doses, acts as an adrenalin driver to produce better work.
This idea becomes apparent when the psychologists examine "stress" and its function within or lives. It's all a question of balance. It's on a par with the Yin and Yang concepts in ancient Eastern philosophy. But in the field of psychology it is asserted that, if we suffer from too much stress (or self-doubt), we become dysfunctional; total lack of stress could make us delusional (and we have alas seen too many of these writers); but just the right amount of self-doubt is a healthy trajectory to productivity in meaningful work.
It is closely aligned to the concept of "analysis paralysis", that most writers are also uncomfortably familiar with. We can stress over getting it right, but the truth is, that it will never be perfect and there comes a time when you need to make the decision to "let it go".
On the positive side of the latest psychological research, there is much to offer the prolific writer! The new domain gaining much momentum in psychology today, and initiated by Dr Martin Seligman, a past President of the American Psychological Association (1998), is known as the "Psychology of Happiness" or "Positive Psychology".
Professor Seligman proposes that there are three distinct types of happiness: the Pleasant Life (pleasures); the Good Life (engagement); and the Meaningful Life.
The first of these is concerned with engaging in short activities, which produce concentrated moments of 'pleasure". For a writer, reading a great book springs to mind. The second type of happiness is available to many writers, where they are engaged in working on their signature strengths. (ie writing) A few, in the writing field will be fortunate enough to reach the third level of happiness, thus living the Meaningful Life. The writings of the Dalai Lama and others like Deepak Chopra and Paulo Coelho, spring to mind, etc. These are writers who have significantly contributed to the happiness of others. In other words, they have been engaged in writing that is way above and beyond themselves; writing that is philanthropic in its effects on the lives of others, and writing that leaves a legacy for humanity, long after they have departed.
Given that most of us can certainly, (and many have already), reached the Meaningful Life, the interesting idea of "flow" is articulated by Seligman. This concept certainly explains why many writers will have an idea at 3am and have to get up and write it down. Of course you were only going to get it down on paper and then go back to bed, weren't you? But you and I both know that it ends up quite differently! So the theory explains why this happens too. It explains why you "lose time" doing the thing you love most, writing! It's the concept of "flow". Or in layman's terms being "in the zone". This is when you lose hours, or in extreme cases, days, engaged in writing. It impacts on your relationships, your job, (if you still have one), and your life altogether. But it's worth it!
So we can see that the science of psychology has much to offer the writer, in terms of explaining why we appear to be dysfunctional to those outside of the field. It also offers us hope, knowing that the ebb and flow of our work, is "normal" after all, and that we are simply creatures of the night, creating our own meaningful lives.
May the flow be with you!
