A Willie Wisdom (taken from a song he sings, “Reasons to Drink”, I think it’s called, and I apologize for not giving full credit here) goes something like this, “The lows are always lower than the highs are high.”
There is no doubt about it: Mood definitely affects writing, as far as both time put in, and tone of what is produced. Being a natural Scorpio personality, I’m flyin’or divin’ on a regular basis. In a past life, a loon.
Used to love to ride the rollercoasters, both literally and emotionally. Not no more. It’s taking a toll, although I do find that some of my best writing is at the peak of either scale. It’s been a rough summer here, events cutting into one of the most beautiful seasons we’ve had weather-wise, and unfortunately, there’s still going to be some worry-time ahead.
One of the most useful tools a writer can have is setting a mood for writing based upon personal space and what is happening within it; channeling the emotion into a fictional world where he can vent, create, and in effect, change story by writing his own ending. If a story can be manipulated into a happy ending, reality takes on a different shade by the narrative produced. If the worst possible scenario can be projected as story, the reality is also changed as if it has already been experienced and serves as a road to recovery.
This entering into one’s own fictional world may be unavoidable. Maybe it’s therapy. Or perhaps, as a professor and student of narrative in all forms has stated, it is madness. Maybe it gives one back a sense of control that seems out of reach in a physical world of phones, news, television, and computer screens that blast out truth—truth as is perceived and scribed as of the moment.
Moments are just that; moments pass in a flash. What we’re left with is, and always will be, our perception that colors memory that guides our lives.
Maybe life is all just that. A series of moments that require decisions on paths taken that wind precariously onward. Maybe life can best be described as—Interactive Fiction.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
These are some good comments on writing and the state of mind one has. I agree with what you say about the highs and the lows, I think that some of my best writing comes when either in pain or flying high (mostly poetry). Great perspective on things.