Art is more important than the artist

No, not true,

I live with my bipolar self. I feel blessed to have found a way to write fearlessly and freely. However, I will admit the temptation of abusing my condition for the sake of creativity still exists. I’ve found that temptation is a terrible lie.

Thirteen years ago I lost my hold on reality, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and GAD. It was a creativity dry and emotion free 5 years after I started my BP medications. I endured the numbness and side effects because i feared the place I’d fallen into more than comfort and loss of creativity.

When I was a younger writer I “taught” myself how to spiral down into dark depression, or use substances. When I was an adult, I threw all that work into the garbage. Good riddance.

I’ve recently been blessed with freedom in writing. I love the sound, taste, and rhythm of words. Sometimes I fear I sound pretentious. I don’t mean to. I am just trying to write fearlessly (thank you Pat Pattison/Caroline Harvey).

The article below covers the topic better than I have.

“When we say that people need alcohol, drugs, or mental illness to produce great art, we are saying that the art is more important than the person.”

http://www.andilit.com/2013/02/08/the-lie-we-perpetuate-about-writing-drugs-and-mental-illness/

Finding Your Voice

Last spring I was fortunate to enroll in the first session of “Finding Your Voice”. The curriculum for this class was developed by the fabulous Pat ‘Write Fearlessly’ Pattison. The instructor was the incredible Caroline Harvey, who runs Berklee’s Slam team. My classmates were supportive. We focused on writing with metaphor. I encourage you to check it out. It’s pricey, but was worth it for me.

http://www.berkleemusic.com/school/course/creative-writing-finding-your-voice?program=music-history-and-liberal-arts&course_item_id=26989652&page=&tab=&preview_p=0&usca_p=t&offer_code=2285