Are authors better miserable? or at the very least not happy?

I was watching this old episode of House MD, great show for those who don't know it. House gave a reasonable reason as to why misery breeds productivity and better work performance. Now obviously it does not apply to the general population, in fact the opposite does. Still i can't help but relate that to some of my favorite things like music, if you look at most noteworthy music, you find that the artist produced it from some point of struggle or anguish most of the time. At the very least music that most people are able to resonate with. Not some up-beat only in the club song. After i thought about it in relation to music, i could not help but think about it in relation to novels i am reading.
Here some great authors with works being translated and linked on NU, have gotten older now they have settled down and have children their generally blissful. from what i can tell their works are different trustfully a bit more light in nature. Like DD3 has been a shift divergent from what i have come to expect given DD1 and DD2, or the shift from RI to AWE.
In their current novels i really do not feel much one way or the other. They simply are not as noteworthy as earlier works, even when characters die it is tasteless really. I would like to give an example of the original topic. From this chapter of ISSTH that i read where Meng Hao I'm pretty sure was just paying respect's and bowing. Something about the scene was just so regal and profound, when i read it and i remembered thinking it was oddly profound. Then DB i think translated the author note, then i realized he had just experienced this great loss. Now i highly doubt someway exist that i can say this without being an insensitive to put it mildly, but that scene probably hit that hard because of the emotions in the author.
That said i was sadden all the more by that news because of my feeling as a reader, yet still objectively it was one of the clearest example of my point.

 

was Sherlock Homes created when da author feel miserable?

 

Not sure what to think about your thread/question. But as i prefer no-drama stories i think i would prefer a happy author so he don't bring us readers down with him.

 

yeah. next time you know it, the author just stop writing altogether because of depression.

 

Yes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was battling depression at the time.

 

Happy of course. No need for one to them to be miserable for the readers benefit. Plus misery can't be sure to equal a better novel.
Also your poll ... Might wanna edit it so it makes sense

 

As someone who writes, I come up with my best stuff when under stress. At the same time, when stressed I'm more likely to drop projects and start writing new ones, or just stop writing in general for a few weeks.

I imagine you wouldn't want your favorite authors to be too stressed or unhappy or you'll stop getting chapters.

 

Why do we work= because we don't want to be miserable.

 

no wonder Sherlock Homes act like a butt head occasionally
despite I like the story I never like Sherlock Homes as character

 

I do know JK Rowling was completely broke when she started writing Harry Potter. H.G Wells wasn't in a good place when he wrote Time Machine either. I completely agree with House

 

That depends on the type of work. Serialized work does tend suffer from this type of problem the most IMO. It also depends on the author of course. The best example of an author that does not suffer from this is Brandon Sanderson. Another is Will Wight. Both of them keep getting better.

 

Depend on their's Dao/way of life.

 

Personally I think I do my best work at about 3 in the morning. Melancholy does help the creative juices flow sometimes, though.

 

everything depends, on the person's psyche, their environment, their desire/drive. i know this is kinda a general statement, but some people work better under stress, some break under stress and make bad decision under the pressure.

it depends i say, on what they want, what people want of them, what they want people to accept from them.

like this one mangaka, he drew a new series after getting married, and trust me, his series was way better since its also about a newlywed couple life, it relate to him irl. that's just one example i can give on a happy creator, there's a lot more out there.

yes, stress and pressure drives people, but who to say the other way not true, and who to decide whether the direction it drives them are for the best or not.

just my 2 cents

 

It's kind of weird, but its usually when you're at your lowest point then you start diligently praying if religious, putting your entire soul into their products, etc. For instance, a number of musicians and artists create master pieces after channeling their emotions into the songs or art works.

 

There's an old quote for authors; "Write what you know."

Many people misinterpret that to mean you should write about the sort of life you live, your job, your expertise. But that isn't what it's about. It's about writing about the emotional experiences that you understand.

Great art is often depressive, negative, about people struggling with life and dealing with the negative emotions that are so much part of being human. If you have first hand experience with depression, rage, anger, doubt, jealousy, etc. it is just that much easier for you to write about it and depict it in a believable manner.

On the other hand, being depressed and dealing with all sort of bad shit destroys your producitivity.

So I would say that the best sort of author used to have a horrible life, but have risen above it and is now a productive happy person still deeply connected to who they used to be.

Or not. Because I don't know, some people manage to succeed at anything they put their mind to.

 

Of course, pressure produces diamonds. Of course, it also breaks thing.

 

I don't think I'll wish anyone to be miserable for the sake of art. But I do agree that being miserable (or overflowing with emotions in general) can be a great source of inspiration to write. Writing is very close to thinking so in a state of extreme emotional awareness, writing could flow more easily.

Just an opinion, though.

 

Maybe when you have nothing to lose you can create an epic story that wont be censored but who knows.