The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain

I like this book because it is different from many of the self-help books that are out there. This book is helpful in that it is not "writing" dogma but is written from the perspective that helps one understand their self by relating to another. You have to hand it to Mrs. Flaherty, she knows all of writers little quirks that make them who they are. I am a 27 year old male preacher struggling with writings multiple sermons to deadline every Sunday. So, although I could not relate too much of Flaherty's birth story or bouts with PMS it was very refreshing to hear her perspective and how that has impacted her life. Clearly, Flaherty loves writing and is only seeking to divulge the mystery of a subject that has been a part of writer's lives since the beginning of written communication.With that said, if you are struggling with any aspect of writings at all, this book will be well worth your investment and will undoubtedly speak to you in a variety of ways, sometimes directly as though you were carrying on a conversation across the table from her and sometimes indirectly as though you were peering through a window into her living room thinking about how weird she is, and then you realize later that you are weird too in different ways. Her knowledge of the brain was a little much for me but that is only because I had difficulty grasping many of the concepts. This might also be because of my own reader bias as I have a tendency to read "helpful" books quickly in search of THE answer that will fix all my broken wheels. Flaherty's writing is inspiring in this way as she encourages writers to ride these broken wheels for all they are worth. After all, who said that everything that is true also had to be rational? Often, shedding light on an issue will give rise possible answers. WARNING: if you are looking for a quick fix to a perceived writing problem in your life then this is not the book for you. Instead, I believe Flaherty's overall message to be something like this: "Writing: this is the journey. There is true beauty amongst all of the ugliness. Writing: isn't she beautiful." I was also surprised to find myself reading so much about depression and sleep habits as they relate to the writings process. At times I found myself saying, "This isn't me, is it?" And then I would realize somewhat painfully (but also with a feeling of staunch liberty) that it was me.I have not finished the book yet but find it hard to put it down when I do. The biggest benefit that I have received from this book is what I describe as my own "great awakening" (read: hopeful religious inspiration). For months now I have battled depression and endless frustration regarding my writings and its validity. I honestly felt totally alone until one Saturday afternoon, as I was pounding my head against the desk in a vain attempt to get ready for "Sunday's slaughter", I thought back to the first piece of writings I was truly proud of: an English paper from my senior year of my undergraduate degree. It was only then that I realized I had not written well in months. This was the most "realistic book" on the subject so I started with this one. I now have this great sense of relief in my life. It is like a great weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Not that all of my block is gone, or even the slightest bite better for that matter. But at least now I know that I am not a freak, or that nothing is "wrong" with me in the general medical sense of the term. For me, puting a "name" to many of the demons I have batteling has been a huge relief for me personally. Although my wheels are broken, I still believe they might one day turn again.The part of the book that spoke to me most was the section of block detailing "intrinsic" and "extrinsic" rewards (which I still will research further as Flaherty mentions an economist's name which currently slips my mind). I know that much of my block is coming from "extrinsic" rewards (or, the belief of the lack thereof) I am constantly recalling a time in my preaching when I wasn't blocked, those times were always based upon the intrinsic reward of the satisfaction of proclaiming poetry and viewing myself as an artist. It was when the desire to be affirmed by others that I lost the artist in myself and became a meaningless orb only trying to find meaning in the words of others. That is where my writings is currently and Flaherty is all over that. I am trying to get back to the place when writing was writing because it was great in and of itself, not because it made me more money or brought me higher esteem within the community. Flaherty is honest in her sharing of her loving for writing. May this book bring other writers back to their unadulterated view of writing: writing from the heart because they believe that what they are writing carries with it meaning for their lives that, if not written down, would otherwise fade into the vast expanse of human memory.

A book about how mental illness, epilepsy, and brain disorders influence writing with heavy emphasis on the author's personal experience.If you're a person who writes because of psychological or psychiatric reasons, this might be a good book for you to feel heard or reassured in some way. For me, it came across as more like a personal journey for the author to understand her own compulsions to write based on a complex set of unique factors including depression and find reassurance through the experience of famous writers who may or may not have had mental illnesses. This certainly is a noble reason to write a book, but I was expecting less of the author's personal experience of trauma and more of the science of how the brain works out writing as a form of expression. Because my interest in writing is not based in brain trauma or mental illness, I couldn't connect in a personal way with the science. Plus I wasn't able to bridge into the author's experience through the examples provided. As I read, I had the impression that the author believed that "the right people will get what I'm saying." And I'm just not one of those people.Again, I think this is a book for a very specific audience of individuals who may or may not want to grow as writers, but are primarily writing as a way of coping and healing from brain trauma and/or mental illness and feel the need to have their voice heard. This just isn't my experience, and I didn't feel the author was compelled to bring outsiders such as myself into her "head" to expand our understanding of the unique journey she was describing.

I developed, later in life and seemingly overnight, hypergraphia and the onset of the compulsion was one of the most frightening feelings of my life. In an attempt to find out why I was going crazy, and why I was churning out 200+ pages per day writing of nothing too specific, I began gathering all of the information available on hypergraphia. Dr. Flaherty and Midnight Disease continued to be bounced around. I bought the book and felt some comfort. Not as alone in my obsession. I also felt some hope. I was began to notice a return to the much broader vocabulary of my post-doc times. My usual fair spelling memorization increased to the point where I no longer needed to use any computer assisted spelling checker. Sadly, although I became aware of "good grammar" again, the actual grammar that I deemed acceptable in my fervor was no better than that preceding my revelation. I stopped trying. If I'm writing for personal use, such as I need at this moment!, I don't make any attempt to proof or edit.If I write for publication, though, I go through the usual process of proofing before proofing, editing before editing, and so on.The thing that most surprised me was that, through the deluge of words, I was unconsciously becoming a better writer. A more creative writer. I didn't notice it, wasn't aware of any change. But the members of my audiences noticed. They wrote me to tell me that my normally dry prose, always researched-to-death and accurate, was lyrical and poetic and a joy to read. Somehow, as Dr. Flaherty had "predicted," creativity had been awakened.Flaherty goes beyond the disorder, of course, and into the neurological pathways of the creative mind; exploring the how's and why's. If you've hypergraphia, or know someone who has been diagnosed with the disorder, this is the only "must read" that I know of.Finally, I doubt that I would have been so taken in by Flaherty's style if I didn't have the disorder. While hypergraphia is all about the writing, I had to make some adjustments to the way that I read. The only way that I've been able to explain that, and it's not something that all with hypergraphia relate to, is that it feels as if I've gone from the staccato of rapid-fire reading to a more relaxed, floating down the slower-running river style. I don't read any more slowly but it feels as if I'm taking in more, hearing with more clarity.Finally, and this is disorder-oriented, I think, I've gained a greater understanding of the sensuality of words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs. I have a difficult time explaining that, too. Sentences that aren't easily diagrammed seem to have more impact. Words and phrases that are sensual on the tongue – Tolkien's "cellar door" – are also neurologically sensual.I think that anyone interested in writing and creativity will love the book. It's not only about the disorder; it uses the disorder to explain a process. Can the book help you conquer writer's block and gain (or regain) a heightened sense of creativity? It's possible. It's certainly possible.