Writer = Tortured Soul?

So to start this post on a bright note (heh) there are plenty of writers who proved to the world, once and for all, that they were tortured souls. A few famous writers come to mind: Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath.

Which begs the question:

• Are good writers tortured souls?

Which then begs a second question:

• Are they supposed to be?

I think for me, the writer = tortured soul concept has some merit worth discussing. I definitely feel like I've experienced just about everything (good and bad) there is to experience on this earth. And that's a good thing because it makes me empathetic, wise, and better able to understand people as a whole. All of this stuff all flows into my writing.

But it's also bad because I do fit the mold in some ways, meaning I do still have demons I struggle with. So from time to time I might find myself overcome by self-doubt, or hiding out in bed staring at the wall, or listening to the angry voice of my mother echoing in my head. And all of these things hinder me from moving forward in my work.

And while it's true that pain produced most of my good writing in the past, it's also true that torment isn't an essential ingredient for me anymore. Most days I actually feel pretty darn good on the whole, so I'm far from a Hemingway and I'm certainly nowhere near a Plath (she killed herself at age 30). And I still feel like I produce some good stuff here and there.

So I guess when it comes to the idea that "good writer must equal tortured soul", I don't think that's necessarily true.

But here's what I do think is true. I think a good writer has to have a certain amount of life experience (firsthand experience) to produce good material. Without it they can't create the intense characters, situations, and emotions that weave in and out of great literature.

But what do you think? Are most good writers tortured souls at heart?