How to distinguish a graphomaniac from a writer. How to distinguish a good writer from a graphomaniac

The question contains the incorrect, in my opinion, premise that a graphomaniac is necessarily a bad writer. Graphomania is a (morbid) passion for the very process of writing, so to speak, for literary work. It was also found in very good writers, for example, Thomas Wolfe (who “Look homeward, angel”, and not a writer of the 70s) was an obvious graphomaniac, and apparently L.N. Tolstoy too. That is, it happens that a completely excellent writer is maddened by the very process of writing a text. The “musical graphomaniac” was D.D. Shostakovich: he suffered when there was nothing to write, he composed almost continuously.

The question is rather how critically this author will then be able to look at his text. But even non-graphomaniacs often have problems with this. A large (and maybe more) number of bad writers are graphomaniacs, but this happens for the simple reason that it is easier for a non-graphomaniac to refuse literary activity, if nothing good comes of it.

The difference between a graphomaniac and a “non-graphomaniac” lies in the amount of pleasure received from the process of writing a text. It is difficult to find out about this unless he tells himself. A large number of texts written in a short period of time may indirectly indicate graphomania. For example, Dmitry Bykov, I suspect, is a graphomaniac. I will not judge the quality of his texts.

Until now, I was sure that graphomania is a passion for writing on walls, and only later among literary consultants and editors of publishing houses this word began to mean persistent mediocrities. However, dictionaries refute me (). But the use of the word “graphomaniac” to mean “aggressive mediocrity” is also common. For example, in “When I Was a Mermaid” by Shefner (): “I swore to him that there would be no undermining on my part. Destroyer

I calmed down and, taking a crumpled piece of paper out of my pocket, handed it to me.

Take it and follow it! I have compiled a list of the most dangerous authors.

Know that for hundreds of normal, modest people visiting the editorial office,

there are about five to ten aggressive graphomaniacs. Be afraid of them!.. Well,

I have to go to the station.

Before, I had never even thought that the work of a literary consultant involved

danger. I have been here several times, but there have been no incidents with me

happened. True, out of respect for my creativity, the Destroyer never

did not delay for long and let us through out of turn.

I unfolded the piece of paper. It was scribbled hastily and not in blue ink.

quite coherently:

Who to watch out for:

1) An old man with a stick. Odes and elegies. Listen while standing! He promised to use it!

2) Brunette with an album. Intimate lyrics. Listen carefully! Spit on

3) A man with a tattoo. Flimsy but dangerous! Poems about fatal childhood.

From childhood, a person is taught the basic types of activities that will become necessary in adulthood. These include writing skills. All people write, leave notes, some become a writer. However there is mental illness, which is called graphomania, the symptoms of which are attributed to persons who write poorly. The reasons for the passion for writing and methods of treatment will be discussed on the psychiatric help website.

What is graphomania?

Psychiatry considers graphomania because we're talking about about mental deviation. What is graphomania? This is passion, craving, an irrepressible desire to write, compose something. Wherein cultural value this creation does not represent any. Essays can be completely meaningless for normal people and meaningful only for the sick patient.

Psychology views graphomania as a craving for writing in the absence of any inclinations or talents in this area. A person experiences an uncontrollable desire to write, which is expressed in the creation of complete nonsense. Such sculptures are of no value to critics and readers. Sometimes similar essays are completely meaningless in themselves.

Graphomania is the result of a mental disorder in the form of mania, which does not arise out of nowhere. Like any disease, it manifests itself in various forms.

A graphomaniac is a person who does not write well. This also includes passionate writing people. They are verbose, their writings become empty and meaningless, incoherent. For literary critics, these creations are of no interest. The only ones who pay attention to them are psychiatrists, who try through a person’s expressions to establish the reasons for the development of his illness, the goals he pursues, and also to understand the disease itself.

Graphomania manifests itself in the fact that a person begins to write a lot on a topic that he may not understand at all. For example, a graphomaniac will start writing scientific works, with absolutely no understanding of the area he writes about. He can compose poetry without following rhymes. Can compose works of art without having the appropriate talents.

A type of graphomania is erotographomania - this is writing love letters. May occur in mentally ill people who achieve sexual arousal or satisfaction in this way.

Signs of graphomania

The main signs of graphomania are various errors that appear in essays:

Inability to work on oneself.
Obsessive repetition of images.
Learning disability.
Violation of the coherence of the text, vocabulary, style, syntax.
Lack of a progressive path.
Intolerance to criticism of one's creations.
Preoccupation with typical images.
Plagiarism.
Hatred of authors whose works are published.
Monotony and boring text.

Unlike ordinary writers, who may also experience some of the listed experiences, such phenomena become habitual among graphomaniacs. They love absolutely everything they create. They feel the urge to write as much as possible. They get great pleasure from the writing process itself.

Graphomaniacs write a lot. They practically can't stop. Moreover, they obsessively invite other people to evaluate their creations. They are able to send their essays to both familiar people and strangers.

People who suffer from the mental condition in question are eager to be published. Moreover, all their creations tell about them personally. To write about other characters, they simply do not have enough knowledge or experience. Therefore, graphomaniacs write exclusively about themselves, presenting themselves in the image in which they should be perceived by other people.

Graphomaniacs are unable to take criticism. They even funny sayings are perceived as very painful. They have neither self-irony nor a sense of humor. If their creations are not perceived and not published, then they go even deeper into their painful state. The pseudonym graphomaniacs take is loud and sonorous.

The graphomaniac always carries his creations with him so that people can appreciate them at any time. At the same time, the creations themselves healthy people cause a smile that irritates a sick person.

The most important feature that sets a graphomaniac apart from all other writers is a serious attitude towards their work. Other signs may be present, but not in full.

Causes of graphomania

Graphomania can be associated with a person’s loneliness in society, since the main reasons for its occurrence are called:

Alienation.
Low self-esteem.
Lack of friends with whom you can find a common language.
The desire for wisdom.
Separateness.
Overcompensation of an inferiority complex.
An overvalued and delusional idea of identifying oneself with an outstanding writer.
Detachment, etc.

When a person is alone, he wants to express himself. This can be done through a letter, when he writes about himself and reveals his thoughts, images, secret desires. A sick person pours out his soul through a letter, which further aggravates his condition. The fact is that psychiatrists have noticed a pattern: the more a graphomaniac writes, the less he needs live, real communication. He is increasingly immersed in his world, where there is only him and his creations. At the same time, with real people he no longer collides.

Since a person compensates for his need for communication through writing, the graphomaniac takes his activity very seriously. His creations are not unique or special. The graphomaniac himself admires his creations. Other people feel only laughter and a feeling of pity for the one who wanted to hit them. If someone expresses negative criticism of a graphomaniac and his creation, this is perceived very painfully, which is what the person later talks about in his works.

To grow and develop their creative skills, writers seek the opinions of their readers. Criticism is a stimulus for development in order to write better in the future. Graphomaniacs are deprived of this quality. They do not develop because they are protected from any criticism addressed to them.

All their communication with people comes down to an offer to read a new creation. Due to the unwillingness to improve, creations remain boring and unoriginal. The reason for this is the increasing concern for one’s own illusory world, where the graphomaniac does not want to contact real people.

Milder forms of graphomania are not psychological disorders if a person can quickly give up his hobby when the situation is corrected:

Temporary difficulties when a person can only speak out on paper.
Heredity.
Sexual pathologies and hobbies.
Lively temperament.
Laziness.
Idleness.
Lack of morals.

Graphomania can occur in various disorders (schizophrenia, hypomanic state, paranoia, manic state, paranoid personality disorder, etc.). Mental automatism may manifest itself when the patient assures that certain forces force him to write a lot.

Treatment of graphomania

Treatment of graphomania depends entirely on the severity of the disease. If graphomania manifests itself in a mild form, then it can be corrected by switching the person’s attention to other things. interesting hobbies and hobbies. A severe form of graphomania is treated together with specialists (psychotherapists and psychiatrists). Here, psychotherapeutic work and drug treatment are prescribed, which includes taking psychotropic and antipsychotic drugs.

The problem with live communication with real people should be eliminated. Graphomania can be stopped if a person establishes contacts with the outside world. Psychotherapeutic work is also carried out here aimed at:

Elimination internal problems that interfere with communication with people.
Skills training.

It all comes down to being able to communicate with people, listen and hear them, and also express your thoughts correctly in order to be heard. All this does not happen in one day, so therapeutic work is long.

Cognitive behavioral and family therapy are often used to treat graphomania.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is aimed at eliminating alienation, timidity, low self-esteem, uncertainty, and fear.
Family therapy is aimed at obtaining support from loved ones and stable communication with them. Relatives should show more patience and interest in the graphomaniac. He must feel that he is interested in and cared for as he is. His attention should switch to trusting loved ones.

A radical method of treating graphomania is lobotomy - excision of the frontal lobes of the brain, which not all graphomaniacs agree to.

Forecast

Graphomania gives ambiguous prognosis, which depends on the severity of the disease. A mild form of deviation is quickly eliminated when a person establishes contacts with significant people and begins to feel their support. A severe form of graphomania can remain forever with a person who will consider his activity to be the only existing world.

Graphomania does not affect life expectancy. However, we are talking about mental disorder when a person begins to replace some needs with others. It should be understood that going into writing is compensation. What exactly the graphomaniac compensates for becomes clear only after diagnosing his illness.

You shouldn’t leave a graphomaniac alone with your troubles. A person on his own cannot help. We need specialists who can diagnose the condition and help determine the need for treatment.

Wikipedia gives us the following definition of graphomania: “Graphomania (from the Greek γρα φω - to write, draw, depict, and the Greek μανια - passion, madness, attraction) is a pathological desire to compose works that apply for publication in literary publications, pseudoscientific treatises and etc. Graphomaniac tendencies are not uncommon among litigious psychopaths.”
“Graphomania is a psychiatric term that implies a morbid passion for writing texts, most often of no cultural value. Typically, the works of such authors are formulaic, inexpressive and of no interest to either readers or critics. Like any similar disease, graphomania can have a more or less severe form.
Similar to other diagnoses in this area, graphomania does not arise out of nowhere and, in principle, is treatable, including medication.
How does a person become a graphomaniac? On paper we express our feelings, emotions and experiences, sometimes we keep diaries with whom we share painful things, in poetry we express delight or sorrow, love or hatred. However, in most cases, a person has many interlocutors other than a piece of paper. But the graphomaniac does not. Initially lonely, perhaps suffering from low self-esteem or the inability to have a heart-to-heart conversation with someone, he begins to write. His creations are part of his painful and lonely world. The more he creates them, the less he consciously strives for live communication. However, by limiting oneself in contacts, a graphomaniac must realize the natural craving for communication; this is inherent in the individual on a subconscious level. And again his hand reaches for a sheet of paper.

One can only feel sorry for such a person. His works seem brilliant to him, moreover, he completely sincerely believes in it. Like any psychiatric patient, he cannot discern signs of illness in himself and cannot objectively assess his lifestyle. That is why graphomaniacs are extremely sensitive to critical statements regarding their work.

For most authors, the opinion of their audience is an incentive for development, as well as the main source of information about the shortcomings of their works. People suffering from a painful craving for writing are deprived of this, which means they do not have the opportunity to develop and improve. The result is works devoid of any literary and spiritual value, monotonous and unoriginal.
Over time, all contacts with the outside world are reduced for the graphomaniac to demonstrating his creations. A external world, precisely for this reason, begins to avoid him.

However, what is described is a severe case of the disease.
In a mild form, graphomania may be associated with certain temporary conditions. For example, a loved one is away, and writing is in this case — The best way take your mind off the worries associated with it. After the return of the object of desire, everything returns to normal, and the symptoms of graphomania go away on their own.

You can help a graphomaniac. If you distract him from pen and paper, offer other entertainment and interests, it is possible that with regular contact with someone, over time he will give up the idea of creativity. However, in the case of a severe form of the disease, specialist intervention will be required, otherwise, as with any other similar disease, the consequences of unskilled exposure can be fatal.”

When approaching publishers, editors, and literary agents, graphomaniacs experience a difficult and painful experience even polite refusals and try to offend the person who refused publication as painfully as possible. Sometimes they write insulting letters for years, although this is rare.
A graphomaniac is incapable of accepting criticism and demands that his works be published verbatim, without editing. When publishing at their own expense (small printing houses willingly fulfill such orders), books come out, but then the next blow awaits the graphomaniac: similar folios or brochures bookstores and book dealers practically don’t charge. There is still no access to a wide market, fame, glory, honor and money. If a writer asks the question “Am I a graphomaniac?”, it means that all is not lost and the chance for a successful outcome is very high.
The literary institute, for example, is good because it teaches you to criticize others and accept criticism towards yourself, edit works, polish them, and sometimes redo them many, many times.
The line between a writer and a graphomaniac can be very thin, since both of them can be mentally unbalanced. It's just this imbalance of different nature and etiology.
And if a real artist (I repeat), waking up from his creative oblivion, sometimes cannot believe that his words, thoughts, feelings, brush strokes are imprinted on this sheet of paper or canvas, then the graphomaniac understands perfectly well that these wonderful the words that form phrases were written by him and no one else. Nothing transcendental.
If an artist is characterized by a continuous need to surpass himself, to do better, to write better, to comprehend in a different way certain events, characters, actions, in order to realize all facets of his personality, everything that is hidden in the embryo is initially hidden in the soul, genes etc., the ability to learn, to comprehend life and events in a new way, to constantly discover something new, not to rabidly deny some things without first studying them, the ability to temporarily mimic, change views and attitudes, the ability to work enormously hard and study required material With different sides, then the graphomaniac cares about these empyreans, excuse the rudeness, - he doesn’t care. No ability to learn, no desire to surpass himself exists for him. On the contrary, a graphomaniac is initially confident in the genius of his texts, in the fact that he is being squeezed, and all awards are given exclusively through connections and for a lot of money (bed). Jealous not of the muse, but of benefits and honor, the graphomaniac painfully strives to get both, despite the fact that his text may be full of not only clichés, but also a huge amount spelling errors.
If you are a beginning writer, don’t be lazy, study the spelling rules, take Rosenthal’s collection (“Handbook of Spelling and Literary Editing”), or, at worst, give the text to an editor, proofreader, or Russian language teacher at school. Honestly, these services are not that expensive, but it is quite possible that this step will be the first on the path to publishing your text.

14 ways to distinguish a graphomaniac from a real writer

1. A graphomaniac takes criticism very painfully and, as a rule, takes it with hostility. He associates criticism with personal humiliation and insult, rather than an opportunity to correct mistakes and learn lessons. Actually, he doesn’t need criticism; it’s a waste of time and energy. Often, such people, not finding counterarguments, switch to the personality of the person being criticized, thus trying to silence him and leave him alone. the last word behind you.

2. A graphomaniac loves to tell everyone about his work and is not averse to reciting poems or chapters from a new novel, even where it is absolutely inappropriate, whether the interlocutor wants it or not. A true worker of the word, on the contrary, experiences difficulties when it turns out that he is forced to voice something, read, attract general attention to your person.

3. A true writer is subject to doubts; he is inclined to rewrite and update his creation in the most careful manner, while a graphomaniac is confident that a masterpiece will be created by his genius, without much difficulty. To do this, he just needs to pick up a pen or sit down at the computer.

4. Connoisseurs human souls In the works they create, they have their own manner of address, a distinctive language, a unique style that sets them apart from others. Remember Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Sholokhov, Hemingway - is it possible to confuse them even after reading an unfamiliar text? However, when reading the work of a graphomaniac, the reader gets a strong feeling: “I’ve already seen, heard, read all this somewhere!” and there is a desire to put the book aside.

5. A graphomaniac is often arrogant, loudly dressed, loves to use the phrase “my work” and call himself, on occasion and without occasion, a writer. He likes to boast about his acquaintances with the “Great Ones of this world” and his “inclusion” in parties. In his company, you only need to listen to him.

6. A true master Beware of loud words. He is easy to communicate, loves people... gradually watches you, studies, evaluates, tries on. Perhaps you are material for his creativity. He's interested in you. He is distinguished by a healthy dose of self-irony.

7. A true worker of the word puts the quality of what is written first, and he is merciless in this, to the point of burning or destroying a completely written thing... (Gogol). For a graphomaniac, quantity is important at the expense of quality.

8. B talented work you will definitely find interesting thoughts; a graphomaniac tends to sprinkle quotes famous people or literary stamps, there is no originality in his work.

9. Engineers of human souls strive to make the world cleaner, better through their creativity, but the main task of a graphomaniac is their own vanity, colorful covers, biting titles, circulation, appearance in the media.

10. True creative person ready to write on the table for years, but a graphomaniac needs continuous success and praise for his imaginary talents, otherwise he gives up.

11. For a writer, fame and money are not so important as the opportunity to be understood, heard, and if only there is enough money for the most necessary things, so as not to be distracted from main goal– creativity.

12. Real writers are distinguished by all possible assistance to young talents, which cannot be said about graphomaniacs who see them as competitors, who can bypass them at a turn, push them to the periphery.

13. The writer is distinguished by a heightened sense of justice, unwillingness to cooperate with the authorities... money bags and stupid editors, they do not want to develop fashionable topics, savor fried facts and delve into other people's underwear. A graphomaniac will go through everything for the sake of circulation and illusory fame.

14. Writers are not born; many people have inclinations, a genetic predisposition to creativity. Only persistent daily and many years of work, honing skills, merciless self-criticism give birth to truly great masters of words and experts on human souls.

Here is information on the reference books. Something interesting in my opinion on the topic.

K. Yu. Starokhamskaya
As a rule, we are interested in the “mediocre, but prolific writers(ironic)” – namely: where is the line? Is every mediocre writer a graphomaniac? Some people focus on the amount of writing. But the main and obvious criterion is not the quantity of writing, but the quality. Still, there is no escape from dialectics, the transition from quantity to quality, etc., who remembers. So, about quality. There are a bunch of mediocre scribblers who are absolutely not graphomaniacs. These are businessmen who have adapted and sensitively grasped the immediate needs of society, which is why their mediocre writings have official or commercial success. If there is Soviet power in the yard, he scribbles books about leaf-poster pioneers, heroes, or about pioneer-heroes, leaders in production, Western spies, etc. If the government has changed and something else is needed, he writes novels about the struggle of mafias, the life of glamorous beauties and all that. Dissident literature is required - please, a novel about the oppression of dissidents during the Soviet power. The quality of all this is not just below par, it is already somewhere approaching “hello miners,” but this is not graphomania, but dexterity. Such people are just healthier than all of us. And they have no passion for this activity, they like the result: money, titles, fame. This is where the problem of graphomania was definitely solved, in the USSR. If you are a member of the Writers' Union, then you are an engineer of human souls. If not, your name is a graphomaniac, and you can write for your own pleasure, publish in wall newspapers, unless, of course, you deviate from the general line of the party. Otherwise, it can be corrected. Azhaev, Semyon Babaevsky, Ivan Shevtsov, Kochetov, known for their blatant mediocrity, are socialist realist writers, before whom the editors literary magazines did ku and paid them fantastic fees. And Bulgakov, Zoshchenko, Akhmatova, Pasternak, Mandelstam, Platonov, Daniel, Sinyavsky are graphomaniac modernists, suspicious subjects. And Brodsky is a complete parasite, almost a criminal. At all times there were brilliant writers whom society appreciated after their death. And during their lifetime, their households considered them graphomaniacs, their wives threw dishes at them, and shopkeepers did not let them borrow money. Thus, recognition literary organizations, the amount of the fee is also no guarantee that we are not a graphomaniac, just as the lack of recognition and fees is not a sign of graphomania. There is another category of people - those who write for their own pleasure. They do not claim recognition, are not upset by lack of recognition, and do not consider themselves super geniuses. So, they pee for themselves. Sometimes they turn out to be Agatha Christies, more often they don’t, but these are not graphomaniacs either... Sometimes there is an opinion that a graphomaniac is someone who cannot help but write. But this doesn’t fit into any corners at all - so we are all good and brilliant writers Let's write ourselves down as graphomaniacs... What remains? How can we reorganize the Rabkrin... that is, distinguish a graphomaniac? It seems that all the criteria have already been sorted out - and there is vagueness everywhere. Uncertainty. And there is no L'Hopital rule to reveal it by taking derivatives. But it seems to me that I have found the criterion. The point is that I'm under supervision for a long time there was a rather large poetry website, and I had to communicate a lot with poets. Upload their poems there, resolve situations in the forums where the discussion flared up. And I discovered that the more talented the poems, the more attentive and calmer man refers to criticism. Talented poet may disagree with the criticism and say that he wanted to write it that way. He may agree and correct it. But in any case, he will listen to criticism, think it over and thank you for your attention. He may be upset, but the disappointment will be directed at himself: he failed, did not convey, did not express the thought, did not perfect the syllable. Because real poets are terribly modest, self-righteous and demanding of themselves. But the mediocre ones are the opposite."
Well, that’s all, dear readers. Patience, hard work, smart readers, and in general a little happiness, sometimes it’s so lacking!
Bonus for those who read to the end. Completely free book "49 mysteries of the world around us" At https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071SFW78G
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Note: Painting "Girl reading a book" 60x80 cm, oil on canvas, for sale.

Here's one's opinion literary critic(via the link - https://ridero.ru/books/kak_voiti_v_literaturnoe_soobshestvo/read#textpreview):

"What do you think about graphomaniacs?

You know, it generally seems to me that the traditional opposition between graphomania and quality literature is incorrect. A graphomaniac is a person who enjoys writing and writes a lot. And a quality writer is a writer who writes well. Do we know writers who wrote a lot and well? Yes! For example, Leo Tolstoy, Balzac, Dumas, Jules Verne. Do we know writers who were not graphomaniacs and were good writers? Well, yes: Dostoevsky was not a graphomaniac, he wrote so hard that he preferred to dictate novels, because he could dictate quickly and write slowly. Who finds it easier to be a writer - a graphomaniac or a non-graphomaniac? Graphomaniac! Does this mean that every graphomaniac has a chance of becoming a quality writer? No! This requires talent, this requires a critical attitude towards your own text - the ability to reread it, improve it, this requires writerly courage."

It is clear that this is a pressing issue for me for a specific reason - when I learned on E-he about the samizdat service, I was able to publish the books that I wrote on the table (5 pieces). But I didn’t stop there - since December 2015, I have published more than 35 books, that is, about 5 books a month, of course, some are thin (for example, two fairy tales), some are thin (Russian Management Magazine in book version), but decently books 200 - 400 pages, despite the fact that he launched a number of book projects (the largest is a series of 60 books, 12 of which have already been published).

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