Writing, for all the beauty and goodness it brings into the world, can also be a force of destruction.

For some reason, culturally speaking, writers are usually linked with vices such as smoking, drinking, lack of self-control, addiction to caffeine, ignoring their family to pursue their “art,” or any number of other destructive actions. Why is this?

The answer probably involves a much deeper dive into psychology than we have room for here (It certainly goes beyond my own expertise!). But the core reality is that writing requires such a huge amount of emotional energy that we are prone to fill the subsequent void with things that make us feel good in the moment but leave us empty.

The author John Updike wrote, “My first thought about art, as a child, was that the artist brings something into the world that didn’t exist before, and that he does it without destroying something else. A kind of refutation of the conservation of matter. That still seems to me its central magic, its core of joy.”

Updike didn’t mention that art can destroy the artist, but that is usually the first thing to go when a creative person pursues their craft to the exclusion of everything else.

Don’t make that same mistake. Don’t let your writing be the only thing that defines you. Choose to be a healthy person who is balanced, responsible, and enjoyable to be around. After all, what good is it if your writing changes other people’s lives, but it ends up destroying yours?