Tragedy and the Writer

This quote is from the April 5th Dragonwritingprompts:

"Coleridge was a drug addict. Poe was an alcoholic. Marlowe was killed by a man whom he was treacherously trying to stab. Pope took money to keep a woman's name out of a satire then wrote a piece so she could still be recognized anyhow. Chatterton killed himself. Byron was accused of incest. Do you still want to be a writer--and if so, why?" --Bennett Cerf

More than anything, I like being a writer. I like creating drama, and I love it when my writing resonates with my readers. I think one reason that I can do that is because I have suffered pain, loss, grief, anger, disappointment, as well as joy, infatuation, love, giddiness, surprise and all the emotions in between. When I tap into how those emotions made me feel at a given time, I'm able to relate that feeling to my readers through words. Life is full of joy and sorrow and life would be boring if it weren't. I think I would be a boring person if I had experienced many of the things I have. But those things good or bad shaped me into the person I am today. And fortunately, I like me. Plus, my life experiences are great fodder for stories.

As tragic as the aforementioned writers' lives were, their tragedies and/or character flaws helped make them the great writers and poets that they were.