Writers: Mad Dreamers or Silent Sages?

Writers do carry many worlds within them: not just their own experiences, but also the imagined lives, conflicts, joys, and struggles of countless characters. In a way, they become custodians of these inner universes, translating them into stories others can step into!!

As for being “a bit mad” or “a bit wise” — maybe both are true at the same time. Overthinking can look like madness to the outside world, but it’s also the very quality that lets a writer notice hidden details, ask deeper questions, and stretch imagination beyond ordinary limits. Wisdom, too, often comes from that same intensity of thought — from trying to live through many lives, not just one’s own.

Some might call it madness, some wisdom — but perhaps it’s really just the gift (and burden) of seeing more than one reality at once.

Are writers a little mad, a little wise, or both? Do writers carry many worlds because of wisdom, or because of overthinking?

Writers often start by dreaming up ideas, characters, and plots, with their imagination serving as the foundation for their work….

Come to think of it … This connection is explored in books like Carolyn See's Making a Literary Life, which combines practical writing advice with encouragement to readers for living a life of one's dreams, and in works such as Artists, Writers, Thinkers, Dreamers by Hancock James Gulliver.

Writing allows individuals to bring to life the worlds and scenarios that exist in their minds, serving as a form of creative expression and escape from reality. …

…. The act of writing can be a way to manifest one's dreams and aspirations, transforming a personal vision into a shared experience for readers…

I don't know how to generalise but I'll try to keep myself at the centre as I answer, because of two reasons, first one, I can't talk about how others feel when writing. Second, I'm a bit self-obsessed

I'm not sure if I am a bit mad boy weird, yes. The reason why I'm able to write is because I'm usually a silent person. I don't speak out everything I feel. My inside holds a different world, the lock and key at my dispense as and when I need them.

I don't think I'm wise because I don't have that level of common sense I see around lol.

And I don't think I'm mad because I usually see people roaming around sleepwalking, unaware of the beauty that surrounds them that I notice easily.

Hence, I would not like to categorise myself as mad or wise. I just use my writing as a tool to give words to the feelings unsaid. My mind and heart just takes over once I start and more often than not, my writings take a life of their own as they go on.

The world inside me is just a little more intense, a little more sparkly and a little more chaotic than I see around myself.

@Aleyamma47, you are a wonderful writer. I'd like to know your thoughts on creativity, writers' imagery, and expansive ideas.

How do you see writers: as carriers of many worlds, overthinkers, wise observers, or something else?

Originally posted by: Asur

I don't know how to generalise but I'll try to keep myself at the centre as I answer, because of two reasons, first one, I can't talk about how others feel when writing. Second, I'm a bit self-obsessed

I'm not sure if I am a bit mad boy weird, yes. The reason why I'm able to write is because I'm usually a silent person. I don't speak out everything I feel. My inside holds a different world, the lock and key at my dispense as and when I need them.

I don't think I'm wise because I don't have that level of common sense I see around lol.

And I don't think I'm mad because I usually see people roaming around sleepwalking, unaware of the beauty that surrounds them that I notice easily.

Hence, I would not like to categorise myself as mad or wise. I just use my writing as a tool to give words to the feelings unsaid. My mind and heart just takes over once I start and more often than not, my writings take a life of their own as they go on.

The world inside me is just a little more intense, a little more sparkly and a little more chaotic than I see around myself.

Writing itself is a rare talent. Not everyone can weave words with such natural flow and ease. That is why I prefer to give credit to the craft, and those who master it, in the highest respect.

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

In a writing context, "mad" can be seen as a metaphor for boundless imagination, not as an insult. Many writers, poets, and artists have even embraced the idea of "madness" as a badge of honour, in a way, a way of saying they see the world differently, outside conventional limits. Many famous quotes and discussions about writers, poets, and artists use "madness" in this sense — not as an insult, but as an acknowledgment that their imagination runs deeper, sometimes even beyond what "ordinary logic" can grasp.

Writing itself is a rare talent. Not everyone can weave words with such natural flow and ease. That is why I prefer to give credit to the craft, and those who master it, in the highest respect.

But I am not sure if I see things differently. I just see them more intenselyAnything that goes inside my mind comes out a little more dramatic than usual lol.

That’s a beautiful and thoughtful question 🌿

Writers are often seen as both a little mad and a little wise. Their madness comes from daring to imagine what others dismiss, from questioning the ordinary, and from feeling things too deeply. Their wisdom comes from observing life with unusual clarity, turning fleeting emotions and experiences into truths that resonate with many.

Do they carry many worlds because of wisdom, or because of overthinking?

✨ Wisdom lets them see connections others miss — the poetry in silence, the story in a glance, the universality in personal pain.

✨ Overthinking keeps them awake at night, replaying, rewriting, reshaping ideas until the words finally breathe.

So perhaps, writers carry many worlds because they must — a restless mix of wisdom, madness, and overthinking, all fused into a gift (and sometimes a burden).

Writers create new worlds and new possibilities from within themselves. Perhaps they are mad because they dream themselves out of reality, or perhaps because they begin to create their own worlds. There is the one who invents a fantastic world. With creatures and landscapes that exist only in his imagination. But which come to life for us through his written word.

Perhaps he is also a dreamer who takes refuge in his stories and thus creates a piece of an ideal world. An ideal world that does not exist for him in reality at that moment. A place where life makes sense, justice is possible, or the marvellous breaks through everyday life.

Or he is a world changer. Someone who delves into bygone eras, sheds new light on historical contexts, and gives a voice to the people of that time. History comes alive in his words.

Then there are authors who process their own trauma through writing. They put their injuries into words in order to reach others, maybe to warn them. Such writers could certainly be described as wise, because they tell stories that touch others or make them think.

Writers cannot be pigeonholed. They are seekers, dreamers, chroniclers, healers. Each of them is a multi-faceted personality with different motivations. Their stories are a reflection of their inner world, hopes, dreams and wounds. Perhaps that makes them a little crazy. And perhaps that is precisely where their wisdom lies.

Writers can be both lol. They dream that's how they write. They also drown into their world, that's how the sage like quality comes I guess

Such a nice post Madhuri - For Authors.

For me, it's a bundle of all and so much more. The writer's brain definitely keeps running in an alternate universe. Yes, they are observant of the environment around them and crazy enough to correlate that environment into their alternate universe.

Yes, they are mad enough to keep thinking of an alternate universe and wise enough to observe changes in society, be it cultural, financial, professional, or advancement in technology, and then fit it into their own world of words.

Yes, they do overthink - as only when they overthink any situation, they will be able to bring every character's point of view in their story.

Writers are also logical people, as in their fiction or non-fiction, they have to connect the dots properly for the story, blog, poem, or other write-ups, to have proper flow and keep their readers engaged.

Writers definitely do have wisdom - because wisdom helps them judge right or wrong or have the thinking capability of understanding other perspectives. Every story gives some learning.

For me, I was a dreamer from childhood. Stories kept running in my brain, but I never knew then that I ever wanted to put them into words and then create a story.

They are definitely tagged as little crazy person by people around them and perhaps they are somewhat right.

Anu