At The Millions, Connor Ferguson muses on writing routines, the tortured artist trope, and the role discomfort plays in the create process:
Even if they aren’t trying to be explicitly didactic, most writers feel compelled to create stories, novels, plays, and essays as a way to address discord or imbalance that they perceive in the world. Discomfort of any kind reveals the liminal nature of a situation, the potential for a change in circumstances. At a basic level, human beings create art because this potential for change exists.
