A Disease I Might Be Happy to Have

Last year I came across an article in Psychology Today that talked about a disease called hypergraphia. It is defined as a compulsive urge to write. It was a very interesting article, and after reading it, I couldn’t help but wish that I could be so lucky as to have it! Ha ha! (But remember, they always say that you should be careful what you wish for…)

At the end of the article, a few famous authors were listed who are hypergrapics. One of them is Stephen King. Another is Danielle Steele.

Yesterday I was at the bookstore, and I couldn’t help but notice some of the books that Stephen King has written. Has anybody ever looked at his novels all together? Not just one at a time. But all of them together. How and where does this man find the time to eat and sleep? And of course, I remembered that he is supposedly hypergraphic.

I might’ve mentioned before that there are times when I just HAVE to wake up in the middle of the night and write. It’s happened since I was a little kid. But throughout my life, I have repressed the urge lots of times. Only now, I just give in to it. But as of yet, it has not resulted in me writing an entire novel or better yet, TONS of novels—like Stephen King. But wouldn’t you know that hypergraphia is also known as “The Midnight Disease”?

Just now I was looking for more information on hypergraphia and happened to come across a recorded session from NPR. I thought y’all might be interested in hearing it. The disease affects the creative mind in writers and artists. I would summarize what I heard, but I figure it would be better if you heard it for yourself. It’s a short recording—just a couple of minutes long. (Just click on the link above if you’d like to listen to it.)

I can’t help but wonder how many of us are affected by this and don’t even know it. I think it’s safe to say that I might have a little bit of it… maybe just not a severe case… and hopefully not one of the ones that it mentions towards the end—the ones who have the compulsive urge to write, but no talent and/or nothing meaningful to say… LOL… but I guess ya never know…