Great, great essay by Lev Grossman over on Buzzfeed, on the time he left everything and went on a roadtrip to become a great writer.

“You can’t be that lonely now, not anymore, but back then loneliness was a totally different animal: It came at you hot and strong, raw and uncut….

What I hadn’t figured out yet was that it’s OK not to be a genius, whatever that is, if there even is such a thing. Since then I’ve learned that the creative life may or may not be the apex of human civilization, but either way it’s not what I thought it was. It doesn’t make you special and sparkly. You don’t have to walk alone. You can work in an office — I’ve worked in offices for the past 15 years and written five novels while doing it. The creative life is forgiving: You can betray it all you want, again and again, and no matter how many times you do, it will always take you back.”

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Tagged: art and loneliness, creativity, does loneliness foster creativity, essays, essays on writing, genius, isolation, Lev Grossman, loneliness, the writing life, youthful genius