What do you all think of this? Rick DeMarinis in "The Art and Craft of the Short Story" says this:
Something happens to people destined for a life of writing that has nothing to do with literature. It happens early in life and is probably the psychological equivalent of scarlet fever. It has to do with pain. In answer to the question, "What is the best early training for a writer?" Hemingway said, "An unhappy childhood." Unhappy children (unhappy for whatever reasons-from physical abuse to psychological abandonment) grow up with the potentially destructive feelings that they have to seize the right to exist. They have been told in subtle and unsubtle ways that they have no rightful claim on life. These are the ones who get in trouble early and then go on to achieve impressive things, either good or bad-the criminals and artists, the psychopaths and the self-made millionaires. An unhappy childhood often hones a powerful sense of injustice, and that very often is the core motivation for reformers, overachievers, criminals and artists.
Something happens to people destined for a life of writing that has nothing to do with literature. It happens early in life and is probably the psychological equivalent of scarlet fever. It has to do with pain. In answer to the question, "What is the best early training for a writer?" Hemingway said, "An unhappy childhood." Unhappy children (unhappy for whatever reasons-from physical abuse to psychological abandonment) grow up with the potentially destructive feelings that they have to seize the right to exist. They have been told in subtle and unsubtle ways that they have no rightful claim on life. These are the ones who get in trouble early and then go on to achieve impressive things, either good or bad-the criminals and artists, the psychopaths and the self-made millionaires. An unhappy childhood often hones a powerful sense of injustice, and that very often is the core motivation for reformers, overachievers, criminals and artists.