Hail Divinest Melancholy

          "Why is severe sadness so closely associated with creativity? Andreasen argues the depression is intertwined with a 'cognitive style' that makes people more likely to produce successful works of art. Her explanation is straightforward: It's not easy to write a good novel or compose a piece of music. The process often requires years of careful attention as the artist fixes mistakes and corrects errors. As a result, the ability to stick with the process- to endure to unconcealing- is extremely important. 'successful writers are like prizefighters who keep on getting hit but won't go down,' Andreason says. 'They'll stick with it until it's right. And that seems to be what the mood disorders help with.' While Andreason acknowledges the terrible burden of mental illness- she quotes Robert Lowell on depression not being a 'gift of the Muse' and describes his reliance on lithium to escape the pain- she argues that, at least in its milder forms, the disorder benefits many artists due to the perseverance it makes possible. 'Unfortunately, this type of thinking is often inseparable from the suffering,' Andreason says. "if you're at the cutting edge, then you're going to bleed.'"
          This passage from Imagine is an obvious template for introducing quotes and summarizing someone's point. Firstly, the use of the verb "argues" implies that a claim is being made. It is used to introduce a summary of Andreason's explanation on why sadness is associated with creativity. Next, the quote is placed in the passage after a brief summary of her thoughts. This is the main point that is being made and what the author really wants the reader to understand. Lastly, the author makes a counter-claim on Andreason's behalf while also explaining what the quote means. The word "while" is used to acknowledge that there may be objections and skeptics of Andreason's claim, but there is an answer to it. Basically, a naysayer has been planted to address an objection and overcome it.
          Imagine requires arguments like this in order for anything in the book to be credible. The author could easily make claims about what he thinks inspires people and what makes them creative, but it would mean just about nothing. Anyone can hypothesize and propose theories about the mind, but if there is nothing to back them up, how credible are they? A book like this requires a variety of quotes sandwiches because they provide validity. The author's claims go from statements that have no authenticity or persuasiveness to well-researched and legitimate theories. Quotes and templates are the rock of this book.