>Exaggerated ascetic practices undermined [Gogol's] health and he became deeply depressed. On the night of 24 February 1852, he burned some of his manuscripts, which contained most of the second part of Dead Souls. He explained this as a mistake, a practical joke played on him by the Devil. Soon thereafter, he took to bed, refused all food, and died in great pain nine days later.

Who are some other great author's who lost the plot? Do you see what I did there? What drove them to madness?

Beast mode. I'm inspired and I'm making notes.

>>24538736 (OP)
lautremont
frank stanford
beckett
actually pretty much all of them.
A better thread would be "mentally stable writers"

Manuscripts don't burn.