Indeed they were. Among other things, I’m a writer. When I was in my thirties I studied creative writing formally for two years. I did it at night after working all day as a tax lawyer. I encountered a lot of different kinds of people, but none were from my conservative “normal” adult life. I was accumstomed to a world of educated high-achievers with a certain level of affluence. Other than a few spoiled young feminist types straight out of college sponging off their parents, none had any money. Most of the other writers were people with serious problems, some had mental issues. Many of them seemed like life was simply too hard for them, as if they were broken in some way. Homosexuality seems to fit that description, as least to me, and a number of people I met through writing were gay. I think many broken people use writing as an outlet for their inner pain. My regular life was rational and logical, but many of the writers seemed incapable of rational thought. I would marvel night after night at just how screwed up some of their minds were. I think Hollywood is full of the same kinds of misfits I’m describing.
Anyway, I’m rambling and don’t know if any of that makes sense.