Suffering For Your Art

... really?  I mean, I don't mean to knock anyone who suffers, who is suffering, who has suffered, which right there probably covers the entire scope of mankind.  So I guess I don't mean to knock anyone.

But I've heard this saying a few times over the past year and, truth be told, it bugs me.  There are variations of this, of course.  Here are a few I've heard:

You must use your disturbing past