Referential Mania and the Writer

I first heard of the concept of "Referential Mania" from reading Vladimir Nabokov's short story "Signs and Symbols" many years ago.

It's the idea that everything that happens in the world is a reference to oneself. Innocuous events and coincidences are seen as having personal significance, despite the appearance that these are just random events having nothing to do with anyone.

Psychiatrists have identified a number of examples--that people on TV are talking about the viewer, newspaper headlin...