I had thought by drinking between writing or as i'm writing, this was a hinderence and waste of my time. Yet clinging to the idea that my mind may need some inspirational lubrication i top up my glass with the finest scotch. I know about characters in fiction, whether movies or books, who are the broken down struggling writer. I just figured it was a stereotype i fitted into. But it seems more writers than i realised actually find the sauce and the keyboard a regular dancing partnership, Why is this? Does anyone know? Why the bottle? And cats?
Writers tend to be lonely and depressed I think. It's a lonely job. I don't believe it's a stereotype anymore though. It doesn't fit most writers anymore in 2012. Everyone on Litreactor though, well maybe.
Don't care so much about booze. It's characters with laudanum I tend to appreciate lots. The more now that there's no cat miawing around. Oh the suffering. Cats are the furry incarnation of opiates.
There is research showing that alcohol does help tap certain levels of the creative brain. I wish I could remember the book where I read that, but if you search it you'll find some article substantiating this.
This thread just reminded me to pick up a really good bottle of whiskey for my 10PM nightcaps.
Sometimes I don't mind a beer, or a whiskey or a glass of wine while I write. I don't tend to have too much though. I mostly use alcohol to make myself more attractive to women and my jokes that much more awesome. This works to various degrees*
Every great once in a while I might indulge myself in a few whacks of the herbal wonder. But only if I feel I have some momentum going.
*disclaimer - this doesn't work at all.
I never drink and I write creatively. But then again I'm on a lot of prescription medications and caffeine pills so that helps. 10 years on the wrong kind of anti-depressants for your misdiagnosed condition will do that to a person. When I was on Prozac I thought I could walk through cars.
You sure you weren't smoking the Ivory? Redman did and thought he could walk through cars, too.
What's the Ivory? I have never done illegal drugs. All my drugs were created in laboratories by professionals. Why do you think I got a degree in psychology? I know what a racket this thing is. Honestly though, people with mental illnesses make the best artists. No offense, non crazy people.
This is the Ivory:
:15 sec. in to this one, he tries to walk through the car.
Well, I see the stupid videos didn't come up... Damn Ivory...
Occasionally I drink while I'm writing. Sometimes it works, and I feel like I get in some kind of zone. Other times I'm not feeling it and know by the second drink whether or not there's any point proceeding. (With the writing that is, if I'm onto a second drink then I'm drinking the whole damn bottle sir!)
I only drink spirits by the way. American whiskeys and European vodkas mostly. No beer. Beer is fucking gross.
I've found that caffeinating helps me write. If I chug a Nos or 2, not only do I get the jitters, but somehow I'm able to focus completley on writing for the next 3 hours, and usually pump out like 2k-3k words. It's pretty cool, but crashing isnt fun.
I have not tried drinking while writing yet. But it's my next experiment.
I was very blitzed one night, when I found myself at my ex's apartment. I left a business card on her windshield, with my cell number, of course. We'd been split for about several months. Like, no contact, she dropped completely off the earth split.
Then I went home and wrote, freehand, about it. Oddly, my handwriting was quite nice, and I'd say it was some of the finest prose, I daresay bordering on poetry, I've ever written. It was so good, that a few nights later, my current (at the time) girlfriend found my journal and read that entry (without permission, naturally). She was quite impressed with my writing, and talked more about how beautifully I'd written about it more than the fact that I shouldn't have done it.
I'm married now, so I hesitate to imbibe too much firewater. My track record speaks for itself, and the consequences could quite possibly be deadly. Shame, really.
Vodka on the rocks or Amaretto in my coffee is usually what I lean towards when writing.
Had some green tea last night. Then I drank water. Because I walk on the wild side.
Thanks. It is a good story...I'll have to use it somehow. I may have the house to myself in a few weeks. I may have to hide the cell phone, toss a few back and see what comes of it.
I don't drink when I write. On the rare occasion I have, I am not all that impressed with result. I keep my mind clear. I think it's a dangerous road to travel on, anyway, making drinking a part of your creative process--it's begging for an addiction, and if you ever decide you want to stop drinking ,writing is going to be very hard.
Not worth it, IMO.
Bukowski would disagree if he didn't die of liver failure.
When you rape the muses, be prepared to do some heavy editing later.
I do not like the way it comes out, and I tend to get distracted real quick if I'm drunk. I'm not saying that I never do it, I tend to be more of a cannabis man than a drinker, but still getting blazed and writing is subject to the same "edit heavily" problems. It comes out different though, it's funny the sort of grammatical/phrasing mistakes that happen in one vis a vis the other for me.
Pharmaceuticals are the devil. Fuck your laboratories. My drugs grew out of the ground this way.
@Renee, you make a good point. For a litany of reasons I avoid booze as best I can.
I don't think that the occasional exercise or creative outing it's all that bad, as long as it doesn't become habit, or as you said, addiction. But it is a slippery slope to walk.
On the other hand, who doesn't want to be a stereotype?
For me, drunk-writing means a great ideas and a lot of revising day after.
Energy drinks helps me a lot. In extremely unhealthy way they allow me to write more in shorter time and it's wonderful, scary and little bit addictive.
Fasting can be hallucinatory, I can confirm from direct experience back in the wild days. It is also addictive though, and much more difficult to control than other habits. Fortunately a robust appetite keeps me away from that danger nowadays.
@aliensoul77 Bukowski died of lukemia, not liver failure.
Sleep deprivation is a good trip, but I've got in more truble that way than on any drug.
PS: I was not anorexic, only poor and in love. In case you guys worry.
Love yous
@nkwilczy : In my case, long sleep deprivation was the weirdest trip ever. Paranoid sh*t. I'm glad I've try but once is enough for me
@Nick exactly. It's amazing what a body can achieve with no help from foreign substances. The most dangerous conditions indeed.
@Fnz: It's true. I'm actually afraid I'm not going to feel like I an write without an energy drink or some extreme caffeine stimulation. I'm trying not to make it a habit.
Sorry bryan, I used another author's life to make a bad joke. I'm going to the devil.
Kerouac, Cheever, Hemingway, Faulkner, Hunter S Thompson, Bukowski, Poe, Joyce and Fitzgerald all had a love affair with alcohol at one point in their careers. Now, I'm not advocating intoxication as a means to creating; however, if you use this method, you're in good company.
Is all American whisky bourbon? I always assumed it was.
This is terribly ignorant. Have you no shame?
Whoa! A pot/kettle conversation! Everybody gather round for some snarky tedium.
Oh, man. There should be some algorithm to the page that recognizes when one member is calling out another member so it locks out the "edit" function and keeps everybody committed to what they've said. No backtracking!
Aww. You edited! Now I look a bit strange. I mean, I probably did anyway. But more so now.
Okay, everyone be on notice, next time there is a fight, I'll be posting that clip. Because I thought it was hilarious. In the context...
Actually, never mind.
In fairness to Ash - virtually everyone on Litreactor is overly sensitive about things. We have people that get offended at others who say that Clevenger's class was just ok, people who change their screennames because someone got mad at them, people who are offended by others who don't like the classics, people who are offended by others who make fun of the South, etc. Something about Litreactor makes people freak out over nothing.
Popeye - i am disproportionately mad about that statement.
It's the problem with large groups of intelligent people. Most intelligent people are deeply emotionally invested in their own intelligence, especially in a medium that has no body language. That tends to detract a great deal from the ability to exercise a sense of humor.
@Popeyedoyle: I am offended that you have questioned my vaguely antagonistic comment. This singular moment in LitReactor history has enlightened me as to why most fast food restaurants serve unhealthy food. Because your comments are incendiary and offensive.
@Popeyedoyle: I am offended that you have questioned my vaguely antagonistic comment. This singular moment in LitReactor history has enlightened me as to why most fast food restaurants serve unhealthy food. Because your comments are incendiary and offensive.
You should change your screenname now...That's the only way to drive home how hurt you really are.
I did this because you convince fast food restaurants to poison America. Genocidist.