haha, and I would say..."Shit, yeah! That's a damn good idea. You'd better let me drive. I haven't been drinking. Except for the syrup."
2 bottles of robitussin gave me unpleasant puking effects first. Reached MAYBE a platou three trip. 'closed eye color splashes and visuals', maybe hearing voices, trains of thought lost deep. I haven't had a successfully pleasant trip with gels.
I'm as guilty as any here of extolling memories of times had under the influence, but how 'bout we try and swing the thread back on track to writing and the effect cannabis may or may not have on the task.
In generally, I think people will write better without drugs. There are some exceptions, I'm sure. Philip K. Dick comes to mind. Harlan Ellison once asked him to write a story for an anthology while on LSD, and he did (he may well have done it without being asked). Dick had problems with mental illness, however.
This reminded me of a line by P.J. O'Rourke. He was talking about people who claim that they had amazing insights while on drugs. His line was (this is not an exact quote - I don't have it right in front of me): "Were these real insights, or were they just, like, 'Hey! I just realized that way down deep inside, I'm me!'?"
Omg, you scared me there! I take Robitussin regularly, to clear my chest (asthma) and I hate synthetic drugs, sympathomimetics etc, actually I get side effects so never take any flu medicine etc. Robitussin I take has no dextromethorphan whatsoever, (just checked the ingredients list). I think there's another type that contains it though, but sheesh, shock before coffee, not nice
Probably depends on what you're planning to write. If it's poetry or short stories or something quite experimental, getting baked might yield interesting results. In my experience, my writing is even shittier when under the influence. Opiates are the only drug that allow me to function to some degree, but it's a crappy "party drug" -- you'll just end up constipated. T and I have been writing drunk, it was fun as it fit the mood of the piece, but a lot of that crap had to be seriously rewritten later. Nowadays I steer clear from drugs and alcohol, though. For various reasons. Afaic, the only beneficial thing about having tried stuff out is that you can write about them pretty realistically, but I never seem to be able to write on them.
I find it useful for stimulating ideas. But I don't write those ideas up while under the influence. It's only the ideas that hold together when I'm straight that end up being worth the effort.
I am not sure getting high once "reportedly" in 1972 is really something to qualify one as a pot smoker My limited experience with people smoking weed and trying to do work was that the next day they were not much use as far as remembering how to solve the same problems they (very, very slowly) solved yesterday. I whisper to them "Everyone is staring at you every time you turn around. I think they know you are high!" Pretty soon they go home "sick".
I've been currently experimenting with the whole weed&write thing. Here are some things that I've observed from personal experience (different strokes): I think when most people think about weed's effect on writing, they imagine a person getting high by themselves and then sitting in front of a laptop. For me, at least, it doesn't work that way. If I smoke, I'll smoke with some friends and go out and do shit. While experiencing life stoned, I'll make a conscious effort to be as observant as possible. I'll jot down memos on my phone of different things ranging from dialogue and speech patterns to interesting events. I wouldn't say I'm more perceptive when I'm baked, but I'll see and notice things differently. On one occasion a friend and I were chilling and playing some riddle game app on his phone. I'm horrible with riddles, but once I hit the Mary Jane, I started thinking differently and the riddles were getting solved a lot quicker. It's kind of hard to explain, but that's the way it worked for me and it's the way my mind worked when writing. When it came down to the actual writing, I'd transfer all the notes I put down on my phone to a document on my laptop. To be honest, I already had a vague idea of how the notes would play a part in the story I was writing. Whether it was the breaking down of inhibitions and insecurities that usually somewhat hinder my writing or the different ways in which weed made me think, I always had an easier and more enjoyable time writing stoned. The next step of the process was to review my writing the next morning when I was sober. A first draft is always shite, but the shit I wrote stoned was pretty entertaining and parts of it I felt were relatively well-written. Of course, I would make edits to the writing with a clear head and continue the story as, Cogito pointed out, I didn't want weed to be a crutch. I should also mention at this point that the story I'm writing is from the perspective of a pot-head, so I have no idea how cannabis affects the writing of your sci-fi vampire epic. (edit) I now read the posts above about the priming. That's probably what I was trying to describe.
@jetBlackJT: I'm not sure what your sources are, but a few documentaries I've seen, he was smoking pot regularly when he was younger (around the time he designed first PC). Everyone has to straighten up if they want to succeed as adults, but most people continue taking recreational soft drugs (cannabis, alcohol), which one, it depends on personal preference. Obviously, a lot of people don't use either but prefer to relax through endogenous opioids or even adrenaline (caused by exercise, prayer, extreme sports, pleasurable activities otherwise known as hobbies etc). All of which are psychoactive substances.
I grew up in the sixties. Cannabis and I were well acquainted. One day I decided, like the song, that I was tired of waking up on the floor. It took longer than you'd think for the effects to completely dissipate, but when they did, I was surprised and delighted how much sharper and clearer my thinking and awareness were. I'm not just blowing smoke. You're better off without it. There's a reason they call it "being wasted."
"surprised and delighted how much sharper and clearer my thinking and awareness were." That, upon other reasons (and other substances besides cannabis) are why I ratted myself at my mandated outpatient today, and will enter detox tomorrow. So freaked out! Maybe I'll write a poem about it and post it when I'm back in a week... Though I haven't really gotten any responses or critiques on the two other poems I posted (other than one.) I know this is off-topic, but any advice to new members in terms of getting crit on here? Are they that bad, or do members generally critique the writings of posters they've established relationships with? I've critiqued and praised a few other pieces myself, definitely more than the two minimum per original work post, and participate in some discussions, so it's not like I'm just here to get "attention" or advice about my work... but I would really like some feedback on how I can improve (and be part of the community in general.) Maybe the poetry section gets less traffic in general? Again, I'm sorry. I know this is off-topic. I just don't know where else to raise the question, and it came to mind while reading upon this subject.
Ghost Cat, I think it might be that most members here don't write poetry, so they don't really know how to critique it. Maybe a lot of them shy away from poetry submissions because they don't feel qualified to comment. I look at some of the poetry here, and that's certainly true of me. Most members are more familiar with fiction - they read it and write it all the time - so it's interesting to them and they feel competent to discuss it. I do think, though, your work will probably get more attention when you become a more "famous" member - when more members here know you better, I mean. Just keep posting and commenting and you'll be more interesting to people, and they'll be more interested in your work.
Just like Minstrel says, I generally avoid critiquing poetry, because I don't think I have anything worthwhile to contribute. Aside from what I picked up in the brief period I was at school, I know nothing about it, in terms of rhyme or meter, so I guess I just leave critiquing poetry to those who do. All I could tell you is whether I liked it or not, (maybe, even whether I understood the intent behind it) and as much as that might help from a self-esteem point view, it would hardly be constructive from a nuts and bolts perspective.
Minstrel, and obsidian, I thank you both for your responses. I will just keep typing away (well, when I get back in a week...) and I suppose -over time- try to grow into more of a presence in the community. I also write fiction, mainly short stories and movies (which I haven't posted, as this doesn't seem to be the optimum place--in terms of movies)...and try to familiarize myself and the community with their and my presence. Question-- When i looked at the fiction section(s), it appears as though writers post excerpts of their work. Even if a story prints as eight pages (double spaced,) is the appropriate method of posting to post something shorter than that, or to post the whole story? Again, I apologize to the thread in general, I know this is off-topic, but the feedback from these two members has thus proved somewhat enlightening.
@Ghost Cat : From what I've seen, people tend to post excerpts, though I don't think there's a hard and fast rule. Perhaps Minstrel can give some advice. An excerpt will give members a chance to take a look at the punctuation and grammar, but as a consequence context may be lost, and it can be hard to determine the flow of the piece. I have yet to post any of my own work, but when I do, I'll be considering what I wish the members to specifically comment on, and tailor my post to suit that end.
The best way to get critique is to give in-depth critique. People are more likely to take the time to dissect your work if they see you are serious about the process.
Interesting topic. I think I'm with Cogito on this. I've had my hay-day with marijuana and with alcohol as well. I still use both on occasion, but quickly determined they are only a detriment to my writing. My best writing is done upon waking with a clear mind and maybe a nice cup of coffee.
I think Douglas Adams said he got his best ideas in the bath. I was a heavy cannabis user for a number of years and used to feel that it helped me play the guitar, what I actually would have sounded like to a 2nd person I dont know. The main problem with cannabis for me was that it eventually completely destroyed any motivation I had to do anything, other than get up late and computer games until 3am with other smokers. Whether it was chicken or egg I dont know but I ended up exhibiting the behaviour of a very depressed person and feeling like one as well. There are smokers, some who I have met, who can blaze away all day, hold down a busy job, clean their house, empathise with others, do all kinds of activities and exercise after work and go to bed relaxed and happy ready to start again. I would say these are in a very small minority of users however. I've never understood how famous writers managed to succeed under the influence. Hemingway apparently never wrote a word sober.
Another thing that sucks about pot and how it interferes with the writing rather than helps it is the munchies. You gotta make sure there's no food in the house if you don't want to stuff yourself till you're ready to burst. That further addles the brain -- not helpful at all. It's common courtesy to contribute to the community and even though there're the rules of when you can post something for crit, it could be that those who aren't that visible on the boards get less replies. I guess I tend to crit works by writers I've seen write in other rooms, help and support other users, brainstorm, etc. On the other hand, I think in your case it's the poetry thing. I haven't critted any poems either. Maybe I should, even though I probably can't give any useful feedback aside from "nice metaphor" or "I like the alliteration" there.
