The other night me and my buddy went to the store for beers and I came back and got somewhat drunk. I knew I was going to have some odd and crazy dreams if I fell asleep. That is what I wanted, so I hurried to grab my earphones and put on my 'The Mars Volta' playlist because the three go hand in hand. Anyways, the song "metatron" played and the part where it says "ten go away, ten born of prey" came on which gave me very crazy visuals or dreams; whichever they were. I visualized or imagined some janitor from my school (who does exists) walking into this bathroom and he was the prime suspect in some detective case. It was like some strange detective drama movie, quite eerie and dark. When I woke up really quick I said to myself, "wait a minute- there's no detective case. I'm just asleep on my bed. Where did all that come from?" It brought me to the concept of DMT or "hallucinogens". Do you think it is a kind of magic or potion for writing such complex and enigmatic content? Painter and visual artist Alex Grey is a master at this because of DMT. He also collaborated with Tool (a band that makes acid trip music) and they are genius together. What are your thoughts on this?
Hokum, that's what I think. One time, when I was out of my head on magic mushrooms, I fought the demons of insanity long enough to grab a pen and write a wonderfully detailed description of the experience on a coffee mug. When I found the mug next morning it was covered in indecipherable scribble.
Hmm. There have been writers in the past who have used, as you put it DMTs to 'aid' their writing. In fact, some of them are surprising. Did you know Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde when he was in the middle of a course of medication for his consumption that made him go temporarily off his head? He felt there were demons inside him trying to suppress the good bits, so the story was actually very autobiographical. I think there are few people on this earth who would say he should not have written this story. It's one of his most famous. However, there are others whose writing powers deserted them when they started taking hallucinogens as well. A few made a career out of writing on hallucinogens or about being on hallucinogens. So there is no pat answer to the question. I'd say there is nothing wrong with using your hallucinogenic experience as a basis for a story. But write it sober. And be careful about going there for inspiration. It's a double-edged sword for sure, just like alcohol. Many great writers were alcoholics, but many great writers lost their writing edge to alcoholism as well. One of the best books I've ever read on the subject is one I've just recently finished. Page Fright: Foibles and Fetishes of Famous Writers by Harry Bruce. It's entertainingly written and you might enjoy it. I got mine on Kindle, but it's also available in paperback ...although I think it might be out of print at the moment and you'd need to get it from a used bookseller.
Actually, the magic potion for complex and enigmatic storytelling is ... Spoiler ... thoughtful, diligent work. Seriously. Focus on writing, not looking for miraculous shortcuts.
