Drinking and writing,,,

Drinking alcohol and writing.

So here’s the thing, I like a glass of wine while I’m writing - not too much, just literally a glass or maybe two. Virtually any amount has an effect on what, or the way, I write. So if I’m doing a ‘serious’ bit I tend not to drink at all, I know that if I drink a ‘little’ then I tend to relax and the fingers fly and all is well, a bit more though and the next day I’m deleting most of it.

In other words I guess I use alcohol as a tool - I know the effect it might have and use it accordingly.

Way, way, back in the day I had ‘issues’ with various ‘stuff’ so I’m intensely conscious of the amount I drink and otherwise consume. The issues are long gone but the memory remains,,,, hence my interest.

I’m interested in how other people manage drinking and writing, Just idle curiosity really, any thoughts?

 

I used to do the same thing but it didn't really work. Well it did, but it wasn't cost effective, so now I just drink water.

 

I’m an alcoholic in recovery haven’t touched the stuff in years. But when I was drinking and writing I found it a huge impediment to my writing so I stopped. I don’t know what was up with Hemingway.

 

Drinking shuts my writing brain down, completely and utterly. It's really annoying. If we go out for a nice dinner but I want to write later in the evening, I have to pick one.

 

Real writers are too poor to drink.

 

Damn, I wondered where I was going wrong,
Does it help if I mainly drink homebrew?

 

I speak posh when drunk, I can only imagine how bad my writing would be! (probably some kind of thesaurus monstrositiy, like Joey's attempt in friends)

Rgds

 

It's an interesting idea that it might not be 'cost effective' that's a way of looking at it which I hadn't considered at all. Hmmm, have to think about that one.

 

I do some of my best work crocked to the gills.

 

Charles Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson, Aaron Sorkin...

Some artists are so talented and productive that they make history even while pissed and/or stoned. Other artists are mortals.

Not one mortal becomes divine with alcohol or drugs. Some divines become mortal via that road. Very few divines stay divine while pouring toxins to they brain.

 

I write primarily in the evenings and on weekends, and usually have a couple of glasses of wine (or a really nice IPA) when I'm writing. Much more than that and I tend to get sleepy and sloppy, and give up for the night.

 

As with Lauren, I write evenings and weekends, and that's when I'd have a drink. I have found often that my idea creation is sometimes better when having a few drinks..
Obviously, it's down to what and how much you drink too. If you're blotto on a full bottle of scotch, I wouldn't expect you to be writing your best stuff, but a glass or two, getting you relaxed and chilled, may help. I know it does me

 

I might have a glass of wine or equivalent when I'm thinking about my story, because it helps me allow a more free-form association of ideas, but never when I'm writing it. When I'm writing, it's always coffee!

 

You must be referring to, Free Association?
It's how some of my best ideas come, allowing the subconscious (that part of our brains which we don't command) some time in the light. What begins with a word or image, links with something else so simply perfect that it doesn't seem to be me thinking it.

 

Yeah, I suppose the 'form' wasn't necessary in my statement, but you get the idea perfectly.

A little bit of alcohol can allow me to let go of enough control that my subconscious starts to play around with ideas. (I stress that I don't do this very often at all.) But alcohol would be fatal to my actual writing prowess, not to mention detrimental to my health in the long run. Besides that, a glass of wine frequently makes me sleepy rather than energised to write.

Actually, the best thing I know of to stimulate my writing ideas and solve my story problems is a good long walk somewhere in familiar territory, sans traffic and too many people. (Unfamiliar territory doesn't quite work, because I'm too busy paying attention to the surroundings.) Maybe it's perverse, in that a long walk means I'm nowhere near my computer, so I can't immediately start writing what I'm thinking about. However, there is the good old fashioned notebook and pen, which I always carry with me.

 

I used to drink heavily when I wrote, but when one day i realised I'd just banged out 3000 words on the microwave I packed it in.

 

Hemingway made it sexy...

 

I prefer to stick to coffee when I'm writing and I avoid alcohol in general, though since I dislike it, that doesn't come really hard for me. I guess it really depends on the person's preferences and the way the organism reacts to alcohol. For some people, a glass of wine or beer could help them relax and get the creative energy flowing. Heavy drinking on the other hand never helps in the long run.

 

The title should be "Damaging your health and writing". It's a slippery slope, as proven by the experience of many others (some famous). While drinking may enhance your writing abilities, it's addictive and can lead to you drinking more than is good for you. Eventually you might end up with crap health and a crap novel, which is much worse than ending with a great health and a crap novel. Worth taking the chance? Up to you

 

Oh please! I have enough trouble relating to the rest of humanity. Don't expect me to do it sober!

 

Weed and writing reminds me of this;

 

Drinking and writing is nothing new. I actually wrote a short story while drinking Spanish table wine and it is now published as A Scourge from the Antiquities but I feel like adding Under the Influence of Bordalaca de la Froerzo would make a much better title.

Wine effects my writing in a different way. It has nothing to do with the buzz. It's the smell and taste that puts me in the story. I feel much more connected to the story that way.

 

Drinking doesn't work for me at all. I get so easily distracted that my writing doesn't even make sense even during the writing session. Three or four hours and if I'm lucky there's one or maybe two paragraphs that I can use, so it's basically a waste of money and time... Have to agree with Nariac.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed, which is a bit fucked up.

 

I've been following this with interest, (I started it after all,,,,)
I hadn't previously considered whether it was 'cost effective',
Having studied the matter carefully - with wine and without - I find it is clearly and simply not cost effective for me either, I spend too much time gazing into space and then cleaning up the rough work the following day.
Therefore it is coffee from now on.
Sigh,,,,,