Can the writing process be assisted by drug use?
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The person asking the question is 73. I don't think he's worried about addiction. And if he's asking about shortcuts, can you blame him?
Sorry, Julie. But I don't think it is rude. It is a big fail to ask a question like that.
[FONT="]Any question can be asked. As for asking about smoking pot, why not? It's less harmful than booze, and many quite successful writers have used booze to soften the internal critic. Are we writers to uphold America's failed drug war to the point of not even allowing the question to be posed by non-Americans?[/FONT]
"Any musician who says he's playing better either on tea, the needle, or when he is juiced is a plain, straight liar. When I get too much to drink, I can't even finger well, let alone play decent ideas. In the days when I was on the stuff, I may have thought I was playing better. Listening to some of the records now, I know I wasn't. Some of these smart kids who think you have to be completely knocked out to be a good hornman are just plain crazy. It isn't true. I know, believe me."
- Charlie Parker, 1920-1955
- Charlie Parker, 1920-1955
#1 I am NOT an American.
#2 I have nothing against drugs. I've used them.
The fail is in someone wondering if they should take something like this up in order to connect better with creativity. Maybe I'll be a better writer if I shoot smack?
What Julie said about shutting up the inner editor rings a bell with me.
It's not that caffeine, drugs, alcohol, what-have-you, make me more creative. But if I'm a little bit buzzed, I stop worrying that what I'm writing is shite. No matter what condition or mindset I'm in, my ability doesn't change for the better or worse, but my perception certainly does.
A glass of vodka gets the internal editor so buzzed he doesn't speak up while I'm working. The same thing happens when I'm pleasantly sleepy. Not dog tired, just late-in-the-evening, chores done, my time is my own, relaxing kinda way.
It's not that caffeine, drugs, alcohol, what-have-you, make me more creative. But if I'm a little bit buzzed, I stop worrying that what I'm writing is shite. No matter what condition or mindset I'm in, my ability doesn't change for the better or worse, but my perception certainly does.
A glass of vodka gets the internal editor so buzzed he doesn't speak up while I'm working. The same thing happens when I'm pleasantly sleepy. Not dog tired, just late-in-the-evening, chores done, my time is my own, relaxing kinda way.
"When I came to New York in 1937," wrote Dizzy Gillespie in his autobiography, "I didn't drink nor smoke marijuana. 'You gotta be a square muthafucka!' Charlie Shavers said and turned me on to smoking pot. Now, certainly, we were not the only ones. Some of the older musicians had been smoking reefers for 40 and 50 years. Jazz musicians, the old ones and the young ones, almost all of them that I knew smoked pot, but I wouldn't call that drug abuse."
Not at all--you just need time to yourself. Exercise is a great way to get that time, and the endorphins may improve your mood and receptivity towards ideas, but you have plenty of options.
meditation
yoga
swimming
uper body exercises/free weights
many don't exercise at all--
fishing
hiking
turning the radio off in the car for an hour each day
killing the tv for an hour each day of quiet at home
sitting on a bench at the mall people-watching
etc. etc. etc.
There's no harm in trying it, I suppose. I haven't written on anything stronger than a half-bottle of red wine, after which I woke up with the pattern of the keyboard on my cheek. I'd written: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
I've done it once.
I had two glasses of vodka (I'm a lightweight these days) and wrote 1,700 words I couldn't remember in the morning, and they were good.
And yes, the book was published.
I know the difference between smack and pot well. I'm familiar with both, thank you. What I'm not familiar with is a person thinking it might be a good idea to do either in order to better connect with their writing.
I have no problem with drugs/alcohol. I have no problem with writers who do drugs/alcohol. The fail I pointed out is that one would consider taking these on as a way to enrich their writing life. I thought that people would understand that. I'm amazed that some do not.
And in my eyes it's just as dumb to smack up as it is to smoke up...when you're doing it for the specific reason of enriching your creativity.
If you want to get high to get high, by all means...go crazy. It's fun. It really is. But don't do it to boost your creativity.
And in my eyes it's just as dumb to smack up as it is to smoke up...when you're doing it for the specific reason of enriching your creativity.
If you want to get high to get high, by all means...go crazy. It's fun. It really is. But don't do it to boost your creativity.
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Back in my poetry writing days, I'd have a few drinkies and write a few poems. They weren't bad, but they were very similar to each other in terms of mood.
I haven't written any poems in over a year. Still have a few drinkies, though.
I haven't written any poems in over a year. Still have a few drinkies, though.
I happened to be a writer when I was a druggie. I wrote while on acid ALL the time (truckloads of acid...not a little bit). It was brilliant stuff. But I wouldn't think, "Hmmm...I'm not hitting it. Maybe I should do some acid."
I guess my take on pot or booze or other drugs is that they are temporary helps (if they help at all) and can (easily) lead to dependence on them (psychologically or physically), which will eventually (one way or another) end that creativity.
Not worth it, IMO.
Not worth it, IMO.
Really? That's quite common. Here's a book for you: The Road of Excess: A History of Writers on Drugs.
Julie...you seem to be misunderstanding me. I know that drugs/alcohol are a common tool for creative minds. I know all about it. What I'm trying to do here is suggest that it's a bad idea. Thanks for attempting to educate me, though.
Here's a thing. Imigran helps me write. Why? Because it makes the pain stop. So I'm using a drug to help me get through the day. But it's okay because a woman with letters after her name prescribed it for me.
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