Writing and drinking

david976 · Apr 25, 2007

Hi all. I've found one interesting thread about writing and drinking on the writersclub forum http://www.writersclub.net/medley/writing_and_drinking-t47.0.html with a poll. There is a discussion of the quote by David Ogilvy:
Many people - and I think I am one of them - are more productive when they've had a little to drink.
I find if I drink two or three brandies, I'm far better able to write.

One more interesting link on the subject:

"A friend of mine was teaching a survey course in American literature one summer session at the University of Houston. In the class were several older students, schoolteachers mostly. A teacher came up to him after class one day and said, "Listen, I just want to know why every single author on our reading list was an alcoholic!" The professor ran his eye down the list. Edgar Allen Poe. Stephen Crane. Theodore Roethke. Herman Melville. Delmore Schwartz. Scott Fitzgerald. William Faulkner. The school-teacher was right. Every writer on his list was an alcoholic."

"If he had not become such a drunk, would Truman Capote have finished Answered Prayers? If she had not turned to alcohol in such a destructive way, would Jean Stafford have finished the novel she worked on for 20 years? Would Caroline Gordon have finished her long novel about explorer Meriwether Lewis?"
http://www.unhooked.com/sep/writers.htm.

For me as a technical writer writing and drinking is unacceptable, I write operation manuals and my mistake may cost someone's life.
But I'm curious what absolutewrite's community has to say about it.

Hillgate · Apr 25, 2007

I think it's almost essential. Especially at night.

Hillgate · Apr 25, 2007

...although not to excess. I'm sure Alcoholics Anonymous is full of writers.

CaroGirl · Apr 25, 2007

Gosh. I tend to write in the early morning. If I started drinking at 8 am, I don't think I'd be very productive during the rest of my day, which includes looking after kids. Wouldn't work for me, but, then again, I've never tried it.

Writer2011 · Apr 25, 2007

I don't drink anymore

Can't since i'm taking anti-depressants... But I do write.

swvaughn · Apr 25, 2007

I don't ever drink (any more... not since high school *cough*) -- this is simply a personal choice. Many writers say it helps to "write drunk, revise sober." I don't, but I also don't knock people who drink.

Unless they drink and drive. Then I stab them repeatedly with their own damned car keys.

Anya Smith · Apr 25, 2007

I can't drink; I must be allergic to alcohol or something. If I have more than one glass of wine, the next day I feel like I want to die. Too bad, though, because sometimes I need to be more procutive.

Shady Lane · Apr 25, 2007

I've only been drunk much. It was some of my best writing.

Then again, it was a rewrite, so there wasn't anything particuraly creative in it. And I did find it harder to type.

davids · Apr 25, 2007

HIC!!!!

Novelust · Apr 25, 2007

A glass of wine hits me like a brick, makes me loopy, and makes me lose focus. I'd be more likely to fall asleep at the computer than write anything.

Now, a nice sandwich place with wi-fi access that offers free fountain drink refills - that, I can get addicted too.

infinitus_kaze · Apr 25, 2007

I may have the occasional drink, but I never drink to get drunk. Alcoholism runs in my family, so I avoid getting drunk at all costs. As far as writing better is concerned, I think it is a crock. I've talked with many people who think their writing is better when they are drunk, but when they sober up and read it they find it to be repulsive. The only type of drunk who might write better under the influence, in my opinion, is a calm and collected drunk; one who forgets all their troubles and can finally clear their mind of meaningless thoughts. Other types of drunks would just hinder the writing process.

seun · Apr 25, 2007

I haven't done so in a while but I used to drink a load and then write a load.

Unfortunately, everything I produced was utter crap. Still, at least I was prolific.

wordmonkey · Apr 25, 2007

I suspect that it loosens up a stiff writer and lets the imagination flow.

You could change out rock stars for authors and drugs for drink and have the same discussion.

But as has been said, without the artificial loosener, would these creatives have been better? More productive?

My take is that with years comes experience and while you may be a child prodigy, you only get better with experience. Pickle the main tool you use and shorten your lifespan and you're just short-changing yourself.

When I was at college and writing, I had this idea that I needed to be in a dark place, both physically and mentally, in order to write. Even comedy. I felt I needed to suffer to actually produce something good.

That's a crock. And when I finally realized that I was the part that was determining quality, not outside environs, I also discovered that if I was actually happier, more content, and yes, even comfortable, I was even better. Though perhps the greatest bonus was that I had a lot more fun doing it.

WE write. The booze, the drugs, the cold but romantically-idealized-garret-windowed-studio DON'T write.

C.bronco · Apr 25, 2007

I don't drink while writing. I imagine my results would be awful!

Harper K · Apr 25, 2007

I like to have a little wine or scotch in the evenings, and the evenings usually are my writing time, so I do often end up sipping on alcohol while working on my novel. But I definitely don't need the booze to enjoy writing or to be productive. If I have enough to get tipsy, I wind up getting too sleepy to continue writing.

I'll admit I can see how a person who's been too afraid to tackle the blank page for a long time could be helped by the lowered inhibitions that tipsyness or drunkeness brings about. But I find that for anything beyond a first draft, I really need my full, sober attention to get anything accomplished.

DeadlyAccurate · Apr 25, 2007

I very rarely drink anything alcoholic, so I can't say. Someone here (Jim, maybe?) said something I've kept in mind: (paraphrasing) Don't do anything while you're writing you aren't willing to keep doing. That includes drinking, drugs, smoking, eating. Because it can become a habit you have to keep doing in order to write.

Now the occasional rum & diet Coke and a first-person shooter is a whole different story. I'm a surprisingly good shot while I'm buzzing, though I'm much more likely to fall off ledges and buildings.

MidnightMuse · Apr 25, 2007

I get very creative-minded when I drink, but I can't write worth a tinker's damn. Any time I've tried writing while drinking, I end up editing out every single word. But I will say, drinking helps get my thoughts flowing, and often brings out ideas that I can use when the effect has worn off

ETA: I should add, though, I'm not suggesting to anyone who doesn't drink, or shouldn't drink, to try it. My father was an alcoholic my entire life, so I drink very carefully and with that in mind. And never - ever - ever drive.

sunna · Apr 25, 2007

I'll have a few drinks if it's in the evening (which is about the only time I have time to write), more to relax than to get in the 'mood' to write.
I don't think I could get anything halfway intelligible done if I was loopy, though. I tried that in college a few times, and it was usually missing some important things,like punctuation and in general the use of the spacebar.

Andre_Laurent · Apr 25, 2007

I don't drink...I used to enjoy it too much.

Devil Ledbetter · Apr 25, 2007

There's a difference between drinking and getting drunk. Some of my most creative flights come with a glass of red wine or a Corona, but just one. Anything more than that, and I'm not writing, I'm typing.

A drink is the best way to loosen my characters' tongues when interviewing them. A drink while writing turns off that stifling inner editor. You don't need to become an alkie to get there. At least, I don't.

AllieB · Apr 25, 2007

Interestingly, my writing tends to come more quickly and be more creative after I've had a drink or two. Maybe the alcohol shuts down my inner editor? I don't know.

I do remember reading an interview with Stephen King in which he fully admitted that he'd written the entire ms. of "The Tommyknockers" while flying high. While he didn't remember most of it 'til reading the published version, he liked what he'd produced, though wouldn't necessarily do it again.

Drugs of any kind affect each person differently. But yeah, it's interesting that so many artists of all kinds have been users or addicts...and that warped addiction or alternate world resulted in brilliance.

brighty_ · Apr 25, 2007

Very often talented people tend to experiment with their mind and they regard alcohol or drugs as instruments to experiments with mind. Sometimes such experiments may turn into great works, but in most cases they cause health or mental problems

ccarver30 · Apr 25, 2007

I thought Scarletpeaches was going to be the author of this post... heh heh.

Will Lavender · Apr 25, 2007

AllieB said:
I do remember reading an interview with Stephen King in which he fully admitted that he'd written the entire ms. of "The Tommyknockers" while flying high. While he didn't remember most of it 'til reading the published version, he liked what he'd produced, though wouldn't necessarily do it again.

Cujo too. And maybe a couple of others. And while king admits that some of those books were readable and interesting on some levels, he talks at length in On Writing about what poor shape he was in during those years and how he wishes he had them back.

I've never had a drink of alcohol or done drugs, not because of some ethical decision against doing them but because I always like to have control of my own instincts and emotions. (I tend to be a little boring socially, but my writing, I'd like to think, isn't boring.

) But it's this lack of control that I would worry about if I were to drink and write. I find it immensely pleasurable when a writer has total control over the narrative. You can feel that sort of thing when you read. I like to step into a book and know I'm in good, powerful hands.

Also, there's the issue of continuity. You can tell when the tone or the style of a book changes in the middle of a sentence; well, if you're drinking and writing only some of the time, then you're bound to fall into a different tone at some points in your novel unless...well, unless you're drinking every time you sit down at the desk.

swvaughn · Apr 25, 2007

Again, not knocking drinkers here. Nothing wrong with responsible drinking.

But -- I have found that a lack of sleep produces the same effects as alcohol consumption (a lowering of inhibitions, general surliness, seemingly deep thoughts as a way of attempting to compensate for the synapses that are attempting to shut down).

So I just stay awake for as long as possible. I have more time, and better flow. The later it gets, the more I blather through my fingers... and sometimes it's still salvageable in the morning.

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