Does Coffee help you write?

Well, I don't want to suggest it like a drug

But, I'm in the Hell Yeah category. I swear I was some French existentialist living at coffee houses in an earlier incarnation (reborn to not take myself so damned seriously).

If folks never worshiped a Coffee god, they should have

I voted yes, but I usually don't drink coffee. It is the caffeine in it that helps me focus. I usually prefer Monster Energy (Dub Ed., M-80, or Rehab, in that order), but a good double-shot of espresso (especially when mixed into some chocolate smoothie-thing) is heavenly. Truly good coffee is expensive and/or hard to come by.

*Raises hand* Yes, caffeine does help with some symptoms of ADD such as lack of concentration, lack of focus and lack of mental clarity. You don't have to drink coffee—chocolate, iced tea, soft drinks and certain fruit juices will work as well. And the funny thing about caffeine is that it works better in conjunction with eating protein. Beans are a good source of caffeine and an excellent source of protein.

There is a downside to heavy caffeine intake, though. The effects only last a few hours so, if you're sensitive to caffeine, that "crash" can make you cranky and irritable and lose focus quite quickly.

Caveat: While the medical community does acknowledge the benefits of using caffeine to help with those symptoms, the general belief is that the meds provide a more reliable mitigation without the "crash" side-affects.

I drink a ton of coffee (everyone keeps telling me that 3 pots a day is too much), but I've never noticed any 'side effects' from the caffeine (either increased concentration, energy, or crash). I just like coffee (and it's cheaper than pop )

Yup. Regular coffee drinker. Caffeine has a noticeable impact on my brain function. I find it works best with a relatively low daily intake (1-2 cups, less than 200mg in total). And there are few things as evil as a caffeine withdrawal headache.

Coffee helps me do everything, writing included.

I'm really hooked on coffee and I'm really thankful that it's legal. If it were illegal, I would probably be like one of those dudes who gets arrested on the TV show "Cops". The police would come to my house to arrest me, and I would answer the door wearing a worn-out pair of Levi's cutoffs, no shirt, and no shoes. Then one of the cops would take me aside and say, "Hey, are you holding? Come on, pal...are you hiding your stash somewhere?" Then I would get a sheepish look on my face and reach into one of my pockets and pull out a handful of Folgers Singles.

I don't drink coffee. Love the smell, hate the taste. I am, however, a dyed-in-the-wool tea Jenny.

Ice coffee is nice! I also like Red Bull energy shots--but if you drink them all at once your brain explodes and it's real messy to clean up. A little bit at a time over 90 minutes is a nice caffeine buzz

No. But I'm a fan of it.

Yes.

And so does booze.

Coffee keeps me awake; wine makes me feel relaxed. Wine is especially good when writing sex scenes.

For me it's helpful to have the minor distraction now and then to let what I've just wrote rattle around and see if I like it. When I smoked, cigarettes did the same thing.

It's part of my weekend ritual: put the coffee on, make breakfast, start writing.

When I actually get around to writing, I always have a coffee on my desk.

It usually lasts about 25 minutes, even when I'm writing like a madman - and I normally write for an hour at a time. So I'll have a bottle of normal flavoured drink (no caffeine) on the desk as well for the rest of the hour.

I drink a lot of fluids when I'm writing... It's what I do when I'm thinking and not actually typing.

And then after the hour, I go pee, have a smoke, make another coffee, and write for another hour.

I'm not sure if the caffeine actually helps the writing itself or not... But I do know that it's few and far between that I can talk myself into working on a WIP if I don't have a coffee in front of me.

So I voted yes.

Oh, also - I've had so much caffeine in my life that I'm basically immune to it. It can help me wake up in the morning, and I love the taste of coffee (and Red Bull! But Red Bull's expensive...) so I keep drinking it. But I don't think it really affects me at all, not anymore.

Being awake helps me write. Coffee helps me be awake. So, I guess, yes.

I can't drink coffee. Too much caffeine - makes writing impossible for me.

Wait...there are people out there who write without drinking coffee?

Okay, now I'm impressed (she says as she picks up her coffee cup and heads for the kitchen.)

Coffffeeeee doesn't hellllppp me write....

But I like it.

In theory it works for me. But I prefer my caffeine cold, so I stick to sodas and iced coffees.

Lately I've been trying to cut back (I know, a caffeine junkie cutting back. Now pigs will fly ).

You forgot the, "Yuck, coffee is disgusting." option.

I only have a cup in the morning, and only occasionally when I write. It doesn't seem to help or hurt me either way.

Coffee didn't do shit for my ADD.