Writers on Steroids?

Barbara R. · Aug 12, 2013

A columnist in the NY Times (sorry, don't recall his name) posted an interesting question recently. If they had steroids for writers, illegal but effective, would you take them? And by effective I mean not only writing faster but writing better, with more clarity.

Ultimately his answer is no, but only because of the illegality, which seemed to me sort of a cop-out. Say you're unlikely to get caught and outed: Would you take them?

lolchemist · Aug 12, 2013

I already do. It's called coffee.

swvaughn · Aug 12, 2013

YESPLEASE. Where can I get them?

Marian Perera · Aug 12, 2013

If they improved performance but had no adverse side-effects, why would they be illegal?

Provided they weren't prohibitively expensive and I wouldn't be in any danger while acquiring them and they weren't physically addictive and they wouldn't need to be administered like either an injection or a suppository... yeah, I'd take them.

Filigree · Aug 12, 2013

We already have those substances. And yes, we do take them.

Polenth · Aug 12, 2013

Unless we're talking about a dystopian future where sugar is banned, no. Steroids have side effects, which is why we don't all pop them like smarties and have huge muscles. A brain equivalent would harm health and brain functioning in the long term. My health is important to me, so I wouldn't take something like that.

onesecondglance · Aug 12, 2013

Sounds much like the plot of the (mediocre) film Limitless.

Buffysquirrel · Aug 12, 2013

This is the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/opinion/sunday/what-if-novelists-took-steroids.html?_r=0

I try to be careful what I put into my brain. It's already dysfunctional. And I don't believe in no side effects. So no, I wouldn't.

Filigree · Aug 12, 2013

I wouldn't put anything in my brain with major side effects. My caffeine habit is bad enough. But I do see a lot of younger students abusing attention-deficit drugs like Adderal.

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 12, 2013

Maybe. Depends on the specifics. I don't have an ethical objection to things that would make writers write better, because writing is not a sport, and I care more about reading awesome books than who is writing them. Unless it's me, of course.

Although, if it gave me any more plots and characters than my brain already does, I'd be in serious trouble.

Little Anonymous Me · Aug 12, 2013

As long as it doesn't fry my circuits, I'd try it. No moral dilemma on my part, just a few health concerns.

Barbara R. · Aug 12, 2013

onesecondglance said:
Sounds much like the plot of the (mediocre) film Limitless.

True, hadn't thought of that. It was a great idea, not such a great film.

Barbara R. · Aug 12, 2013

lolchemist said:
I already do. It's called coffee.

Coffee's mother's milk to me. But I mean, like, coffee on steroids.

Xelebes · Aug 12, 2013

lolchemist said:
I already do. It's called coffee.

Or as Hunter S. Thompson would say, LSD.

The Scip · Aug 12, 2013

Xelebes said:
Or as Hunter S. Thompson would say, LSD.

This is what I have a hard time with in the PED discussion in sports. We have all heard of musicians or writers drinking or using to drugs to enhance their ability to create better art.

Do we enjoy the music or books that they wrote any less because they used LSD or 45 bottles of Jack Daniels to create it? The answer for me is no. Why then do we get up in arms when the same thing happens in sports.

Is not some part of the music industry or the publishing industry competition? There is certainly competition on the bookshelves and advertising on websites. So then wouldn't the people using drugs and alcohol have a possible "advantage" when it comes to these types of things?

To then take it a step further, not all athletes who use PEDs necessarily benefit from them. Look at some of the names on the PED lists; they are not all all-stars. Therefore the PEDs don't help all athletes just like the drugs and alcohol don't help all artists.

Not really sure where I am going with this, but I have been thinking it for a while and figured I'd post it here.

Rant-over.

jjdebenedictis · Aug 12, 2013

Queen of Swords said:
Provided they weren't prohibitively expensive and I wouldn't be in any danger while acquiring them and they weren't physically addictive and they wouldn't need to be administered like either an injection or a suppository... yeah, I'd take them.

...

I'd go as far as a suppository.

But I've got the same concerns about health that others have expressed. Is it going to do bad things to me in the long term? Then no. Is occasional use alright? Then I might try it, but I doubt I'd use it regularly. First, because I'd be worried that I'd come to psychologically rely on it and lose my confidence in my natural abilities. Second, because I write to express myself, and what's the point in expressing a not-myself version of me?

thothguard51 · Aug 12, 2013

I propose right now that all writers should be required to to submit to random drug testing. I mean, its the only way to make sure we all play clean and fair...

thothguard51 · Aug 12, 2013

jjdebenedictis said:
... I'd go as far as a suppository.

More than I needed to know...

William Haskins · Aug 12, 2013

Xelebes said:
Or as Hunter S. Thompson would say, LSD.

or baudelaire (hash) or stephen king / phillip k. dick and robert lewis stevenson (coke/speed) or huxley (mescaline) or hemingway and a million others (booze)

Xelebes · Aug 12, 2013

The Scip said:
Do we enjoy the music or books that they wrote any less because they used LSD or 45 bottles of Jack Daniels to create it? The answer for me is no. Why then do we get up in arms when the same thing happens in sports.

I think it was Medievalist who brought up that many Indo-European cultures have the idiot-poet archetype, that someone who is otherwise deficient in terms of craftsmanship or skill brings forth a surprising ability to conjure things from nothing. This archetype allows the artist to be deficient, excuses their drug abuse and other vagaries, all so that they may work on their art, while denying the same to their hunters, athletes and craftsmen.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 12, 2013

No side effects, perfectly safe, highly effective? Sure, why not?

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 12, 2013

The Scip said:
This is what I have a hard time with in the PED discussion in sports. We have all heard of musicians or writers drinking or using to drugs to enhance their ability to create better art.

Do we enjoy the music or books that they wrote any less because they used LSD or 45 bottles of Jack Daniels to create it? The answer for me is no. Why then do we get up in arms when the same thing happens in sports.

Is not some part of the music industry or the publishing industry competition? There is certainly competition on the bookshelves and advertising on websites. So then wouldn't the people using drugs and alcohol have a possible "advantage" when it comes to these types of things?

To then take it a step further, not all athletes who use PEDs necessarily benefit from them. Look at some of the names on the PED lists; they are not all all-stars. Therefore the PEDs don't help all athletes just like the drugs and alcohol don't help all artists.

Not really sure where I am going with this, but I have been thinking it for a while and figured I'd post it here.

Rant-over.

But it's not direct competition in the way sports is. And so far, we don't have drugs that have the same consequences for artists.

Plus, I have yet to see proof that drugs or alcohol provide the same boost to a writer that steroids provide to sports stars.

Barbara R. · Aug 12, 2013

thothguard51 said:
I propose right now that all writers should be required to to submit to random drug testing. I mean, its the only way to make sure we all play clean and fair...

The one advantage our profession has, and you want to take it away!

shakeysix · Aug 12, 2013

Mine is called sobriety

Shadow_Ferret · Aug 12, 2013

Depends. Would it have side effects and what would they be? Would it give me a larger cranium? "Oh, man, Ferret's doing 'roids. His hat doesn't fit any more."

If the only problem is that they are illegal, it again depends. Do I know a friend who can get them for me like I used to know friends who's sell me a lid back in the day? Or am I going to have to roam the streets, going to crack houses to get it?

I'd have no qualms about taking it if these above problems, side effects and acquisition, were reasonable.

Writers on Steroids?

Old Hand in the Biz

Shooting stars.

adrift

starting over

Mildly Disturbing

Mushroom

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Old Hand in the Biz

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Old Hand in the Biz

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