beer and writing

[kayeraven]

Way to go!, and what an inspirational story to me personally. I'm 57, have quit cigarettes four times - - once for almost four years - - but always pick them back up again (started smoking again two weeks ago after six months quit, AAUGH). I've struggled with depression all my life and obesity since my son was born 20 years ago. Perhaps it isn't too late to teach an old dog new tricks. LOVED your story, and bouquets to you!!! Maybe I should get off my donkey and start walking too, huh?

Kaye

[misterwoe]

I am a struggling novelist, and I like to drink (or smoke) when I can. But mixing the two is unprofessional in my opinion. It's no different than drinking on the job.

Writing a novel is a lot of work. And it's a lot of words. It requires talent, discipline and luck to succeed in this business, and I don't see how these three things could--through all of the chaos--come together if I were to combine my taste for alcohol with my effort to publish that first novel.

If writing is just a hobby for you, and not the sun burning in your stomach, then it doesn't make a difference. But if this is your passion why try to subdue it with alcohol?

Stop teetering on a fence of uncertainty and do what you know is right.

[DwayneHoover]

Do what you have to to be honest. That is the hardest part. Sometimes we have to pry bar our brains open to get past the filters we build up. So do what you must. I do. It works for me, what works for me.

[Paul Haney]

Sometimes I like to write sober, and then have a few before I come back to revise. Catching a buzz puts me in a different mindset from the one I was in while composing and allows me to see the work through new eyes. There is a danger, however, that one can get too buzzed up and prevent themselves from being able to work. You've got to experiment. But I agree with those who said here that drinking and drugging can't deliver your talent. The talent's there--the drinking and drugging are part of you, not your work. And improving your life can never hurt your writing.

[steelhorseclub]

In recent years I have cut down my drinking, "only during special occasions". Since I don't drink that often, I really enjoy a cold one after finishing a writing project. I agree with Mephisto that drinking while writing would just feel weird.

[Gerald]

I think alcohol helps people overcome certain inhibitions. Like say someone is really critical of what they write, the alcohol may help them to be less so.
I don't know if it stimulates greater creativity though. Creativity seems something that comes and goes: sometimes you're full of great ideas and at other times you feel like an empty vessel. It's basically a mystery what it is really, I think no-one really knows.

[Pucker]

I think alcohol helps people overcome certain inhibitions. Like say someone is really critical of what they write, the alcohol may help them to be less so.
I don't know if it stimulates greater creativity though. Creativity seems something that comes and goes: sometimes you're full of great ideas and at other times you feel like an empty vessel. It's basically a mystery what it is really, I think no-one really knows.

I would certainly agree with this. In my wild, misspent youth I did virtually everything drunk, and while I could certainly be prolific at the keyboard while imbibing, I often found that much of what I produced in that state would not stand up to sober scrutiny. The flipside, of course, is that your mind may travel in odd, unexplored directions while using . . . sometimes useful directions that a sober mind would likely eschew, and that can be useful in expanding your perspective. More often than not, what I would find is that pieces I perceived as brilliant the night before would turn out to be jabberwocky in the cold light of day. Simply put, it's not a practice I would reccomend. Booze has a funny way of convincing people to believe things that aren't true.

[am78]

Believe it or not, there are some people who do their best work while on drugs or alchohol. I read somewhere Kurt Cobain seemed more creative during these periods, and I firmly believe the drugs made Jim Morrison more insightful in his poetry/music.

I don't believe drugs/alchohol will give you instant talent, but I do think they can inhance talent in some people.

When I was in my late teens/early twenties I actually bought into the ideal of the artist who drinks and becomes more creative through drink/drugs. It wasn't the only reason I wanted to drink (mostly winecoolers. I couldn't stand the taste of beer). I had other problems.

I didn't do much writing while drinking. I just sat around, winecooler in hand, crying about anything.


I think there are some people who sacrifice themselves for their art through drugs/alchohol (Jim Morrison is an example). Personally, I'm not willing to be one.