Open Thread: Oracle Hotline

[mithen]

Do you find alcohol or other drugs enhance your creativity/writing ability, or detract from it? Why or why not?

I'll be honest here, I've never written anything when less than sober, mostly because I'm very rarely less than sober. Drug and alcohol use have always been a pretty major squick of mine, to the point where recently I've actually deliberately practiced drinking alcohol in relaxed, non-stressful situations in order to get past my irrational reaction to it. But drinking has always increased my self-consciousness really painfully (isn't it supposed to do the opposite?) and so I can't imagine writing when tipsy, I think I'd just start second-guessing everything. Bit of a TMI there, but I found the question interesting because it's a commonplace that many writers drink while writing. How does it work for you?

As for writing, I'm just reaching the climax of one story and doing a lot of middle-work in others. I want to write something short! But lately the ideas that inspire me are ones I want to dig into and take my time with, and I'm not going to argue with my inspiration...

Comments

[me_ya_ri]

I wouldn't know because I don't drink or use drugs for anything other than illness or injury. I feel no guilt about it whatsoever. It's my choice and it's nobody's business one way or the other. *shrug*

In the same vein, though, when I'm not clear-headed (say getting sick or very tired or just stayed up too long so I'm not quite myself the next day) I find it much harder to produce anything that I consider worthwhile. The actual words are decent enough but I'm much, much harder on my writing when I'm not feeling good. Inspires me to take care of myself.

Yay for reaching the climax! That's always fun to write. I switched off of editing the Worldbuilding Wednesday post because a so-called short story seized my brain. I thought when I started that it'd be 3000-5000 words. Nope, it's already topped 11K and I've got one chapter left on it. I simply cannot write short. I just can't. *wry laugh*

Go with your inspiration! Sometimes it's just not worth it to battle it. ;)

[mithen]

In the same vein, though, when I'm not clear-headed (say getting sick or very tired or just stayed up too long so I'm not quite myself the next day) I find it much harder to produce anything that I consider worthwhile. The actual words are decent enough but I'm much, much harder on my writing when I'm not feeling good.

Exactly. I can still write, but it's a LOT harder and it never feels good at all. I know I could keep forcing it if I had to, but generally I would rather not.

What IS it about things becoming long? I worry that I pad too much, but on the other hand I know I've seen writers who cut things down too much and don't write out the interesting parts. There was a story I read once that started--not exactly this, but not far off--"It had been a tumultuous year, full of stress and conflict. But now that it was over and Jason was their legal son at last, Clark and Bruce could sit down and cuddle." Cuddling commenced. :) And at a certain level--sure, whatever you want to write! But I feel like I'm missing out on the actual story...

[prince0froses]

Caffeine. It might just be the placebo effect in action, but I feel like I write better while having a strong cup of black tea. Like I focus better. I have never tried writing with anything else in my system, nor would I want to. I have no desire to try anything other than alcohol, and I pretty much only drink on holidays.

And on the subject, one of the (many) reasons I left psychiatric medication behind is that I found that I personally couldn't write properly while on it. The big lapse period in my life where I wrote Almost Nothing overlapped almost exactly with the period when I was on such meds.

I had to step back from writing for a bit this week because of RL stuff - and because the scene I'm working on required me to unravel some of my own feelings. But I think I'm finally past all that (for now) so today I'll be sitting down to a long writing session.

[mithen]

It might just be the placebo effect in action, but I feel like I write better while having a strong cup of black tea.

Tea has a lot of symbolic power for me. It's Adult and Serious and A Bit Cultured, so I do like to have a cup when I'm writing. :)

And on the subject, one of the (many) reasons I left psychiatric medication behind is that I found that I personally couldn't write properly while on it. The big lapse period in my life where I wrote Almost Nothing overlapped almost exactly with the period when I was on such meds.

That's the kind of tradeoff that's just agonizing. I've wondered if I would be on meds for social anxiety if I lived in the States (a near-inability to shop anywhere the staff might speak to you becomes annoying), but the risk of losing inner inspiration is just terrifying.

I hope you had a lovely long writing session! I got some good work done on all three major stories today, so I am in a cheerful mood right now. :) Tomorrow all shall be reset as we enter the work week once more...