Altered States

[jesseszen]

Hello Fellow Writers-

Please forgive if this topic has been discussed recently or mods feel free to chasten if this subject is in poor taste or should be age restricted, but - my question is: Has anyone else noticed that a state of inebriation is conducive to better and more prolific fiction writing? Let me explain why I ask.

A couple of years back I experienced a sort of 'golden age' of personal writing. During that time I was drinking. This was not a fall down drunk type of thing but a bottle of champagne - which is roughly 2 large glasses - 2 or 3 times a week. My output was phenomenal and I was pleased with the quality of my efforts as well.

Fast forward to the present which is a time when I am more serious about my health and I no longer drink. Though I still have many ideas I feel are worthwhile and projects left to finish I can't seem to recreate that wonderful zone I'd gotten into when I was writing well and often. I really don't want to re-introduce less healthy habits so I'd appreciate if anyone else who may have experienced this would communicate their solutions.

Thanks so much for any information.

Ki

Comments

[inkdust]

I always feel like a weirdo when it comes to writing and drinking because it seems like such a common thing to write better when a little drunk, but whenever I drink anything I get too tired and lazy to focus on writing at all. I'll just sit and stare and think and not create anything with it.

I'd venture a guess that it was about creating a state of mind where you felt relaxed and able to concentrate? My tactic would be to try out a bunch of different changes to your environment - time of day, light level, background noise, phone silent/in another room/off, different snack foods or non-alcoholic beverages, different chairs or sitting on the floor. It sounds a little basic and you may have already tried a number of those things but if it's about creating a sense of a zone, I would keep trying. Wish I had more to offer :\