In the past, and maybe even still today, there have been authors who find their inspiration only with the assistance of an alcoholic beverage. This has led to many discussions, among Writers, about how the use of alcohol may or may not help in the writing process.

It doesn’t work

Now, I won’t discredit the famous authors who made a living by writing their drunken thoughts. However, there are a lot of famous authors who didn’t drink to create their stories. Being an author does not automatically mean you’re a drunk. Also, being a drunk does not necessarily make you an author.

Alcohol should never be used as a tool for creativity. Alcohol shouldn’t really be used for anything other than a disinfectant. Even I understand, though, the feeling of joy and euphoria one gets when they drink. Some alcohol even tastes good. (My favorite drink would be Skittles Vodka, yum) Still, though, depending on mind-altering substances like alcohol can have a negative impact on your mental and physical health.

Alcohol addiction is a real thing, and if you’re planning to write and publish a book you probably want to try to stay sober as much as possible.

Writing while drunk

Writing while drunk, from my personal experience, is extremely difficult. We all know not to text and drink because the texts become unreadable to others, even when the sender thinks they’re perfect.

So, if we take that and magnify it by a billion we get a complete book of gibberish. Arguably, though, most first drafts are technically gibberish anyways, but they still need to be at least somewhat readable.

When I drink, my vision gets blurry. This is common when intoxicated, so many writers would be unable to complete more than a sentence while under the influence.

Unfortunately, the only way I could see someone writing an entire novel while drunk would be if they were constantly drunk. It would have to be a normal thing for them, which obviously isn’t good at all.

So, the point is that writing while drunk may not be a very good idea for just anyone. If you do happen to get a genius idea while you’re intoxicated you should definitely write it down, but save the actual story development for later, when you’re sober and can fully invest yourself.

I, in no way, recommend that you attempt to liven up your story by drinking beforehand. Even if it works for you, it is still a bad decision because there are many negative repercussions from ingesting alcohol too much at a time, or too often.

If you do have a problem with alcohol I urge you to contact the helpline, don’t settle for anything less than your best.
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