“Write drunk, edit sober.” Some say it was Hemingway who said it, some say Peter deVries. Whoever. More than this quote has made me wish I could handle being an alcoholic for the sake of my writing. When you consider how much genius has come out of known drug abusers (see any number of rock stars), you have to wonder if there’s anything to it. I mean, seriously, so much comes to mind when you’ve had a few that appears, at least in that moment, to be the most brilliant idea that anyone ever has ever come up with, that how can you possibly be wrong? What can you possibly say that’s not completely off-the-wall enlightening to the whole of mankind? Poetry flows, prose splats onto the page like the very sunshine that beams through your window – or would if it wasn’t actually the middle of the night while everyone else is sleeping, like you should be…
But then.
You wake up in the morning and read that is which is splatted unceremoniously upon the page and you think… I need to be sober to edit this crap.
Ah, it’s an artist’s life.
Just Jot It January – it’s the bomb! Join in today! https://lindaghill.com/2015/01/01/just-jot-it-january-pingback-post-and-rules/
January 22, 2015 at 11:02 am
Great post, Linda! I had me smile with that quote…it should be at each button on social networks like Facebeook and Twitter for example…or a pop up “Are you drunk or high on something?” then pop up number 2 “are you sure you want to submit NOW?”
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January 22, 2015 at 11:01 am
(*chuckles*)
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January 22, 2015 at 8:09 am
LOVE this!
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January 22, 2015 at 8:09 am
Definitely not going down that road Linda. 🙂
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January 22, 2015 at 12:06 am
I have always loved this saying, although not all rules apply in all situations , perhaps.
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January 21, 2015 at 8:37 pm
Yes, i have had similar experiences Linda. I will add this – don’t ever try to do any kind of quantitative work while drunk. Qualitative is fine and in fact more than fine. Provided it is scoped out with a sober eye before it goes any where.
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January 21, 2015 at 9:12 pm
That there’s the key… it’s all in the editing! Don’t drive drunk – don’t blog drunk! 😉
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January 21, 2015 at 8:14 pm
I feared that I was an alcoholic when I drank and wrote. Now, I am dry, and so is my motivation to TRULY write what is in my heart….
Have you ever felt this way when writing, or just wanting to express to the keyboard what your heart is hurting from?
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January 21, 2015 at 8:21 pm
Kind of. I can write what’s in my heart any time, but the motivation is stronger when there’s alcohol in my system. I just do it better when I’m sober. In that way, it’s better to stay dry.
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January 21, 2015 at 8:43 pm
Thank you for your reply.
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January 21, 2015 at 9:06 pm
🙂
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January 21, 2015 at 8:14 pm
So true! Im such an editing queen. Drunk or sober. Great post!
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January 21, 2015 at 8:17 pm
Haha! Yeah, I’ve tried editing drunk… Which may be why I’m on the 6th edit of my novel. hehehe
Thanks! We should get together. 😀
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January 21, 2015 at 8:22 pm
I agree! 🙂
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January 21, 2015 at 8:25 pm
😀
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January 21, 2015 at 7:50 pm
Haha, nice and so true. 😊
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January 21, 2015 at 7:56 pm
🙂 Thanks!
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January 21, 2015 at 7:05 pm
I think being sober does help both processes, though Coleridge was thought to be a high as a kite when he wrote Kubla Khan, then again any reading reading of it seems to verify that theory. So good luck with your editing.
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January 21, 2015 at 7:08 pm
Ha! Yeah, I need all the luck I can get.
I haven’t read Kubla Khan, but from what I’ve heard, it does seem to be a bit … out there.
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