Write Drunk, Edit Sober
Ernest Hemingway's old adage
“I’m not in control of my muse. My muse does all the work.”- Ray Bradbury
All this about “the muse.” The muse this, the muse that. “The muse comes and finds me.”…blah blah blah…so dramatic.
Ernest Hemingway once said (or didn’t say), “Write drunk, edit sober.”
I laughed the first time I heard this. Not because it was so ridiculous, but because it was so true. No one can deny that alcohol gets your creative juices flowing. Sitting down to write with a beer or bourbon is something I look forward to, many famous authors feel the same way. Alcohol opens up your mind in a way that stone-cold sobriety does not. I make fun of “the muse.” I make fun of its overuse as a writing term. I imagine some dramatic writer calling for an imaginary fairy to sit on his/her shoulder. Maybe “the muse” would be a great name for a bottle of liquor. Drink “the muse” and get lost in writing.
The Zone
There’s nothing quite like “getting in the zone.” You hear athletes talk about it during a stretch of peak performance. You hear musicians talk about it when they are in “album mode.”
You hear writers talk about it when their creative juices are flowing.
How do you get in the zone and avoid writer’s block? Now, to be clear, I’m not promoting a Hunter S. Thompson-esque, drug-induced routine. A combination of Chivas Regal, cigarettes, cocaine, and marijuana, is not necessary for writing success. But, sometimes we need a little help thinking outside the box.
“I drink to make other people more interesting.”- Ernest Hemingway
A Drink with Papa Himself
Ernest Hemingway is one of the greatest writers of all time. He could also down some booze. It wasn’t uncommon for him to walk into the famed El Floridita bar in Cuba and down 7 straight daiquiris. He drank his guests under the table. But would Hemingway be the same writer without the drink? Would Stephen King’s horror novels be the same without the drugs?
When your creative juices are flowing, it’s time to write. It’s time to put pen to paper. Let it flow and let it go. When I say let it go, I mean write uncaged. No-holds-barred. This is the essence of “write drunk, edit sober.”
Edit Sober
Have you ever had an amazing idea?
Have you ever had an amazing idea while drunk?
I once got hammered drunk and (thought) I came up with the greatest idea for a children’s book ever. I even texted myself my great idea so I wouldn’t drunkenly forget. I thought I was a genius. Even if I blacked out, I would wake up in the morning, read my text to myself, and understand what I once knew. I created the perfect character that all children would love. I texted myself the name of this brilliant character and went to bed.
I woke up in the morning with my head pounding and an unread text from myself…
“Mr. Snuffigans”
What in the happy f***?!
What’s my point, you ask?
- Write lubricated, not hammered
- Not everything you think while drunk is amazing
This is why you “edit sober.”