Writing in "Altered States"

[attatt]

This seemed like a good post to start this topic off. In my younger days I found that writing/playing music/drawing sober did not always produce the same level of creativity. There are places in your brain that are very hard to reach during sobriety whether that be due to inhibitions or some other self imposed limitation.
In my older years (30's ) I have found the exact opposite to be true. I do my best writing completely sober. Maybe I unlocked some part of my brain that stays open now, because I have no shortage of ideas. I also have a greater command of the language and do far better research in a shorter amount of time.
Wondering if anyone else has this experience or is willing to talk about their creative exploits under the influence?

[Jonathan]

"Write drunk, edit sober."

I think I might try giving that little maxim a try more often. Situated in my late 20s, maybe I'm still in that altered-state sweet spot mentioned above. I've rarely tried writing drunk because it never helped me produce more work than when I was sober. But that was back in my MFA poetry days, and getting a poem out was often a horrible slog.

In my new fantasy world as a screenwriter, the intense, word-by-word self-editing process that I developed from those earlier days often seems to restrict the rate at which I can spill words onto the pages of my script.

All writing requires revising, but if you agonize over 100 words for four hours when writing a poem, you're still likely to at least walk away with a completed draft to work with later. Spend those same four hours agonizing over 100 words in a screenplay and the impossibility of the task you've set for yourself is liable to drive you to drink anyway.

So I'm interested in finding ways to shut off that internal censor and worry less about crafting a great first sentence on my first pass through a scene. Gave it a go last night with some early a.m. scotch and had some pretty good results.

Uh oh.

[rcosgrove]

If you write often - as in every day for a couple of hours straight - you'll eventually be able to tap into the creative centres of your brain, regardless of what chemicals are running round your system.

You enter a state similar to high quality athletes or performers hit, when they stop thinking about what they're doing and just do it. For a writer this means you learn to shut off your internal critic and just write.

Drugs or alcohol can help because they stop you thinking about what you're doing. But if you end up relying on them, you've got trouble.

- Richard

--
Richard Cosgrove

w: scripts.richardcosgrove.co.uk
b: blog.richardcosgrove.co.uk/goodbyefilm.richardcosgrove.co.uk
t: rcosgrove/@goodbye

[echenry]

I can't write in "altered states." Sometimes I'll listen to a script in Final Draft and sip a beer, BUT that's as far as I'll go.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

[thiagodaher]

just like e.c. i can't write in "altered states". the reason is simple - i don't drink. i don't have a bias against alcohol or other chemicals, it's just that i really can't drink. i put down a can of beer, i feel stuffed and i can't do a damn thing afterwards. there is a friend of mine saying "well buddy, you'll get used to...". but i don't think so. i guess i'll have to deal with my creations completely sober.

[Jonathan]

Come on, anybody? Anybody with me?

[Jonathan]

New procedure, 1200 a.m. -- 500 a.m.:

Glass of double espresso vodka
Glass of double espresso vodka
Glass of scotch
Glass of scotch
Coffee with shot of double espresso vodka
Coffee with shot of double espresso vodka
Repeat as desired.

Each supplemented with water. Of course.

[altered]

As a previous poster said, "Write drunk, edit sober".

Though I do not need to be in any form of altered state to write, I often find it an intriguing exercise to try some brainstorming while drunk or otherwise. It might be while developing a new concept, developing a character's history or just dealing with a scene. I'll just write out whatever comes, bypassing that pesky spellcheck and just letting it all spill out.

The next morning or a few hours later I got back and sort out what was a doomed train of thought, and what might actually be useful. I've had some great results with this, and some perhaps questionable ones as well...

[doghead]

That post above was by me - didn't realize I had not logged in.

[justhiltz]

Jonathan-when I've got free time and I've got a brainstorm, I like to do the same thing, but as Doghead says when you go back the next day it's a job trying to find the meat in all the stew you created the night before.

Better, as a rule, to just let your passion be the drug.

[echomusic]

I find that when I really get going with writing -- when all of the characters are talking loud enough to hear and the scenes are so vivid I can feel them and the soundtrack in my head is in surround sound -- that's the best altered state I can be in.

However, achieving that state, is another story. And I think that's one of the things that keeps me going. To try and recapture that feeling.

I'm like Malcolm McDowell in that Star Trek flick...I just wanna go back to the space ribbon...

[sameer]

Yeah, I sort of agree with Jonathan here.

"Don't get it right, get it written."

I don't think that there are any qualitative improvements when the mind is in an altered state. maybe there are tough scenes that you have difficulty with while sober and then instead of getting stuck you just get moderately kicked and then get done with it.

But quantitatively it is a safe bet. Maybe, there are tough scenes that you have difficulty writing while sober and then instead of getting stuck you get yourself in an altered state.

But, even then you wouldn't want to do that too often.

[outofcontext]

George Carlin used to say he wrote sober, but always kept a joint around when it came time to edit. Maybe an altered state is a way of getting a second opinion from some one who kind of thinks like you. Not advocating anything, just saying...

[attatt]

Kinda surprised we did not get any "I invented this whole world while I was on acid one day" answers. So far this is a very serious group.
Curious to know if anyone who writes sober gets ideas while wasted. Do you just happen to know how to draw the line between work and play?

[Jonathan]

I'm doing it again. Altering my state in order to write. And it's working. At risk of becoming the resident lush of this message board, this is something I've resisted trying for years. Only recently did I become curious about its potential benefits for my writing. And really, that's what we're most concerned with, right? I dare someone to mention health...

Anyway, I'm not advocating self-destruction. Only suggesting that experimenting can be worthwhile. If you have a wife and children, you're probably wise to disregard. If you're unburdened and free to give it ago, you might like the feeling now and then.

I sound coherent enough here, no?