Read Lovely Books
It’s not a lack of talent that’s stopping you from getting the results you want,
I take this topic very seriously but I’m going to write about it facetiously because nobody
However, I live in Wisconsin which, in any given year, is home to 7 or 8 of the top 10
What’s considered social drinking in Wisconsin is problematic alcoholism almost everywhere else
In the last few yeas, I’ve discovered that the less I drink, the easier the words
It takes a huge amount of energy to take on the enormous task of writing as a
When you turn that energy to self-destruction, the consequences can be devastating
In writing, the level of competition is so high, that you can’t afford to dull your
But it’s a little-known fact that we can out-drink anyone in the nation and we can
In truth, the only real competition comes from the Russians (because they, too, know what -60 feels
Alaska? Ha! Everybody lives on the coast and by Wisconsin standards that’s borderline tropical
The folks down in Texas like to brag about their tolerances, but if a guy from Texas
My teachers gave lip service to the idea that students shouldn’t drink, but they also turned
There was one kid who came to school obviously drunk almost every single day
It’s probably fair to estimate that about half of the members of my graduating class were
Looking back, I feel a lot of my classmates embraced the idea that they were destined for
“Well, I don’t come to school drunk every day for one thing
For the most part, I avoided drinking throughout high school and college
I had a few beers at a few parties, but until I turned 25, I could count the
My drinking days really happened in South America and I don’t regret them at all
“What’s going on here? Is that woman really that into me? Is this dangerous? Am I
You should spend some time there, that’s where the magic happens
However, it’s important to remember that once you’ve been there, you can return whenever you
Writers can become too obsessed with their efforts to recreate success down to the most minute detail
They think, “Well, this author was an alcoholic, and he’s a genius, therefore I have to
They sit in rooms with images and note cards stuck into the wall with push pins connected
Don’t fabricate quotes and attribute them to famous writers
Writers love to cite Ernest Hemingway’s famous advice, “write drunk, edit sober
Here’s a new quote for you, “Write sober, edit sober, drinking has nothing to do with
Alcohol is useful for loosening up to the point where you can have a memorable experience
Once you have that experience, you can spend the rest of your life reflecting on what that
Many writers make the mistake of thinking that once they’ve written about something they’ve exhausted
Also, I think it’s fair to say that neither work will necessarily be “better” than the
Good writing is the intersection of the perfect text for the perfect person at the perfect time
You really don’t have to worry about running out of things to write about
You’re already a different person now than you were when you read the preceding sentence
In my thirties, I’d often have a drink before I went to bed
Every now and then I’d lament the fact that I missed out on those moments when
But I justified it by thinking, “I think too much as it is, everybody tells me that
This dulling is good, it gives my brain a break and I’ll be better to go
You wander off to eat, and maybe, if you’re lucky, you get around to writing something
There’s an annual cross-country ski race I do which has saved my life in a number
The race scares me to the point that it broke through all my mental barriers and gave
Writers are very good at justifying self-destructive behavior
There are a lot of calories in alcohol, the orange juice doesn’t help either
When I didn’t drink, I’d shuffle off to bed and enjoy the fireworks of mental
Those fireworks aren’t “wearing you out,” in fact, that’s how your brain “winds down
I’d get up at six, go to my computer, and start to write without delay
There was no need for coffee, there was no procrastination, and this all came as a result
Perhaps the hardest thing in life is learning how to break an unhealthy routine
When you go out to eat and the waitress says, “What would you like to drink?” it’
” You get so into the habit of ordering alcohol that you do it without even thinking
I’m saying that you should be deliberate about when you drink
When I’m out at a social event, it’s more fun to talk to people while
However, I’ve found that I am much more satisfied professionally if I put together blocks of
Writers laugh about procrastination, they talk about “writer’s block,” and they discuss the need for coffee
Today, when I hear these terms, I wonder if they are justifications for people who are drinking
Finally, it’s how we numb ourselves when things don’t work out the way we dreamed
I’m just suggesting that the next time you’re out to eat, try ordering a soda
You’ll save money on that bill, and you might find that all of a sudden you’