Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

Writing Drunk Is Probably A Bad Idea?

Writing Drunk Is Probably A Bad Idea?

Writing drunk is – uh – probably ill-advised, to say the least.

But how many old stories are there of some fantastic writer drinking too much?

Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Truman Capote, the list goes on.

At the very least, a writer should get to enjoy the process of it all.

Or, endure the process of it all – along with the rest of their struggling peers.

And what good is living a life if you are too blackout drunk to enjoy it anyway?

At the end of my adventures I was drinking a case of sixteen-ounce tallboys a night, and there’s one novel, Cujo, that I barely remember writing at all. I don’t say that with pride or shame, only with a vague sense of sorrow and loss. I like that book. I wish I could remember enjoying the good parts as I put them down on the page.

-Stephen King, On Writing

Win Or Lose, Drink Champagne?

Win Or Lose, Drink Champagne?

You typically drink champagne in celebration.

Right?

I mean, what’s that line from Mr. And Mrs. Smith (2005)?

“Champagne’s for celebrating. I’ll have a martini.”

For others though, maybe they just want to celebrate.

Not celebrate the good – celebrate life – good or bad.

I can just see Mike Ditka, insisting on cracking open a bottle of champagne at 1:00 on a Friday afternoon.

“On Fridays, after all the practices were done and the plan had been set, Ditka would sit in here and open a bottle of champagne,” McCaskey told me. “He did it when the team was at its best and did it when the team was struggling. It was what he believed: it’s better to win than to lose, but win or lose you should drink champagne.”

-Rich Cohen, Monsters

Sterling Terrell