I was convinced 'write drunk, edit sober' was terrible advice until I tried it literally once

For a prompt about a character making a bad decision, I wrote three pages after a single glass of wine, and the messy, emotional draft had a raw honesty my usual careful prose lacked. Editing it the next morning, I kept that emotional core but fixed the sloppy sentences, creating a better piece than I ever managed while completely sober. Has anyone else found a specific, unconventional method that actually unlocked a story for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_claire1d ago

Have you ever tried writing in a totally different place than usual? I once got stuck on a scene for days, then wrote the whole thing on my phone while waiting at the car wash. The weird noise and smell of soap, plus not being at my desk, somehow made the dialogue come out way more natural.

the_lisa1d ago

My friend wrote his whole final chapter on a bus. Said the bumps and weird stops made the action scenes feel more real. He was onto something.

lee8471d ago

Forget the location, it's the deadline that does it. Your friend's bus had a final stop, my car wash line had a timer. That forced focus cuts out all the second guessing and just makes you write to finish.