“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” – Ray Bradbury
Does this still apply? Is it irrelevant in the age of the machine, or more important than ever?
7 thoughts on “Reader Friday: Drunk on Writing”
I don’t know about the ‘drunk’ part, but you can’t help but process life in some way as you write. For instance the theme of “justice” comes up a lot in writing. It may have nothing to do with the reality around you but in your story world, you want to see someone come to justice. Or maybe we’ve all had painful relationships at some point, but writing about relationships that win in the end can counter that.
I know for myself, observing the near-worship of technology that is taking place right now–and sabotaging customer service & human interaction–makes me want to write historical more than ever in a time where computers etc didn’t exist. That’s a great antidote to reality! 😎
I’m not as concerned with technology as I am with humanity–or the lack of it I see when I look at the news, which I’ve been trying to avoid as much as possible.
Writing lets me be in control and create my own justice for my characters.
Reading is my escape. I liked Will Graham’s (of blessed memory)) books. The good guy won. The bad guy might be dead in the end. All was right with the world.
Like Terry, I rarely watch the news. Writing lets me create my own world where I can somewhat control what happens…when my characters cooperate. Reading always gave me an escape from reality and now writing does the same thing.
For me, being drunk on writing is more important now than ever. I believe Bradley meant more than simply “the news,” but rather than vicissitudes of life and reality in general. Moreover, being “drunk on writing” allows you to react to and process that reality in your writing and create your ow fictive dreams.
I don’t mind dealing with reality, but it’s getting harder and harder to determine what’s actually real. On the other hand, closing my office door and spending time with characters in a book—I wouldn’t call that being drunk. I’d say it’s being captivated.
I don’t know about the ‘drunk’ part, but you can’t help but process life in some way as you write. For instance the theme of “justice” comes up a lot in writing. It may have nothing to do with the reality around you but in your story world, you want to see someone come to justice. Or maybe we’ve all had painful relationships at some point, but writing about relationships that win in the end can counter that.
I know for myself, observing the near-worship of technology that is taking place right now–and sabotaging customer service & human interaction–makes me want to write historical more than ever in a time where computers etc didn’t exist. That’s a great antidote to reality! 😎
I’m not as concerned with technology as I am with humanity–or the lack of it I see when I look at the news, which I’ve been trying to avoid as much as possible.
Writing lets me be in control and create my own justice for my characters.
Reading is my escape. I liked Will Graham’s (of blessed memory)) books. The good guy won. The bad guy might be dead in the end. All was right with the world.
Like Terry, I rarely watch the news. Writing lets me create my own world where I can somewhat control what happens…when my characters cooperate. Reading always gave me an escape from reality and now writing does the same thing.
For me, writing is creating with God, and that’s always a good thing.
For me, being drunk on writing is more important now than ever. I believe Bradley meant more than simply “the news,” but rather than vicissitudes of life and reality in general. Moreover, being “drunk on writing” allows you to react to and process that reality in your writing and create your ow fictive dreams.
I don’t mind dealing with reality, but it’s getting harder and harder to determine what’s actually real. On the other hand, closing my office door and spending time with characters in a book—I wouldn’t call that being drunk. I’d say it’s being captivated.