Writer's drink of choice

[AngryPI]

Morning!

Thought I'd put my foot in the door a little bit and get to know a few of my fellow writer's habits.

With that said:

"What is everyone's drink of choice?
What stirs your writing senses--stimulates the nerve-endings in your fingers and drives your writing?
Flipping it around--what are the drinks that shuts your writing juices down?
Are there well-prepared routines that have worked wonders?"

I know I'll get a whipping, but I'm quite partial to carbonated drinks that give me a zing.​

 

[Paul Whybrow]

There are plenty of tales about alcoholic authors, which makes me glad that I gave up booze in 1996. I drank like a whale (forget wimpy fish!) for 27 years, and I'm not saying that in a boastful way, for I detested my addiction and was bored by it. Alcohol is a depressant, which didn't help my writing. Having a minor stroke a week before Christmas 1995 was really hitting the oft-quoted 'rock bottom'. I saw four men die around me in the intensive care ward, in the first hour after I was admitted—all alcoholics. Seven months later I took my last drink of alcohol, after dramatically tapering off my consumption without medical supervision (twit!).

I've never been tempted to fall off the wagon, being a stubborn bastard. Had I continued drinking, I have no doubt that I'd have died by the time I was 50.

These days, I drink black tea, green tea, herbal tea and percolated coffee + water off a borehole. After the age of 60, I became aware that my prostate was hardening into a marble, meaning repeated nocturnal trips to the loo, which was annoying. A bit of research showed that the caffeine in tea and coffee typically has a diuretic effect for six hours, but for some weirdos (me ) it lasts for twelve hours. I tried stopping my consumption of tea and coffee by noon, and, sure enough, my bladder has stopped nagging me to get up in the night.

Being clean and sober is a damned sight weirder than being permanently sozzled, but it's not without its problems.

 

[AngryPI]

There are plenty of tales aboutalcoholic authors, which makes me glad that I gave up booze in 1996. I drank like a whale (forget wimpy fish!) for 27 years, and I'm not saying that in a boastful way, for I detested my addiction and was bored by it. Alcohol is a depressant, which didn't help my writing. Having a minor stroke a week before Christmas 1995 was really hitting the oft-quoted 'rock bottom'. I saw four men die around me in the intensive care ward, in the first hour after I was admitted—all alcoholics. Seven months later I took my last drink of alcohol, after dramatically tapering off my consumption without medical supervision (twit!).

I've never been tempted to fall off the wagon, being a stubborn bastard. Had I continued drinking, I have no doubt that I'd have died by the time I was 50.

These days, I drink black tea, green tea, herbal tea and percolated coffee + water off a borehole. After the age of 60, I became aware that my prostate was hardening into a marble, meaning repeated nocturnal trips to the loo, which was annoying. A bit of research showed that the caffeine in tea and coffee typically has a diuretic effect for six hours, but for some weirdos (me ) it lasts for twelve hours. I tried stopping my consumption of tea and coffee by noon, and, sure enough, my bladder has stopped nagging me to get up in the night.

Being clean and sober is a damned sight weirder than being permanently sozzled, but it's not without its problems.

I don't really know what I expected from joining this community, but I am overwhelmed with the honesty and first-hand account of your struggles. All I can say is thank you for sharing, thank you for giving me insight and congratulations on beating the crap out of it!

 

[Barbara]

Well, firstly, Angry Pl, one thing I've realised: If I have wine (2 glasses is my max before I'm under the table), and then write straight after (which I've never done under the table, yet), I end up deleting everything I wrote while I was on the 'rosso'. Basically, I can't drink and write, and since I do so much writing, wine has become the occasional sin on an occasional weekend. In between I stick to H2O. Whether or not I can actually write when I'm high on water is another thing.

And secondly, @Paul Whybrow. Wow. I really admire your turn around. My biggest respects to you. What a journey! Could there be a book in that? I would most certainly read that.

 

[AgentPete]

I’ll second that to Paul.

OK, I'll dive in…

Virgin Mary. Industrial explosive grade (i.e. bloody spicy). Has the great advantage of looking just like a Bloody Mary, no-one can tell if you’re drinking or not.

Dry Martini at the American bar of the Savoy, using their own house gin. With a twist. First sip is amazing, goes downhill from there.

Gibson. No-one in London can make it properly, yet every bar in NY can do it perfectly… never understood why…

 

[Carol Rose]

I drink water all day long (nasty history of kidney stones!) and I drink coffee in the morning. STRONG coffee. I have a glass of wine or a margarita maybe once a month. LOL! My life is SO exciting. But write after drinking alcohol? Not a chance. I'd end up having to seriously edit anything I wrote anyway.

 

[OperaDivaAlix]

Bottles of smart water by the gallon everyday and at the gym. Dr.Stuarts herbal teas - Skin Purity, Tranquility and Liver Detox. Twinnings Tea's from Strong Breakfast to Earl Grey etc on my writing days (NO ALCOHOL) BUT CAFFEINE LOL FOR THOSE LATE NIGHTS.

Personally - I'm a cocktail girl both alcoholic and non-alcoholic like Bloody Mary, but I do like bubbles - Prosecco and Champagne.

Also drinking is more fun when games are included such as 'Have I Ever ...' - then the shots start and everything goes downhill from there ...

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Coffee. Strong. Two cups, before 10 am, then water. If it's cold in the office, I'll have a cup of tea later in the day. I can't drink alcohol and write, though every once in a great while, I'll write my daily blog with a beer in hand (on those hot summer Sundays when beer-o'clock comes around 3.30 pm). I try to finish the blog before the beer, because once the beer is gone, writing is unproductive.

 

[MaryA]

Tea. English breakfast tea (black or with a little milk), oolong tea, mint tea with fresh mint from the garden, green tea, a killer chai from Mombasa, or just Five Roses tea bags in boiling water. Every now and again I take rooibos tea black, honeybush tea, a mug of steeped lemon verbena leaves. I brew pots of tea fresh several times while I'm working, which gives me a chance to get up from the desk and walk around, rest eyes and back, etc. Alcohol and writing don't mix and strong coffee makes me jittery.

If I'm fluey, I make hot ginger tea with grated ginger and boiling water,a little honey or agave nectar. Or just sip hot water with a slice of lemon.

 

[Amber]

Morning!​

​

Thought I'd put my foot in the door a little bit and get to know a few of my fellow writer's habits.​

​

With that said:​

​

"What is everyone's drink of choice?​

What stirs your writing senses--stimulates the nerve-endings in your fingers and drives your writing?​

Flipping it around--what are the drinks that shuts your writing juices down?​

Are there well-prepared routines that have worked wonders?"​

​

I know I'll get a whipping, but I'm quite partial to carbonated drinks that give me a zing.​

You're very funny. I like funny.

I don't do any of this. I don't have a favorite drink or a routine. I don't even have a favorite place to write or a favorite computer. Sometimes I write on my iPad but I'll write on a Mac or a Windows PC.

I sometimes go to workshops or conferences where they have writing exercises. Then I can't write. Also, not a fan of writing in coffee shops or at write-ins. But as long as I'm at home, I'm good.

 

[Marc Joan]

Tea. Very strong, lots of milk, no sugar. Never alcohol.

 

[Matnov]

During my decades long career as a writer I drank everything, with a multi-course menu a daily occurrence. Cheeky pop-star sized Gin and tonics as a starter, a main course of beer and wine, a desert course of good old Irish sipping whiskey and always a nice bottle of Port as the metaphorical cheese board. Hemingway was my role model and I genuinely believed that it was impossible to be a writer of note without worshiping at the feet of Bacchus.

And I barely wrote a thing.

Now that I am not a writer but merely a bod who writes for fun, it is strictly a nice cup of tea if in doors, a variant of coffee if out on the cobbles or perhaps a diet fizzy pop if I am in hotter climes. And I have written more in my almost 6 years of sobriety by a factor of 10 than I ever did before that.

 

[Lawrence]

My wife works for Starbucks, but I don't like coffee so she brings me extra strong refreshers. Refreshers are like caffeinated punch.

Using the soda maker I got for Christmas, I make overly cabonated water and then mix it with the refresher to get a perfectly fizzy, sweet, caffeinated beverage. And sometimes that's my breakfast.

I find I write better on an empty, but not starving stomach.

If I don't have a refresher on hand, Bai makes some lovely little caffeinated carbonated beverages that taste great. They come in fruit flavors or cola, ginger ale and cream soda.

 

[Sea-shore]

I was going to start the post: Sorry, I must be the most boring person when it comes to drinks… but actually, I'm not sorry. I drink plain, warm water. That's it.

I used to go along with the main school of thought that writers needing caffeine to write. Then I realised, though some may, I didn't. I only remind myself to drink to ward off headaches that come from staring at the screen for hours at a time. I also prefer to work in complete silence, though background noise is fine as long as I'm not editing.

As for alcohol, back in my Uni days when I was trying to fit in and impress my peers by drinking Budweiser (I was going for the laidback girl-type ), I got a bizarre allergic reaction. My entire body turned scarlet with hives - except for my face, neck and hands. It was really weird, like I was wearing a bright red body suit over my skin. You couldn't tell anything was wrong unless I pulled up my sleeves or unbuttoned my top. And it lasted for days! Put me off alcohol completely. My husband tries to tempt me with his collection of red wine but …no. I'll stick with boring warm water, thanks.

 

[Lady M]

Caffeine, wine mixed with chocolate!