Created by Australian writing blog, The Expert Editor, “The Science Behind Writing Drunk and Editing Sober” reveals that Hemingway was definitely on to something. Using a variety of studies, “The Science Behind” demonstrates that at a fairly low threshold of alcohol, the brain actually is stimulated in creative ways the sober brain might not be. The part Hemingway got wrong, however, is that at the point of legit drunkenness the quality of one’s writing goes south, pronto. The author of For Whom the Bell Tolls may have built up an elephantine tolerance for alcohol, to the point where he could drink a fifth of whiskey and still crank out prose that would be studied decades later, but that doesn’t mean you can too, Guy Who Wants To Write a Roman a Clef About Working at Gimlet.

Have a further look at the infographic below to see how Hemingway’s idea tracks.

[via Visual.ly]


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