Romantic Alcoholism is not like regular alcoholism*, and is particular to artists across the board. It isn't an addiction to alcohol, per se; it is more an addiction to the idea of alcoholism. The writer-artist uses this ideation as an intrinsic part of his persona and, more importantly, his process when writing.

 

Below are examples from a former patient who suffered from romantic alcoholism. First we'll see a paragraph written while the patient was quite intoxicated. The second, revised paragraph, was written when she only had a mild buzz going (one glass of Shiraz [Australia, 1992] with a shot [Slippery Nipple] chaser).

 

"She wet her pants with excitement, but only in the sense of that it was a couple of drops of urine as opposed to the really soaking of her slacks and unmentionables. She was stoked, man, you know what I'm sayin? Rattled. Like a snake rattling. And fangs. Her plan was da bomb and she knew it, yo, even htough [sic] her plan, wanting to name it Jamieville and errant other swansa [sic]…"

 

Revision:

 

"In her excitement, she jumped up and down, clapping her hands. Although nervous, she knew she could handle the project and handle it well."

 

As you can see, the writing is much cleaner in the buzzed version versus the completely pissed version.

 

 

*There have been many documented cases of actual alcoholism among artists. Dr. Wright is happy to make referrals to The Betty Ford Center if applicable.