Writing Under Chemical Influence

The allergies seem to be less fog-inducing today, and I'm avoiding medication because I have to drive later today, so we'll see if I have more brainpower. One down side of creative writing as a profession is that your brain has to actually work for you to do it. When you find yourself staring into space, zoning out and trying to remember what to call those things you make when you put letters together, you won't accomplish much. I'm astounded by the output of all those writers in the past who supposedly lived in a drug or alcohol-fueled haze and who still produced great works, considering I can barely spell my own name when I take an infant dose of Benadryl. My great works tend to be produced under the influence of either tea or Dr Pepper.

I ended up lying on the sofa and watching OnDemand episodes of Parks and Recreation and Doctor Who, which is a really weird mix. I did a little freeform brainstorming, but in the state I was in, I couldn't even really read because I'd catch myself staring at the same paragraph for half an hour without comprehending it. I did some revision on one scene during a brief moment of clarity when the drowsiness from the Benadryl had worn off but the anti-allergy effects were still lingering. I also managed a little research. I'm at a frustrating point in revisions because I'm at a scene I really liked, where I'd done a lot of research to create the setting for the scene -- and then I realized the scene was taking place in the wrong setting entirely. There's all this lovely description that's utterly wasted. I had to do more research to figure out the setting where the scene should happen, and, unfortunately, changing the setting changes some of the character interaction. I know the new version will be better for the book, but the original scene was really good. If the book gets published, this may be one that goes up as a "deleted scene" just to show off that writing.

Tomorrow I'm up for another post on the Enchanted, Inc. series and its world, and I don't have a topic. Please, someone ask a question because I don't think I'll be coming up with anything independently this week. Is there anything you're dying to know about the series, that universe, the characters or the process of creating it, aside from what will happen in the future and when/if more books will be published?

And now I have to go sneeze, then make lunch.