evidence: Write Drunk, Edit Sober — but without the alcohol This quote (‘write drunk, edit sober’) is usually misattributed to Ernest Hemingway and it’s good advice, as long as you don’t take it literally. [...] When you write while drunk (I have tried it!), every idea and every sentence appear to be amazingly good, original and written by a genius. The come-down when you read it back the next day is worse than the hangover: it’s mostly boring and badly written.