Would Some Booze Help You Write?

The other day I ran across an interesting tidbit about those folks that work in the media. Now this information is for our comrades across the great pond. It seems like those of us in the media field like to drink - about double that of regular, non-media folks.

Media workers are the heaviest drinking professionals in England,
consuming the equivalent of more than four bottles of wine or more than 19 pints
of beer a week, according to government research.

People in the profession drink an average of 44 units a week,
around double the recommended limit, a Department of Health survey
finds.

The source for this information is here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/may/24/media-workers-drinking-habits

There is no such study -- yet -- for Pennsylvania writers and in particular, those of us in the Susquehanna Valley. I suppose some of us might enjoy some wine while we write and prepare our prose. Others might choose a smooth brew or some other adult beverage.

It's good to know that I now have an excuse to partake. I can blame it on my profession. And lately, there have been plenty of reasons to want to forget what has been happening to freelance writers.

With newspapers closing, magazines going out of business, book publishers offering pathetic advances, the markets for working writers is as bad as ever. And that's a good reason to drink, if you really need a reason.

-- George Sheldon, www.georgesheldon.com