creativity

Shaken or Stirred? A Cocktail Menu of Writing Styles

Editor’s note: Every Friday deserves a fun, boozy question. I asked the Writer’s Bone crew to choose a cocktail that best describes their writing style. I couldn’t be happier with the results (which included a segue involving roosters). Trust me, this is group you’d want to drink and write with! Imbibe and keep writing!—Daniel Ford

Alex Tzelnic: Sex on the Beach because... Okay, fine. I'm going to go with rye, neat because I'm wry and neat.

Rachel Tyner: Wine, because I avoid it like the plague.

Sara Silvestri: A Dark and Stormy because I don't write much anymore, but when I did it was always something emotional.

Daniel Ford: I'd choose a Boilermaker (Budweiser with a shot of Jim Beam) because at the moment writing feels like writing in a coal mine. Nothing makes you forget your black lung like a Boilermaker.

Stephanie Schaefer: Sangria. I tend to keep my writing light and refreshing with hints of sass throughout. Naturally, there's a time and place for more serious work, but overall I'd say I favor light-hearted conversational pieces.

Matt DiVenere: Long Island Iced Tea. I've written about nearly anything and everything you can imagine; from the number of roosters legally allowed in a residents yard in Vermont to a murder-kidnap on the police beat to "How to Get the Taylor Swift" look for a Midwestern fashion and jewelry company. Oh, and sports.

Alex: So what is the number of roosters?

Matt: If I remember correctly, in Essex, you can have two in a fenced in yard. But it was being revisited when I left. #vermontproblems

Lindsey Wojcik: If I'm going to drink and write, my favorite writing buddy is a bottle of red. Something about the tannins of a red eases any insecurity I have staring at that blank page, and they really get the creative juices flowing. Really? No. I just love a delicious, moderately priced red wine, usually Malbec or Merlot, soothing music, and the ambiance of a lit candle on the side of my blinking curser. Drinking and writing, for me, comes with a warning label though: I must drink in moderation. Otherwise, after two paragraphs, I'm drunk and dancing to whatever music accompanied me in the background. 

Jenna Casey (graphic designer and Writer’s Bone newbie): Second Circle (port, bourbon, and maple syrup). Dark, (slightly) dramatic, a little cynical, but in a funny way. Maybe not a funny “ha, ha” way. But it’ll make you laugh. Or cringe.

Jesse Ackerman (also a graphic designer and Writer’s Bone newbie): Water because if I drink with my current creative situation all hell will break lose and I like my freedom.

Robert Masiello: My writing style would definitely be a tequila shot. I don't do much pre-writing planning or organization, and I'm a huge procrastinator. I just sit down and force it all out of me at once, the same way you just gotta force back a shot in one motion.