How to Write a Drunk Character
- 1). Research the effects of inebriation. EMedicine, Drugs.com and similar medical sites contain a breakdown of symptoms that occur when someone has been drinking. You might also observe such effects first-hand at a party or similar social event, though you should never get drunk or get someone else drunk just to study the effects. Symptoms of intoxication include slurred speech, lowered inhibitions, reduced coordination (resulting in stumbling or dropping things), bloodshot eyes, sleepiness and -- in the case of too much alcohol -- nausea and vomiting.
- 2). Decide how alcohol consumption will affect your character and change his behavior. He may say things that he wouldn't normally say, such as confessing his love to a woman he has pined for from afar. He may stumble around a room and smash objects or try to drive while intoxicated and smash into a tree. Such behavior should still be a reflection of his core personality -- he wouldn't shoot someone if he was normally nonviolent, for example -- just altered and augmented by his inebriated state. In some cases, the character may be constantly drunk, in which case his inebriated behavior is the norm for his personality rather than the exception.
- 3). Evaluate the dramatic context of your story caused by the character's drinking. Ask yourself why he drank at that particular point, what effect it has on the narration and what consequences his drunken actions might have on him and other characters. It should serve a specific purpose in the narrative, either to move the plot forward or to reveal some aspect of the character the reader hasn't seen before.
- 4). Write a draft of the scene or scenes in which the character is drunk, describing his behavior and actions during that time. If he slurs his speech, you may want to deliberately misspell his dialogue to reflect that (he might say "shleep" instead of "sleep," for example). Keep the symptoms of intoxication in mind as you write and ask yourself how intoxicated he is. If he's just a little tipsy, the effects you describe should be mild, but if he's really drunk, the symptoms will be pronounced and noticeable.
- 5). Let the scenes sit for a while -- anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on your deadlines -- then revise them along with the rest of your story. Throw out any descriptions that don't work, tighten your prose and make sure the character's drunkenness fits in well with the remainder of the novel. If you have an editor or a literate friend who you trust, ask her to read the scenes and provide constrictive criticism.
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