Or, the most useful thing I ever learnt from The Catalyst Club
It is perhaps somewhat of a cliche that writers and wine have a special relationship. Like Reagan and Thatcher, like a sprain and brace, one provides appropriate support for the other. If you want to have a successful book launch, and you’d like lots of writers to attend, you’d better provide wine. Preferably free wine. Writers appreciate free wine most of all because, contrary to public perceptions, many writers (unless they also have Proper Jobs) are strapped for cash. Thus, understandably, all charitable contributions to the writerly gullet (both solid and liquid) are gratefully received. Wine is perceived as more sophisticated than beer, and writers like to feel sophisticated. I prefer a good still cider to a glass of wine any day of the week, but am considered an oddity among my writing colleagues. In any case, my affinity for cider is largely explained by a previous affinity for wine.
The key to good writing is not to struggle, but to relax and allow it to flow. A little wine can help. Read more