First Hand Experience: Best Teacher?

Many people will tell you that if you truly want to understand what goes on in a person's head, you need to go through what they have gone through. There are some things for which I agree, and others for which I don't.

If you want to know what it's like to live in Brooklyn, then you might as well go there. Visiting will be helpful to understand what is there, how to get around, and what kinds of people you can meet. If you actually live there for a while, you will understand what really matters to people who live there, what people are really like in their heart of hearts, and everything else, all on a deeper level. Aside from the cost of living there, there's no reason not to spend some time there.

The problem, though, is that writing is a form of escapism. And it isn't just an escape for the readers; it's an escape for you, too. When you write, you get to do everything you always wished you could. That could be anything from telling off your boss to getting wrecked on mushrooms and murdering random people on the street. When it comes to these escapist fantasies (especially on the extreme side), I simply can't endorse them.

I will admit that there is no way to really know what it is like to be drunk except to get drunk, but where is the line? I would hope that nobody has ever killed somebody for the sake of being able to accurately describe what a killer was thinking. I know that writers generally have a stereotype for doing any drug they can get their hands on, but you should never do something you don't want to do just for the experience. That's the point where you need to do as much research as possible and hope you can describe things accurately (or just choose not to write about such things or people).

It is possible that nothing is as real or powerful as that which you have experienced yourself, but ultimately, you should never do things you wouldn't do regularly. You sacrifice enough for your writing as it is.