Dear reader, I pose this question for you:

Should I hold myself to a different standard than I hold other purveyors of fiction?

When I read fiction that touches on science or technology¹, and said science is wrong², it bothers me³. However, if the rest of the tale is exciting, intriguing, or otherwise entertaining, I am all too happy to let it slide.

The idea I've started entertaining for this year's NaNo novel is based on some pretty lousy science. I don't want to get into the details just yet, but suffice it to say that it would bug me if I were just the reader.

My problem is twofold. First, it's NaNo; to reach the goal, I just need to crank out 50,000 words, regardless of how useless they are. And second, it troubles me that I can't think of a more elegant way to cause the scenario which is the basis for the story, and I'd really hate for my first success⁴ at NaNo to be based on something that would bug me as a reader.

As I said, though, if it were another author's book, I'd let it go and enjoy the rest of the tale.

So what do you think? Should I write the story, warts and all, or should I spend the next three days cramming for a better idea? Your comments would be welcome.

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¹ Would it kill Hollywood to hire a nerd or two to vet the so-called hacking that goes on in TV and movies?

² And, sadly, it almost always is.

³ Bad science in non-fiction, like our news and politics, makes me even crazier, but that's a whole 'nother post.

⁴ This is rather unlikely, given my track record

Here's the problem.

I love ethanol. Nearly every concoction I've tasted to that contained liquid ethanol has been pleasant to my taste buds. I love scotch. I love beer. I love wine. I love (good) tequila. I have enjoyed fermented and distilled beverages of many classifications.

Consequently, I drink a fair amount of it. A beer with dinner a couple of times a week, a glass of wine here and there, and a trip to the bar or a friend's party a couple of times a month. Nothing too outrageous, I think. I was never one of those people who drink just to get drunk. I'd never drink bad beer because it's a cheap way to get sloppy. If I drink beer, it's a good micro brew for the flavor, not the buzz.

However, it has happened on occasion that I would overindulge and find myself not fully in control of my faculties. It's not an unpleasant state, but not one I actively seek. Certainly, the mornings after are sometimes a stiff price to pay. But then, I've never been severely hung over, either. I've never vomited due to excess consumption. I was very, very close once. I don't think I'll be drinking those martinis again.

On two occasions, though, over the holidays, I found myself drinking fairly significant quantities of alcohol with no ill effects whatsoever. Indeed, I had little more than a good buzz to show for the open bar party I mentioned in a haiku last week. This began to worry me.

Had I become an alcoholic? Had my little here, little there attitude meant a little more here and a little more there to the point where I'd built such a tolerance that I could no longer get drunk casually?

It should be noted that alcoholism is not uncommon in at least one half of my family and that I may have a natural tendency toward addiction (or possibly just low impulse control). I abused caffeine for years, I had a pretty serious MUD problem for a while, I eat like an alcoholic drinks, I habitually gnaw my fingernails to nubs, etc.

So I thought I should take a step back and see how well I can resist the temptation. I'd take a week off (between Volcanicast Sunday night and a friend's party on the following Saturday) from booze and see how it went.

I'm happy to report that I think I did very well, in spite of some serious temptation. There was the occasional, "Damn, I could go for a glass of... wait." But that was nothing compared to having chili for dinner last night. Chili without beer? When there is perfectly good beer in the refrigerator? How is this even possible? But I resisted every time, and with very little effort.

So, the answer, for now at least, is a cautious, "No, I'm not an alcoholic." Yay!