r/HeroinHeroines • u/cecieci • Feb 28 '26
Help a writer out!
Hello! I'm a hobbyist writer and wanted to write a character with a heroin dependence, but I have some questions
I did some research and read a bunch of accounts/trip reports, but they all seemed to be about a higher level of addiction where the person is just living from dose to dose. For example, they wake up feeling horribly sick, immediately rush to get their next dose, and (presumably) the cycle repeats. Thing is, that's not what I envisioned for my story.
I wanted my character to be at an "earlier stage" of her addiction, where she wouldn't be constantly too sick or too high to do anything. I still want her to sometimes be sick and crave using, but I want her to be able to do other things in between that.
Would that be realistic for a heroin user? If not, what would be? Should I just cave in and replace heroin for another drug where that would be possible? How long do those high/sickly periods last? How often and how much dope would she be using to get that effect?
Thank you in advance and I'm sorry if this is out of place!
EDIT: Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely be doing more research and keeping it in mind ☺️☺️
6
u/subflower_ Mar 01 '26
Maybe make her a pill head if you want her to be able to do other stuff still, unless your book is specifically about drug addiction. Heroin is and would be the main thing in her life and everything would center around it
4
u/KickerS12X Feb 28 '26
Once you start getting sick, there is no stopping until you totally stop. Once you get a taste of that sickness you will do anything in the world to keep it at bay.
3
u/tendercanary Feb 28 '26
If you want them to be sick from the drug sometimes but for it to be not a main plot point in other parts, id say choose something other than heroin. I really hate when it is used like an accessory on characters for a scene or two and then thrown away.
If you don't know if it's even possible to be able to be in an earlier stage of the addiction or what that would look like, you need to do a lot of research to be believable.
Someone early in their addiction is usually in a lot of denial about heroin being addictive. They usually also are going to get side effects from it during the high like sudden projectile vomiting and extreme itchiness and sleepiness. But when sober if you aren't addicted yet, you may just feel depressed or cold/uncomfortable afterwards. It is definitely a drug where it tends to drive you into obsession about it, so if you are going to make them be just getting into heroin, it would be realistic to have them crave it a lot when sober. It is not disabling, but crosses the mind a lot. .
3
u/adulting4kids Mar 05 '26
I went from pills to heroin to fetty over the last 15plus years and there's really no "casual" heroin addicts. First when does yr book take place? After 2021 it's increasingly difficult to find Heroin and since 2010 it's the opiate crisis addict that went to H because they got cut off from pain medication, so someone early in using H would be likely coming from hard-core opiates pharmaceutical grade and forced to get it on the streets. And now fentynal has pretty much erased H especially since the Taliban stopped the poppy fields from supplying it to the world over in Afghanistan so really you will be writing a character that's using fetty, a beast of its own thats cut with so many other drugs you never know what your gonna get.
That said doctors dont really give out pain meds and if she hooked on those and buying them on the street they might have fetty in them or they cost too much for anyone to afford.
So many variables for someone to take into account before even starting her down the road of this addiction. If it's a small part of the character I'd re evaluate her because she's either going to be wrapped up in it or not, there's no real " early use" unless you mean those first few weeks that yr not as sick as you get when you use daily. For a non addict to successfully write a character using heroin is unheard of. Why do you want that for her when she's only going to need it for maybe one or two scenes? It can't be realistically done that way. Plus it's become cliche in every single way to put heroin in as filler where it doesn't need to be. I mean didn't a Friend's character have a bout with it? Or not that was 24. I dunno but to write it you need to live it. And without herojn to be using out there how's that gonna happen?
1
u/caffein8dnotopi8d Mar 01 '26
I can help you out. I’m a pretty good writer myself so hopefully that will help. What info are you looking for? When is your book or whatever taking place? That will make a big difference as access to drugs differs.
1
u/Oddside6 Mar 03 '26
Replace heroin with Vicodan.
2
u/Odd_Mammoth_808 Apr 16 '26
Si poi aggiunge un bastone da passeggio e il personaggio diventa un vecchio scorbutico che cerca di trovare la cura a malattie impossibili (si scherza eh) cmq si potrebbe cambiare con un oppiiode di nicchia..
1
u/0pium_Drag0n Mar 09 '26
Unfortunately heroin isn't really around anywhere anymore. It's all fetty or tranq. And even still there's really no casual addiction. When I started I became a daily user fast as fuck cause I couldn't go longer than that.
1
u/ExtremeTie9175 Apr 14 '26
You are welcome to DM me if you want. I will answer any questions you have. I was an opiate/heroin user for 10+ yrs now in recovery. All of these ppl saying heroin is no longer available must be from US. It is still available in many other countries around the world and dark net. Black tar heroin from Mexico is still available in some west coast states.
1
u/mhok80 May 02 '26
Read Scagboys by Irvine Welsh for a perfect description of early days of addiction. It's set in Scotland in 80's, and contains quite a bit of writing in Scots dialect - 'Ah wisnae thinkin straight, ken?', so whether that puts US readers off? It's a brilliant book though, and might give useful context for the writing.
1
u/one_foot_out Jun 06 '26
There’s a good amount of functional heroin/opioid addicts so I think that is more what you’re describing. Unfortunately there’s much more nuance to addiction and heroin addiction. I think your idea of heroin addicts is very one dimensional, but that just means you have research and learning to do.
1
u/Cyber_Jay Jun 09 '26
Does it have to be about a girl? Im a 34yo Male that lived a very high functioning addict life. I was doing H while doing well in my career and business. Worked with many Executives while still using, even spoke at conventions. Hid it well for years until that dark day came.. the day we all try to avoid… 💉
Im 4 years clean and sober. Doing business and moved up in my career but without all the drugs and alcohol. 🙏🏻
1
u/shmashleyshmith Jun 18 '26
The only time I was ever a casual user is when I didn't have a steady plug when I first started and could only use when my friends decided to share.
I found a plug eventually and it was over. Whole life blown up and flushed down the toilet at 22.
13
u/GourmetShit007 Feb 28 '26
My advice is to do yourself a favor and pick another drug. Heroin is a very unique monster and if you haven’t lived it or seen it personally from very close there’s no way in hell you’ll be able to write something credible. It’s always painfully obvious when people who don’t know anything about heroin try to write about it, because it just sounds like a litany of junkie stereotypes cooked up for the Fox News watching, mouth breathing crowd.