Comanding the Muse

For the last six years I’ve had this on again, off again relationship with my Muse. For the most part I’d plod on with my droll life until inspiration struck. Out of nowhere a story arc or unforgettable character would flood my mind and I’d drop whatever I was doing and write up a storm. I’d rush to find a sharp pencil or fountain pen and write five to ten pages in one sitting. These moments were exhilarating. The new story would show promise, the characters memorable, the setting vivid. When I finished I’d put a name to the pages and slip them into a folder, certain my Muse would visit with the rest of the story.

But over and over again she wouldn’t grant another word about that tale, leaving me with characters but no arc, situations with no purpose, story beginning with no end. I couldn’t do anything but file the pages for later. Unfortunately, over the years this spurt and famine process left me with thirty-six promising beginnings or middles but nothing marketable because they were unfinished. I couldn’t even combine them because the pieces had nothing in common.

I wondered about that doggone Muse and her fickleness. Since I had no idea how to coax her return, I waited for another flash of inspiration.

For the previous twenty years I worked as a technical writer. Tech writers don’t need a Muse because they know where they’re going from the onset. Their job is to tell the reader how to install a widget, how to use it, how to fix it, or how to sell it. I could pen three-hundred page user manuals in a few months, never once fretting about what to write next.

But creative writing couldn’t have possibly been more different for me. I felt lost. Last year I stumbled onto this quote from Jack London: “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” With a club? Hmm…what does that mean?

Then I finally got it. Instead of waiting around for the Muse to drop in and demand my attention, I’d set a time every day for me to demand hers. As a catalyst, I’d dust off one or two of the partial stories, sharpen half a dozen pencils, and sit at my desk…pondering what I’d written and waiting for the Muse to show. Since starting this regimen I’ve been fleshing out the story snippets that had been languishing in my closet. Instead of waiting for the Muse to drop by while I was doing something else, I have set appointments for her, expecting her to show. So far, it’s been working!

Looks like I found my club. Thanks, Jack.
Write on!
Ann