I reached the midway point of my current WIP today, managing to do 2060 words. My muse and I disagreed about halfway through the day, and she stalked off in a huff. Talk about a bitch. I mean, what kind of a muse leaves her writer high and dry in the middle of a writing session? I tried all the normal things I do to get my muse back to work. I went to the fridge, studied the contents and fed my muse. She whined because I didn’t have chocolate. Yeah, and that was because she ate all the chocolate last week. Feeding the muse did nothing. She just dug in her toes and decided she’d like to watch television.
“No,” I said. “We’ll go for a bike ride and get some lovely fresh air. That will help you get back into the groove.”
My muse agreed. It was a nice day, almost spring-like with the sun shining. We went for a bike ride. My legs, head and muse all whined about the hill I made them pedal up. Honestly. Talk about a conspiracy. Here, I’m trying to do the right thing and they complain. Incessantly. We arrived back at home and immediately needed more food. Coffee, at least, my muse demanded. I can’t think without coffee.
Finally, I got my muse back to work. But my muse hates the book, the characters. Everything. “We’re never going to finish this piece of crap,” my muse said.
“We’ll take Scotty for a walk,” I said. “Maybe we’ll have a brainwave.”
“Are there any hills?” my muse asked, highly suspicious.
“No hills,” I agreed.
Off we went. Surprisingly we worked well together and had a brainwave…until the dog decided she’d seen my husband. Off she raced.
“She’s going up the hill,” my muse screeched.
“Yep,” I said. “We’ll have to chase her because her hearing isn’t so good now she’s old.” We put on a sprint, raced up the hill and finally caught the wee dog.
“That’s it,” my muse said. “I’m not listening to you again.”
My muse and I still aren’t talking…
If you have any advice to force my stubborn muse back to work, I’d love to hear it! And, is your muse male or female?
Oh I think our Muses must hang out together. Mine has been getting pissy because I won’t give her a break. She said if I don’t take at least a week off in between books, she’s going to strike. To prove it, she wouldn’t do anything for me last night. *sigh*
Vacation is coming at least…
by Christine d'Abo August 10th, 2007 at 4:49 amMy sympathies, Christine! My muse claims she’s artistic and therefore is entitled to do what she wants when she wants. It sounds like yours has similar thoughts.
The funny thing is my muse turned female recently. My muse used to be a male and much easier to handle. *glances over shoulder* I wonder if I should admit that?
by Shelley Munro August 10th, 2007 at 12:50 pmEek! So sorry about the muse. I find personally that feeding my muse with something different than the norm usually works. She can get bitchy when she gets bored and has a short attention span.
So, she gets to go see a movie, an art exhibit, or anything different that will feed her creativity. She’s also a bit competitive… so I have found that when I sense her digging her heels in I show her what good muses are capable of doing.
That usually keeps her working for a while…lol.
by Cara Carnes August 10th, 2007 at 2:46 pmMy muse goes on strike when I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere in my story, and he won’t let me proceed until I’ve fixed it. My internal editor leaps into the fray and she tears up half of what my muse has already come up with, which really makes him pissy. It’s like a junior wrestling match in my brain, where neither player will shoot for the other’s leg and they wind up circling each other for MONTHS without either scoring any points.
I finally call it a draw and make them work on something else for a while. That’s the only thing that helps me.
by Robin L. Rotham August 10th, 2007 at 3:27 pmSorry to hear about your muse, she’ll come round eventually. Good question though, male or female muse. Mine is definitely female, I couldn’t even imagine a male muse. Must say, my muse is low maintenance. She’s happy with her fav music and tea, otherwise I can’t write. Art museums are also a lovely place to hang out with her.
by Amy Redwood August 10th, 2007 at 4:01 pmMy muse is a lazy bum at heart, and I always have to blow the bugle in his ear to get him going. But usually, we take out vacations at the same time, so that’s a good thing.
by Lucinda August 10th, 2007 at 4:53 pmCara - I hear you about the short attention span. I changed my routine today and went out shopping and had coffee with hubby. So far this afternoon my muse has cooperated. Keeping fingers crossed!
Robin - I’ve been thinking about my current WIP since yesterday afternoon. I’ve decided I’ve definitely taken a wrong turn and my hero is a wimp. I’ve started overhauling him, and my muse seems a bit happier. Here’s hoping it will last.
Amy - can we swap muses. I’d love a low maintenance muse! Call me. We’ll talk
Lucinda - My muse is going on holiday very soon. In three weeks to be exact. Sun, sand and my man. Maybe that’s part of the reason she’s playing up. She’s ready to holiday now.
by Shelley Munro August 10th, 2007 at 9:03 pmOh, I hear ya! My Muses went on vacations without notifying me. I’ll bet the little bitches are enjoying their time at the beach while I’m stuck in front of the computer.
by Tempest Knight August 11th, 2007 at 7:54 amI actually don’t have a direct line to the muse. I think my characters speak directly to me. Usually if I’ve not gotten the story exactly right, they’ll react or act up. Some days they just aren’ t “in the mood.” On those days, I write anyways and when I they finally get around to looking over my shoulder to see what I’ve written this is how the conversation will go.
“That’s not how it happened. You need to change that.”
“I’m not changing it. If you wanted it that way you should have spoke up when I wrote it.”
“C’mon, Kat. It didn’t happen that way.”
“Maybe next time you’ll pay attention instead of looking out the office windows and complaining about how you’d rather be outside.”
A contrite voice will then say, “I’m sorry, but it’s a nice day out.”
“Quit you’re whining, we’re almost to the love scene.”
“Love scene?”
Get’s their attention everytime.
-Kat
by Kat Mancos August 11th, 2007 at 1:45 pmAlcohol. That’s how I keep mine cooperative. I keep her liquored up and she’s happy.
by Emma Petersen August 12th, 2007 at 4:33 am