Chasing Inspiration (July IWSG)

I left a comment on a blog a month or two ago that went something like this:

I've come to the conclusion that inspiration cannot be chased and caught. It's an elusive little bugger. But when you least expect it, it can whack you upside the head with brilliance. Just don't duck. ;-)

My reasoning behind the comment was that we writers cannot sit at our desks, don a tin foil cap sprouting antennae and expect to intercept brilliant inspiration as though it were radio waves. We can't just throw on our baseball caps, lace up our cleats and hold out our gloves to catch inspiration as it falls from the sky.

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It doesn't work that way. At least not for me.

More times than one, I've waited at my desk, hoping, yearning, pleading for a visit from my muse. I've gone walking and driving, knowing that she usually drops by at inconvenient hours and places. All to no avail.

While I believe that inspiration cannot be chased and caught, I also believe it frequently answers active invitations. The key word there is active.

An active invitation requires movement: fingers typing, hands scribbling or eyes reading. Rarely am I inspired while watching movies or television. Such activity leaves my imagination dormant. It sits there, content to watch what someone else has already created.

It is, in my opinion, the act of creating that invites the muse. We may end up tossing every single word we write while waiting, but the waiting will often not be in vain.

So the next time you're finding inspiration elusive, chase it by actively inviting it. You may just catch it.

Creativity Pills: Take As Directed

There is a secret to unleashing one's creativity.  It comes in the form of pills.  And I keep plenty on hand.

Creativity Pills: Take As Directed

These pills are specially marked with little white Ms so as to not be confused with other pills prescribed for other needs.  The "M" stands for Muse.  Or maybe Magic.  (Possibly Maniac, but we'll discount that possibility for the moment.)

These marvels are brilliant! Find the answers to your most perplexing questions wrapped in the sweetest of colors!

Can't decide your protagonist's next plot twist?  Pop an M!

Does the lead supporting character live or die?  Pop an M!

Can't find the right voice for the antagonist?  Just pop an M!

These little beauties are gems, priceless imagination enhancers fit for kings and eccentric introverts alike.

Monetary minded mages meticulously manufacture magnificent Ms for your creative pleasure! And they're available without a prescription! 

But wait! There's more!

Start your regimen of Ms today and get this beautiful container free!  Use it for the life of your creativity needs.  Even if you return the Ms keep the container as your free gift!

Too little tension?  Place the Ms just out of reach, but plainly in sight.  Feel the yearning.

Pacing too fast?  Let the M dissolve slowly, melting in your mouth, not in your hands.

Pacing too slow?  Grab Ms by the handful, munch with wild abandon until your prose (and pulse) quicken.

But if hours of devouring candy coated chocolate hasn't enhanced your climax, well, that's what kisses are for!

How to Train Your Muse

Face it.  Training a muse is like training a cat to play the violin, and doing so without any experience and only being available to train it part-time. 

Or is it?

If you'd have asked me yesterday why I've written so many posts recently about Miss Muse I'd have stammered a bit before answering.  Thinking about it now, many reasons jump to mind, but they're the obvious reasons.  They make for good stories, funny moments and provide a means to a (hopefully) insightful post about creativity and inspiration.  I think the real reason lies much deeper.

I've recently noticed I have an interesting tendency.  I've gone back and read things that I've written in chronological order--everywhere.  I'm not just talking blog posts or chapters from my novel.  Those are the obvious places to look.  I found that this tendency bleeds into emails at work and home, even the little notes I jot down when I get ideas for something new to write.

The tendency?  To continue on a theme for an extended period of time.

It doesn't matter what this theme is.  It doesn't matter where this theme comes from either.  Once it gets lodged in my brain it stays there.  Percolating.  Simmering.  Oozing out in things I say and words I write.

This manifests itself in odd ways.  The most common manifestation is that I use the same words over and over and over.  Everywhere.  Odd words that I rarely use.  Or words I'm suddenly using in different ways, invoking their non-primary definitions.  Lately it's been words like linger and ponder.

So, on what have I been pondering and lingering lately?  Creativity and inspiration.  Hands down, without a doubt.  I'm into the climax of my book.  Sweat beads from my brow as I try to craft the perfect ending to my tale.  It's not easy.  It makes me a little nervous.  I'm groping for that inspiration, that creative flash of revelation that's going to make the ending perfect.

From the depths of my subconscious I'm longing to capture Miss Muse, hold her hostage until I complete this huge undertaking to which I've committed myself.  But such drastic measures aren't really necessary.  She doesn't want me trap her.  She doesn't even want me to entice her.  She wants me to invite her.

Therefore, I must train myself, not my muse.  I must find the pattern of her visits, when she likes to stop by, when she's willing to interrupt--and most importantly--when I'm most apt to listen.  I must train myself to prepare for those visits of hers and to take advantage of them.

Facebook bores her.  Bring it up and she's gone.  Catching up on emails?  Same thing.  No one wants to tarry where they don't feel welcome.  Not even Miss Muse.

It always comes down to discipline, doesn't it?  So no, this post isn't really about training our muses.  It's about training ourselves.  We are our own muses.  So I hope I can train myself better than I can train a cat.

So tell me, folks.  How do you train your muse?