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.

My Next Big Thing

The awesome Mike Swift tagged me in this post on his ML Swift, Chasing Windmills blog.  He apparently believes I've got...

The Next BIG Thing!

As with all things in bloggyland, there are rules.  The Next Big Thing is no exception.  And this hop's rules state that I am to answer ten questions about my current WIP (story, manuscript, blog post, etc.) and then pass the honor to others (writers or bloggers) so we can discover what their Next Big Thing is.

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:

1. What is the working title of your book?
The Bonding (Book One of Strands of Pattern)

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
That's a very good question. I wanted to write a hero's journey on an epic scale set in a world of magic.  I'm a discovery writer at heart, stopping occasionally to plot and make sure I've not wandered too far off course.  I know where I'm starting and where I'm wanting to end up, but the unexpected course changes make the trip fun.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
Adult Epic Fantasy

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Not a clue.  I avoid allowing actors into my imagination when I'm developing characters.  If I envision an actor as a character, the roles the actor has played would bleed into the way I write them.  (Besides, I'd be a horrible casting director.)

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Cop-out alert! I personally think generating single-sentence summaries is far easier for stories highly focused on a single protagonist.  Character starts here, needs to get there, but must undergo this and endure that to do it.  My tale is not truly centered around a single protagonist (or a single antagonist for that matter.) But in reality, I probably find this so difficult because I can't see the forest for all the trees.

Now THAT's a Big Thing

6. If you plan to publish, will your book be self-published or published traditionally?

I definitely plan to publish, but I'm not fully sold on either method as yet. My dream was always to have a publisher (that I won't name here) run with the entire series.  There are two additional publishers that would tickle my fancy too.  However, there is also something to be said for taking hold of the reins and charting one's own destiny.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I worked on the first book off and on for several years starting back in the late 90s, but put it aside until I began writing in earnest late in 2011. I salvaged portions of a dozen or so chapters worth of plot and completed the first draft in May 2012.  I figure it comes to about a year's worth of serious, productive writing.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
My critique partners and beta readers enjoyed comparing sections of it to J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.  I'd be lying if I denied their influence.  I've purposely put off reading some popular ones (including A Song of Ice and Fire) to keep from borrowing from them.

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I credit J. R. R. Tolkien with igniting my imagination and love of fantasy.  My desire to write this type of tale came (mostly) from Robert Jordan.  But it was my college English professor who gave me the confidence and nudge I needed to actually write the book.  So in truth, it is she who deserves the most credit.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It has dragons.  It has maps.  It has not one, but three strong females as major characters, with another introduced in book two.  It has not one, but three flavors of magic; one exclusive to a single race, the other two determined by gender.  The tale pits destiny against chance, prophecy against choice, despair against hope, and righteous purpose against righteous purpose.

Might as well include my working blurb, yes?

Not all gifts are free, and some gifts kill.

Supernaturally tethered beneath the mountain of fire, Arinur awaits the mortal that will set him free. Arinur's high priest, the Aridhai master, leads a theocracy toward that end. They're close. The secret to loosing Arinur lies within the Steward Stones and he'll ravage entire nations to discover it.

Millennia past, an immortal named Cretahn uttered terrible prophecies and then died. Now, the first of those prophecies is fulfilled when the dragon Rendowin claims that Cretahn's Bane now lives and possesses a Steward Stone. Some believe it's Daaron Olrey. And Daaron's afraid they may be right. His magic's quickening came unnaturally late. Were it not for the Steward Stone he'd been given, it might not have come at all. 

The gift became a curse, for it bonded itself to Daaron and parting with it will kill him. All he wants besides a life free from curses and prophecies is Abby, but he must become one with the mysterious Elanna to survive. Elanna, hundreds of years old, yet still young, now shares his thoughts--and more. She leads him into the heart of Aridhum on a quest that will surely cost his life.

What can a simple man do to thwart a nation of zealots intent on war? And even if Daaron can stop the Aridhai master, can he stop what the master set into motion?

Show us YOUR Next Big Thing

Now comes the moment where I sprinkle the bones with blood and cast them down to be read.  And although I am male, I can glimpse the ken and discern the future that the bones foretell.  (I'm the author so I can do this.)

And the bone reading tells me that these people have got The Next Big Thing!  So be on the lookout to discover what it is.

• The impressive, ascending star, Patrick Stahl of Into The Ravenous Maw,
• The prolific Lauren Ritz of Eclectic who has a Next Big Thing almost every month!
• The ever-positive and uplifting Linda Jackson at Writers Do Laundry Too,
• The noblest of dragons, Al Diaz from Father Dragon Writes,
• Powerhouse blogger and Persistence of Vision author, Liesel Hill,
• Stalwart supporter, Richard P. Hughes of Writing and Living,
• The amazing, NaNo winning, writing machine, Imogen of  Dancing with Dragonflies,
• The ultra cool Canadian writer and freelance copy editor, Deniz Bevan of The Girdle of Melian, and
• Fellow connoisseur of  epic fantasy whose first book is a hair heftier than my own, Matt Hayes of Matt's Writing Lair.

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?