Do you have a muse, someone who inspires your writing, brings enlightenment, helps you overcome writer’s block, and infuses you with a Can-Do attitude? I have struggled for years trying to find my muse; no one has come forward, though I have found a few lessons.
For example, don’t ask your father for help. Trying to complete my high school poetry assignment, my father would try to help me find words that rhymed. Since he didn’t fully understand the essence of the poem, his rhymes were useless. Nose rhymes with rose and phlegm rhymes with pen, but what do they have to do with my poem? Frustrated, I would beg for him to leave me alone. Somehow I found the words that matched the sentiments I was trying to express and completed the assignment. Now, I understand what my dad was really teaching me was to lighten up, relax with a laugh, and let “it” happen; the “it” being the creative writing process.
Once, while still in high school, I was visited by my muse. I had struggled to compose an essay and did not really like the outcome. In the middle of the night, I awakened inspired. Sitting at the portable typewriter, I pounded the keys for several hours, creating a short story that moved the class to tears and earned me an “A” for the assignment. Had my muse visited me that night? If so, why has she abandoned me, never to return?
During the years that I worked as a technical writer, people would often ask if I would ever write a book. I could never think of something to write about. Inevitably, someone would say they had a story but did not know how to write it, they were not writers. At times, they would insist on telling me the storyline, perhaps hoping that I would write their story. These never appealed to me; though it might have been a good story, it wasn’t my story, and I was uninspired.
So what changed? Why did I write my book?
I had an adventure. This adventure, walking 500 miles across northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago, became my muse. The women I met along the way inspired me to write their stories as well as mine. As I wrote, I discovered my voice; no small feat for one trained to be impersonal in writing. Once having discovered my voice, I had to coax it out of hiding, as one might do with a shy child or wild animal. Now that we are becoming familiar with each other, I still need to kindle the relationship, and not scare it back into hiding. I do this by writing daily and letting that inner voice speak out as much as possible. Though it is still shy, it is getting braver.
As I write about my experience, it becomes easier to voice my ideas. I implore to speak with passion about a topic you know well. Doing so gives you the confidence to give your opinions and makes you a subject matter expert. Your point of view is what makes you engaging to your readers
Eight lessons learned while searching for my muse
- Don’t try too hard. Relax, have fun, and let the creativity flow.
- If you are having a writer’s block, sleep on the story. Let the plot churn in the back of your mind. When the subconscious is ready, listen to it, no matter what time of day or night.
- Don’t rush the story. Put it aside for several weeks. My friend Gina Greenlee calls this letting the story bake. After several weeks, read what you have written, keep what you like and get rid of what you don’t. It’s amazing what perspective this hiatus will give you. The break can give you the clarity you need to proceed with your writing.
- Have an adventure, especially outdoors. Tuning into nature can help you tune into your creativity.
- Write your story, not what you think people want to hear.
- Speak from experience. This experience makes you an authority or expert on the subject. It is also easier to write with passion about something you have experienced.
- Find your voice and have the courage to let it roar.
- The muse is within. It is not a mythical character. It is whatever inspires you—a word, a poem, a song, or an adventure—that moves you to creativity. Finding your muse is finding the creative part of yourself.
Have you found your muse? If so, tell us what you found.
