A Writer's Muse

As a Cappie, I have a somewhat unique sense of humor. So yes, I think the cartoon above is funny! In reality, I think that all writers go through this from time to time. Whatever is getting in our way, we just need to work our way through. We just need to "Write the %&!$@# story!". 

So what exactly is this magical muse that is going to come along and save our butts? Where do we find him/her? And at what cost? Our muse supposedly helps us to be more creative, to put the ultimate spin on things so that our work sells. (That is the point, after all!) One way of looking at our muse is that we are simply connecting with our inner child. I don't know about you, but my inner child needs help from time to time! 

We need to do two things - allow ourselves to be creative enough to come up with amazing plots that have not been worked to death, and characters that our readers can connect with. So what if our characters have a fatal flaw - they are real! Our readers will cheer for them! Then we take all of this bizarre, creative stuff and visit the logical side of our brain so that we can place everything in proper order so that it at least looks like it could actually happen.

By this time we are starting to feel as if we might be developing multiple personalities. As long as no one else realizes this, we are okay. We can pull this all together by recognizing that our creative muse resides in our unconscious - that it can access our dreams, and our hidden memories.  Our muse will appear to us however it wants to - we just need to go with the flow. 

Our muse (our unconscious self) and our critic (our conscious self) have to work together to meld everything into a story that makes sense, has depth (without falling off the edge), and entertains. Above all, to sell, our stories need to entertain.

Never be afraid to allow both your muse and your critic free reign. They will come to an understanding, and you will be putting amazing stories out there!

(c) May 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.