Courting the Muse

Inspiration sometimes feels very random. Like, if you face East at noon and have marmalade on toast on the 3rd Tuesday after the equinox...

Well, maybe it's not that random, but sometimes it feels that way.
The truth of the matter is, if you set aside time to meet with your Muse, eventually she (or he) will show up on time, with more ideas than you can possibly write about.

The key is trust. She trusts you to show up at the keyboard and you trust her to provide inspiration.

You go first.

Show up at the keyboard every day, or every other day, or Monday through Friday, or every Saturday morning at 5am. You pick the time and the place. Just be consistent.

The Muse won't show up first, and she might not trust that you'll show up consistently, so she'll wait, lurking in the shadows, teasing you with a glimpse of an idea that evaporates as soon as you get around to showing up at the keyboard. But once she trusts you'll be there, she'll sometimes get there before you and be waiting, drumming her fingers on your desk, bubbling over with ideas.

It’s not easy to keep the date. You can make excuses til the cows come home. I had to clean the house. I had to fix dinner. The cats needed to be fed. The dog had to go for a walk. I was stuck in traffic. Oh yeah, there are a bazillion excuses - and I've probably used most of them and then some. But if you truly want to write - for whatever reason - set a date with the muse. Be consistent. Show up at the keyboard and do like we did yesterday. Set the timer and write, even if you have no thoughts in your head and the Muse is off in the Bahamas somewhere, ignoring your texts. Just write whatever words you can. Consistently. After a week or two, or maybe three, one day you'll realize that you're on your way to the keyboard, stuck in traffic, and you're already thinking about what you'll write.

This 'date' with the Muse can be a particular place (like your computer desk), a set time no matter where you are, a particular notebook any time of the day or night, a particular tea, fragrance, chair.... Or a combination of those things. The key is consistency. After awhile, this place/time/notebook/tea/whatever, will become a trigger. It will become a sign to your Muse (which, by now, I hope you recognize as your own imagination and inspiration) that it's time to deliver.

Sounds simple, huh?
Yeah, it is. And guess what?
It works.
Trust me. I've done it.

Of course, sometimes things disrupt our carefully constructed routines or favorite places, and we have to adjust. Just be careful that doesn't become an excuse for not writing. Unfortunately, I also speak from personal experience.

If you're looking for an exercise, try writing a description of your Muse. Maybe your Muse looks like Sharon Stone (movie: The Muse - 1999). Stephen King calls his Muse 'the boys in the basement'. You decide.

It's time for me to set a date, and court my Muse into coming back to me.