Finding a Muse?

[GasPedalJoe]

I'm frustrated and need to find a muse. But I'm not sure how to begin my search.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Its always best to start at the beginning and follow the yellow brick road.

 

[harding]

Fickle things

Muses are fickle little creatures. Best not to search for them too hard and you'll never find them.

Sit down and start to write... the muse will find you.

 

[kimbalee]

put out some chocolate... I hear they can't resist that.

 

[oggbashan]

Pour a libation to the muses at midnight in a quiet rural place.

Make sure the largest part of the libation goes down your own throat - but not until you are back home if you have to drive to the rural place.

Og

 

[GasPedalJoe]

Tried the libations; they didn't work.

 

[_Lynn_]

Tried the libations; they didn't work.

Do something else. Take a walk. Exercise. Bake some cookies. Get away from writing for a while. A break helps clear the head. Worrying isn't going to bring positive results.

As for a muse . . . I don't believe in them.

 

[JackLuis]

A muse is lazy if not receiving enough exercise. Take her out for Coffee downtown, Take a pad and pen and sit in the back making notes of what people wear, what time it is, can you figure out anything about them or can you make something up?

Let her take you for a walk, and see if that kick starts the imp.

 

[TxRad]

I'm frustrated and need to find a muse. But I'm not sure how to begin my search.

Finding a Muse is like finding your writerly voice. It comes with practice and time.

It also comes with the right story at the right time.

They are allusive to say the least.

 

[oggbashan]

The muses are more likely to respond if you keep writing - anything.

Try completing next month's NaNoWriMo. That will give the muses time to respond.

Here's a plug for my How-To - Complete NaNoWriMo. That is "How to complete (finish) NaNoWriMo, not everything about NaNoWriMo.

Og

 

[GinaTina]

I have two main muses who are in constant war with each other. One gets jealous if I pay too much attention to the other and vise-versa.


Sometimes the fights are so brutal that they'll knock each other out for awhile. I believe that's what has happened to me as of late.

If you give them a few days off, they'll usually regain consciousness and play nice.

At least for a little while.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Old Tex gets his muse from a bottle, almost like a genie.

 

[Mrtouf]

I'm frustrated and need to find a muse. But I'm not sure how to begin my search.

http://www.google.com/search?q=finding+a+muse

Knock yourself out.

 

[Kev H]

Grains of salt, sands of time, sandman

Warning: this method of muse locating can be very tiring.

Many of our muses speak to us in dreams; problem is, we rarely ever remember dreams. There are exercises to help that (and then to forget them when you're sleep has been too disrupted to be useful)--how you analyze them and record them is your job as a writer.

Before you begin, I suggest having a voice recorder (or at the least a notepad and paper) by your bed, because some of the richest dreams will fade the moment you're up and moving around, and they are often lost forever. Also, don't worry about remembering all of the dream or recording "verbatim" what you saw. Your creativity is often fed with powerful impressions or even false memories, and it's how you make those work as you set them down that will separate the writer from other people. Like with many things, it takes practice/discipline to capture the full potential of this process.

So, before you sleep, you should focus on the positive feelings (satisfaction/gratification/excitement) of finding a potent and unique story plot. Being frustrated or negative is a good way to chase away your creativity (and the muse who otherwise might help you). Then, perform whatever relaxation technique you're comfortable with. If you've never been exposed to them, I suggest the very basic deep breathing (empty your lungs completely, fill them to bursting, hold for 5 seconds, release the air as slow/controlled as you can, repeat 5 times) and muscle relaxation (begin at your toes and concentrate on finding and relaxing each individual muscle, moving up your body slowly until your focus leaves the top of your head).

The trick is during this time to say a few, "I want to remember my dreams." Maybe say it aloud the first couple of times, and then you can hold onto that thought as you drift into sleep. This process might be mystifying, but it's also simple to understand: you are pushing this suggestion into your subconscious (the gatekeeper for such things as wildly creative dreams). Don't expect results the first night (it'd be like expecting to be in shape after your first visit to the gym); just be persistent and receptive, performing this procedure each night until you cannot stand to dream anymore (they can fill you up--trust me).

If you want examples, I was introduced to this during my first year of college in 88/89, and during the first week of practice, a dream came to me, which is almost perfectly copied in my short, Leap (on this site). I had skipped classes that day to feverishly write it down, not leaving my bed until it was set and I was famished (I remember only eating an early supper that day). I kept that dream-work hidden until I had the proper outlet for it. My first public story (funny enough, about my Muse) is also from a dream, but that one was only a series of powerful impressions (and I had to do the rest of the work to make it presentable).

I've had a dream that was only a short sequence, but my dream-self had "memories" enough to fill a novel (and it will be an economic thriller when the time is right). And of course, I've had to keep the dreams from ruin my day/mood (which takes a flexible, open mind, I believe--you must be brave, accepting, and positive/practical).

Your dreamtime can become so active that you get more ideas than you can handle, and you begin losing them. You become exhausted from the lack of peaceful sleep. It's very important to know how to shut down this receptive cycle. Fortunately, reversing the process is as simple: another repeated/enforced suggestion like, "I want deep sleep with no dreams." Of course, you still dream (or so they say), but you can shove them back beneath your notice and return your sleep schedule to normal.

Hope this helps; feel free to share the results with us.

 

[Toqueme]

.....

 

[Toqueme]

Oops.

 

[Kev H]

Grains of salt, sands of time, sandman

Grr, huge post delay caused this dupe.

 

[YoursSINSerely]

Old Tex gets his muse from a bottle, almost like a genie.

Teehee.

 

[TxRad]

Teehee.

Thanks for quoting old, tired, and bedraggled JBJ for me.

I have him ignore for a reason. His comments are totally off the mark and made only to disrupt things.

Sorry, JBJ but I don't drink but it sounds like you do.

Have a nice day on ignore as always. It's a much cleaner place without you.

ETA: That is a good plot bunny. I think I'll write it.

 

[GasPedalJoe]

Thanks for the posts.

I think allusive muses are pedestrian. Even the crummy muses are elusive, though.

I like your idea, JackLuis. It's what I used to do in this situation, but I haven't been able to spend time that way lately. And I'm not sure it would work; I want to go somewhere exciting and new, and not see the same people at the mall or the coffee shop again and again. Autumn has arrived, and that changes the mood and dress of people I'd observe. Which somehow seems less inspiring.

Og is probably giving good advice, that I should just write. But I'm afraid that will lead me towards writing something crummy, that isn't planned or structured well. I'll end up chasing the muse and forcing my work rather than letting my work follow. Which is what led me to be so selective about finding my muse, which just doesn't seem to work.

So ...

 

[oggbashan]

...

Og is probably giving good advice, that I should just write. But I'm afraid that will lead me towards writing something crummy, that isn't planned or structured well. I'll end up chasing the muse and forcing my work rather than letting my work follow. Which is what led me to be so selective about finding my muse, which just doesn't seem to work.

So ...

We all write 'something crummy' from time to time. Even Homer nods.

But writing when we don't feel like it, when we have no inspiration or the muse is absent, is the difference between writers and those who think they are writers.

I find the Literotica themed contests help because they give me a subject and a timescale. Not all my entries are muse-inspired and some are just pedestrian, but sometimes they lead to ideas that get developed into better stories.

I recommended NaNoWriMo in a post above. It is a good exercise in making yourself write even when uninspired. You can use what you have written for NaNoWriMo either as stories, or just as a set of files you can dig into from time to time to find ideas to develop. What you do for NaNoWriMo is up to you. It can be the beginning of a novel or just 50,000 words of random thoughts, episodes, scenes, plot outlines.

50,000 words isn't a novel. It is a longish short story but it can be the outline for a future novel. If you really want to write The Novel then you should be writing more than 1667 words a day.

Write - and don't keep waiting for the muse to come.

Og

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Writing without inspiration is like telling jokes without punchlines.

 

[oggbashan]

Writing without inspiration is like telling jokes without punchlines.

Inspiration without writing is like knowing a joke and keeping it to yourself.

Og

 

[Erotic-Kiss]

We muses are like ADD children sometimes. And here's the big secret that we hide from the world. It's guaranteed to make us yours! All you have to do is......

OoooOooo something shiny...........