Muse kickers

cloudy

Alabama Slammer
Joined
Mar 23, 2004
Posts
37,997
From a newsletter I receive:

Nothing is more daunting for any writer than having to stare at a blank sheet of paper.

When we stare at a blank sheet of paper, we often think, "What am I going to write?" A few minutes later, it becomes, "Oh my goodness, I can't think of anything to write!" And several minutes later, it turns into something like, "Write, dangnabit! Write! Write! WRITE!"

Some writers call this writer's block. But I call it the "Writing-Muse-Needs-A-Kick" syndrome.

And that's exactly what we're going to do with your writing muse gone truant. We're going to kick her back into gear so you can fill up that blank page.

Here are 7 writing muse kickers for you to try right now:

1. First Line: Begin a story with "There was once a chance I didn't take..."

2. Cliche Starter: Weave a story or poem around the cliche, "keep your powder dry."

3. Power of Metaphor: What does "a string of laughter" make you think of?

4. Proverb Mix: "Beauty breaks the camel's back."

5. Story Words: Use the words "pianist, pencil, high-rise building, running shoes" in a story.

6. What If? Story: What if you're going to write a story about betrayal, with a young man as the main character and a locket as the key object? Set your story on a ranch.

7. Quick Prompt: Write about what you'd say to an uninvited guest.
 
I have two muse kickers.

One is a deck of 200+ cards of paintings by Michael Whelan. He is a great illustrator that makes a scene from a story very real. His works are great inspiration kick offs.

The other is a cigar box, filled with random trinkets, baubles etc. Pull one out, and imagine the story that it could have witnessed.
 
Salvor-Hardon said:
The other is a cigar box, filled with random trinkets, baubles etc. Pull one out, and imagine the story that it could have witnessed.

I like this idea. :)
 
The pianist, frustrated by writer's block, threw a pencil out the window of the high-rise building as the pretty young things strode by in their running shoes.

I like this idea. Thanks.
 
Some more:

What If Stories
-----------------
* What if you're going to write a story about hope with a widow as the main character and a notebook as the key object? Set your story in a grocery store.

* What if you're going to write a story about awakening with a minister as the main character and a locket as the key object? Set your story in a garden.

* What if you're going to write a story about possibilities with a retired female teacher as the main character and a locket as the key object? Set your story at the train station.
 
cloudy said:
I like this idea. :)

Wish I could claim it as original.

The old Ray Bradbury Series on HBO had him sitting in his writers garrod with tons of stuff around him and supposedly that was where he drew his inspiration.

But if I'm going to steal I'm stealing from a legend.
 
I find i can jump start my Muse with a picture faster than anything.....

I collect pictures at ramdom around the net and keep them in a file.... When I'm stuck or bored i pull them up and browse the thumbnails... the small size blurs details and lets me fill in mentally....

One usually catches my muses fancy and away we go....
 
Coins

I have a collection of old coins.

None of them are valuable because they are too worn but I prefer them that way.

I have coins from most countries in the world including countries that no longer exist. When I handle the coins (not something you should do with good quality antique coins) I try to think about who might have handled them in the past and what, if anything, that coin meant to them.

My favorites are two coins from the French Revolution that were made from the metal of the bells of Paris.

It's odd. I don't get historical stories from them. They start me thinking about people...

Og
 
Salvor-Hardon said:
Wish I could claim it as original.

The old Ray Bradbury Series on HBO had him sitting in his writers garrod with tons of stuff around him and supposedly that was where he drew his inspiration.

But if I'm going to steal I'm stealing from a legend.
Actually, you're stealing from older legends than that. Try Umberto Eco. Or what the hell, try Aristotele.
 
Liar said:
Actually, you're stealing from older legends than that. Try Umberto Eco. Or what the hell, try Aristotele.


Wooohoooo! Ancient Historical Thievery! I feel so Thomas Crown now.

Where's Rene Russo in a near transparent black dress when I need her?
 
On a side note, to go with muse kicking and my fantasy of being a museum thief, my new aluminum attache case is due in today so I'll be packing it with gadgets, and such as if I were an international cat burglar, and thus reworking my box of trinkets for story fodder.

Anyone got any ideas what new to put in there?
 
Salvor-Hardon said:
Wooohoooo! Ancient Historical Thievery! I feel so Thomas Crown now.

Where's Rene Russo in a near transparent black dress when I need her?
Right here, and I'm not sharing.

I wish.
 
Liar said:
Right here, and I'm not sharing.

I wish.
you're well named, Liar! :rolleyes:

Brian Eno created an interesting set of cards-
the Oblique Strategies
Which I wish I'd remember about more often! This page has links to some online versions, and there are printables on the net, and also beautifully printed and boxed versions.

I have been able to -almost finish a chapter of "Mad Moll". And it hasn't been fun, although the chapter is fun.... And I have a couple other ideas laying limp in my brain... no hardons at all. :(
 
Oblique Strategies

Now that is a truly cool idea!

Thanks Stella for mentioning them. I may have to make a couple of decks myself.
 
Salvor-Hardon said:
On a side note, to go with muse kicking and my fantasy of being a museum thief, my new aluminum attache case is due in today so I'll be packing it with gadgets, and such as if I were an international cat burglar, and thus reworking my box of trinkets for story fodder.

Anyone got any ideas what new to put in there?
Chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Most muses cannot resist the aroma of chocolate. If you sit there quietly at your computer with your chocolate, sometimes a muse will nibble the candy right out of your hand. A contented muse is generally agreeable to inspiring ideas and eliminating writer's block. Not too much. though, a sated muse just wants to lie there and purr. That's why so many stories on Lit involve pussy. :cathappy:
 
glynndah said:
Chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Most muses cannot resist the aroma of chocolate. If you sit there quietly at your computer with your chocolate, sometimes a muse will nibble the candy right out of your hand. A contented muse is generally agreeable to inspiring ideas and eliminating writer's block. Not too much. though, a sated muse just wants to lie there and purr. That's why so many stories on Lit involve pussy. :cathappy:

Dark chocolate, good to know.

and if the purring is what inspires stories with pussy, who's crowing to inspire stories with cock? ;)
 
I find that the best rememdy to give my muse a good swift kick is one of the things which has been discussed in here already; focus writing. Pull something out of a cigar box, handle your old coins, invision a scene that contains that item or is inspired by our randomly juxtaposing streams of consciousness and let the words flow.

Something else that works quite well the description of a sound effect:

The springloaded metalic click, the soft grating of a wheel-lock flint, the subtle sound of paper incinerating, inhale, exhale; it's about to be one of those days.
 
The_Darkness said:
I find that the best rememdy to give my muse a good swift kick is one of the things which has been discussed in here already; focus writing. Pull something out of a cigar box, handle your old coins, invision a scene that contains that item or is inspired by our randomly juxtaposing streams of consciousness and let the words flow.

Something else that works quite well the description of a sound effect:

The springloaded metalic click, the soft grating of a wheel-lock flint, the subtle sound of paper incinerating, inhale, exhale; it's about to be one of those days.
did you roll your own?
 
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