Calling Upon The Muse–Finding Inspiration For What You Do

“O! For a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention.” —William Shakespeare

It’s officially NaNoWriMo right now. For those of you who might not be familiar with the term, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. It’s a little program a person can participate in where they write a novel of at least 50,000 words in the month of November. It is pretty challenging for a lot of people. This year I am not officially participating. I have too many other projects I’m in the middle of right now. However, I am using it to track my writing, and work hard and heavy on those projects. Basically, I’m trying to get the word count in, but not all on the same project. For example, this post will count. I’ll also count all the words I’m writing for the story I’m posting on Wattpad. (You should check that out by the way. It’s about Aviandrian Riders. My username is KatymarieFrost.) Every word I type in the rewrite of the sequel to Gateway to Aviandria will also be counted. I really can’t fit another novel in among all these other things. Not that I don’t have enough ideas for one—I have far too many ideas.

Despite the fact that I have an entire armada of ideas floating around in my brain, sometimes I don’t know what to write. It’s one thing getting an idea. It’s another knowing how to write that idea. Right now, many writers are talking about finding their muse. In other words, how they keep from experiencing writer’s block. Many different writers have different opinions on the “muse.”

Ray Bradbury says, “I am not in control of my muse. My muse does all the work.”

On the other hand, Maggie Stiefvater believes, “The biggest mistake you can make is assuming creativity will hit you all at once and the muse will carry you to the end of the book on feather wings…”

Regardless of how we view the muse, writers have to get inspiration somewhere. Each person has their own unique way of doing this. Here are some of the things I have used to write Aviandria.

1- Talk to the characters. Yep, I visit my imaginary friends. I don’t really sit there and talk to them out loud, but I interact with them in my mind. I get to know them better. I draw them. I “interview” them. I imagine what they might do in different situations completely unassociated with the story. For example, what would Dillyn think of driving a car? How would Alder react to a place like Disneyland? I listen to them tell me stories about their childhood, or major events in their past. As I get to know my characters better, I sometimes get ideas about how they might react in the story, and it gives me a boost as I write that down. It helps my mind flow better. If nothing else, I get excited enough about writing about them sometimes it is just what I need to motivate me.

2- Find the right environment. This isn’t always possible, but it can be helpful. I love to write outside surrounded by birds, trees, flowers and plenty of fresh air. That doesn’t usually happen. The muse tends to show up in some other strange places. One of my favorite places to settle down to write is a laundromat. If I go at the right time of day, there will be hardly anybody else there, and I can sit alone in the solitude and write. Sometimes I have to make my own environment if I can’t go find the perfect one. If nothing else, at least find music, or ambient noises to help me get in the right mood.

3- Time travel. Not in a literal, physical sense. I travel within the timeline of my story. Sometimes, when I am just feeling stuck, I have to skip ahead to a scene that excites me. I find a spot where I already know what needs to happen, and I write that. It drives me forward. Then I have the desire and urge to fill in the holes. When I am lacking in motivation, I jump ahead again and reread that part. It helps.

4- Make a movie. Obviously, I can’t sit there and film the entire thing. I don’t have the budget, the equipment, or the skill set. It just wouldn’t work. However, I do have my imagination, and I can sit and imagine what the story might look like on the big screen. I replay what I have already written, and try to picture what should come next if I were watching a movie. Sometimes the picture comes much easier than the words, and then I can translate the image into the written version.

5- Sleep on it. Sometimes just as I am falling asleep, or waking up, the muse will visit. Sometimes I think that real right between slumber and full consciousness is where ideas dwell. They might venture out into the conscious world once in a while where you can catch them, but they live in that world right between wakefulness and sleep. Some of my best ideas have come in this time.

6- Borrow somebody else’s muse. It’s not like I’m cheating on my muse. It’s more like I’m bringing them in some outside reinforcement. Sometimes I just have to read or watch something somebody else has created. It is not so I can copy them, but sometimes just stepping out of my own world keeps my muse from feeling overworked and refreshes my brain enough I can continue afterward.

Though we may joke about the muse, my personal opinion on the matter is you have to find your own motivation. Sometimes, when you are very lucky, ideas and inspiration come. You feel so motivated that all you want to do is hammer on the keyboard. That’s great! Use it! However, the muse is fickle. More often than not, you have to find ways to keep yourself going. That’s why I have found these ways to help myself. I think this applies to more than just writing, or art, or even the “creative” fields. I think it is the same for anything in life. Don’t depend on an outside influence or “muse” to keep you going. Take control. As Frida Kahlo puts it, “I am my own muse, the subject I know best.”

What are some things you do to keep yourself motivated? How do you find your inspiration?