Either she’s back in the psych ward or the bitch got herself knocked up again, but my muse took an unplanned temporary leave of absence this morning. All this brilliant shit she had me up half the night taking notes on? Gone. With her. On a jet plane or something.
I’m a little pissed.
When Ms. Fickle Bitch Muse (that’s her full name) vanishes, I figure I have two choices:
1) Press on without her.
2) Wait for her happy ass to return.
The choice I make depends on what I’m working on and how crucial she is to the job. If it’s a client project, I press on. If it’s a creative personal thing — with no deadline and nothing but my fleeting sanity hanging in the balance –I usually wait.
I’ve seen many writers debate the “write creatively every day whether your muse shows up or not” bit, and I’m usually in the minority. I know my writing well enough to know it will be crap if my muse is on leave. I would rather spend time doing other things.
But I’m curious about all of you… What do you do? Do you press on and write? Or do you give your muse a reasonable amount of time to come back before you bother?
{ 1 trackback }
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
I ask why. What I have found in my case is that the muse DOES NOT LEAVE. She gets drowned out by other voices shouting so loud that she can no longer be heard. So I try to tune in to what is speaking louder than my muse. Usually it is a SHOULD. I should be exercising. I should be doing laundry, the dog wants to go for a walk, I haven’t planned dinner…the *stuff* is stacking up…Then the should is followed closely by an I don’t want to on my part. THat internal argument ruins my creativity every time. SO…I tell the voices to shut up or I go get something done and come back. It depends on who is shouting.
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirations’s last blog post..My Dog Missed the Memo
She sat next to me, during this entire three-day boring course I was on.
She woudln’t shut up, either.
She’s going to get me fired one, day, I swear.
Friar’s last blog post..Assorted Friar-O-Lanterns
Oh dear god, I’ve been laughing for the last few minutes after I read, “When Ms. Fickle Bitch Muse (that’s her full name) vanishes…”
I’m lucky as my muse has a voice of her own and is real flesh and blood (as least, that what she tells me).
Matthew Dryden’s last blog post..I Have A Favor To Ask
I think my muse might poke her head in for a blog post every now and again, but mostly has just lost interest since I haven’t written any fiction in a couple years now. I think they just don’t get as excited over non-fiction writing … Come to think of it, she never mentioned her name, either.
–Deb’s last blog post..Business: It’s All in the Cards
Wow, my muse is a little bitch too! In fact, I’ve stopped waiting around for her to stop by, and then demand I kiss her ass for the privilege. I guess i do the “push-on-through-until-it-starts-to-gel” tactic, otherwise known as writing shitty first drafts and then revising them mercilessly. Sometimes it works. Today it did not. So I feel your pain, and am now envisioning ways to capture both of our muses and hurt them.
QuietRebelWriter’s last blog post..Resource Review: The Portable MFA
Rebel — I busted up laughing at “am now envisioning ways to capture both of our muses and hurt them.” I’m totally open to suggestions.
Deb — I know what you mean. Mine doesn’t come out for work-writing much either. Can’t blame her.
Matthew — Hehe. You ARE lucky. Send her over.
Friar — Ha! I kept hoping mine would get me fired. No such luck. Hopefully you’ll have a better chance…
Wendi — Those shoulds suck, don’t they? That’s usually how it works with me. Today, nope. She’s gone. The little ratbastard.
Hmmm. I think I’m with Wendy. When I can get the other voices to shut up, my muse seems to flourish. Unfortunately, lately it’s been less and less often I can pick out her voice.
steph’s last blog post..I Mentioned Change, Right?
Steph — Maybe we should start a support group for all our voices? They could meet once a week, and meanwhile we could get some writing done?
Unfortunately, it’s not my muse that escapes me lately. It’s my memory! I have a razor-sharp memory when it comes to dates, birthdays, names/faces, etc. In fact, I can tell you my entire kindergarten class in alphabetical order by last name, WITH addresses, birthdays, parents’ names, and in some cases, telephone numbers and addresses.
However, I sit down to research or write something, and I can’t remember what it is. Classic example: I wanted to work on a project, but I had an idea, so I thought, “I better jot that down before I forget.” So I opened a Notepad file on my PC and wrote the reminder (paper gets lost in my house). By the time I did that (only 2 minutes maybe), I totally forgot what I wanted to work on, and I only remembered after I happened to click over to the blog that inspired the idea in the first place!
Leigh’s last blog post..Freelance Weight Loss Wednesdays: Portion Control
That’s hilarious! When the muse leaves, I take a break. Some people can still be creative through writer’s block or a mental funk….I can’t. I’ve learned from experience that it’s best to wait it out. The creative side of my brain usually re-opens a few hours later.
Valencia’s last blog post..Working in a Messy Office
Leigh — it’s funny you mention how your memory works. I totally feel you on that. I can still remember telephone numbers of school friends from first grade but can’t remember why I walked into the kitchen. Not cool. I know…
Valencia — Ah, yes! Finally one other person on earth who waits. I’m so happy not to feel alone anymore. You’re lucky yours comes back in a few hours though! I think mine hopped a metlife cruise or some shit like that.
Often, I’ll write a draft post, and I call my muse in, and he comes and tinkers with it, like a mechanic under the hood, complete with butt-crack. “Here’s your problem”, he says, throwing a few hackneyed words over his shoulder. Who knew a car runs better with fewer parts? When the car is a blog post.
Rick Wolff’s last blog post..Eyewitness Accounts: The Root
Hey Rick! So cool to see you here.
And nice of you to share the butt-crack imagery. LOL!!! A mechanic muse. Hm. That’s pretty cool actually! A great analogy, I say. 
@Amy
Sometimes I try to show who’s boss, and I tell the Muse:
Yo! Bee-yotch. Go and make me a SAMMITCH!
And she invariably throws the tray of food at my head.
And that’s when I write.
Friar’s last blog post..More Friar-O-Lanterns (*)
Friar — but you DO eat the food, even after it’s been thrown at your head, right?
@Amy
Five second rule.
(After all, she DOES make good sammitches!)
Friar’s last blog post..More Friar-O-Lanterns (*)
Friar, I was totally gonna say “five second rule” too. Then I thought, “What if they don’t do that in Canada, and I just sound gross?” LOL
HAH! Thanks for directing me here, LOL. My fickle muse generally likes to hold off until the last minute before gracing me with her presence. I try to press on, but when it still sounds like crud, she shows up at the last minute to save the day.
Amy,
(First, I love the comments. They gave me such a feeling of ADD I almost forgot what I was going to say!)
I seem to have a few muses. I almost always have at least one RL person, someone who makes me want to be a better designer/ writer, and well, folks in real life don’t always inspire exactly when you need them to, so yeah, sometimes I don’t hear arias in my head when I sit down to a piece of paper.
But I also have a git-r-done muse, for sure. That chick is with me all the time and hates slacking, which in my natural state I might love. So she says, let’s just get something done, and maybe Brilliance will come back.
Then there’s Brilliance. If you want to know, I’m calling them “she” because that’s what one does with muses, but I’d prefer to think of them all as looking like Matthew McConaughey. Now that would be inspiring. Especially the RL one. *ahem*
Anyway, (s)he doesn’t come by too often, but when Brilliance makes an appearance, I can’t eat or sleep until it’s time for the muse to go. Literally. It just wouldn’t be right to waste a moment.
Short answer long: I don’t pull back when one muse isn’t around, but I do have moments of longing for one of the better muses to show up.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..1st Ever Maximum Customer Experience Conference FREE Right Now!
@Amy
Yes, but with our five second rule, we’re using METRIC time!
Friar’s last blog post..More Friar-O-Lanterns (*)
Friar–Metric time? LOL!
Kelly’s last blog post..1st Ever Maximum Customer Experience Conference FREE Right Now!
Angel — So exciting to see you comment.
Nothing like a late, fickle muse! We should get our Muses together for that Alf marathon we keep talking about. I’ll bet that would fix them!
Kelly — Only you would have Multiple Muse Disorder. But a git-r-done muse? HAHA HA HA HA! I think I have a workaholic muse too, come to think of it. Hmm….
Friar — Metric time? LOL! (Oh wait, Kelly already said that….)
Multiple Muse Disorder! I didn’t know the disease had a name. Oh, the relief… Thank you, Dr. A!
Kelly’s last blog post..1st Ever Maximum Customer Experience Conference FREE Right Now!
Does now.
This is so much more than dancing with the muse! But what… the tango? Or perhaps one of you is stepping on the other’s toes?
I hate it when this happens. Lately I keep getting one idea after another (and I appreciate that). But they don’t make appointments, they just show up, and usually when I’m in the middle of doing other things. I keep a list of these ideas, but half the time when I return to the list I wonder “What was so exciting about that?”
Then are those times when an idea knocks me over and I just write and magic happens.
Davina’s last blog post..Thanks, It Means The World To Me
Davina, I hear ya! And I can SO relate to that. I get way too many ideas all at once, usually when I don’t have the time to execute any of them, and then by the time I do want to do something with one of them I’m like “What was this about? Why was this a good idea?” Sigh.
I’m afraid my muse is on liquid crack right now. I don’t have the clarity to press on.
When the bitch leaves me any other time, I try to press on showing her who is boss…then she punishes me.
Grandy’s last blog post..You want me to eat WHAT?!
Grand One — Liquid crack? Please-oh-please have your muse hook me up with her supplier. My muse could use some liquid speed for these insomniatic nights I’ve been having. (That’s when all the good ideas come, it seems.)
Get.Some.REST!! Your muse will stumble her drunk ass back to you soon enough.
Grandy’s last blog post..How Grandy Spends Her Daze
How come muses are always female? Except Rick Wolff’s.
I sure don’t have the case of MMD but my bitch also left me in the middle of a short story so now off I go on a soul searching quest for her. Well, can’t blame her for going awol, was becoming too preoccupied with the day job. Aaah, the lengths we go for our muses. Just hope she does not get a sex change when she comes back.
Kate’s last blog post..Live Out of the Box
Grandy — Oh, she’s on a bender?? That explains everything! LOL
Kate — Those day jobs sue are muse-kills, aren’t they? But a sex change?!?! Surely if she can afford one of those, she doesn’t need a day job.
Yes, maybe if we did get our muses together with us to watch some Alf they’d stick around a little longer too!
Or at least motivate mine to show up a little bit before deadline.
Angel, yes Alf and a ton of junkfood. A nice food coma might do them some good.
HaHA! That’s the best opening sentence of a blog post EVER! I always push through if it’s client work, but if it’s a personal project then it depends on a million other factors. I may forgo the creative work in favor of getting some research done (which usually means reading a 900-page book of baby names in search of something to call my characters).
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Novels, Blogs, and Poetry - Oh My!
Hi Melissa! Thank you.
I’m like you, always pushing on the client projects but when it’s my own, not so much sometimes. Ironically, I just spent half an hour trying to find a certain name that means a certain thing for a story I got stumped on halfway through. Now I’ve exhausted myself. LOL
Please do comment and discuss.
We love a good conversation!
Please use a name when commenting. Does not have to be your real name or full name. But responding to folks calling themselves "Make Money Writing Online" and such kinda sucks. Calling yourself keywords will likely get you thrown into my spam filter.