the muse

The tides of change are flowing

Things are changing around the dusty corners of this creative mind.  I can feel this change beginning to happen and it’s exciting to be aware of it from such an early stage.  Normally, we don’t get to know about these changes until we’re (apparently all of a sudden) hit with the urge to create, and we tend to think that this urge has just hit us out of nowhere.  Now I know this isn’t so, that the conduit through which the creative urge flows, takes time to be built.  Not much time, but time nonetheless

In the past, I have ‘suddenly’ got an idea for a story.  I then write down this basic thought in a notebook and keep it for when the time is right to actually write it.  When that time arrives, I ‘just know’ that it’s now time to write this story, and I get on with it.  I  have had no awareness of anything going on during these intervals of time, or during the time leading up to the initial ‘idea hit’.

Now things are different, and I’m being made aware of the very first seeds of creation being sown, and I know that one day, the result will be a story, a book, and that book will be the culmination of the changes that are just now beginning.  I have yet to experience the ‘idea hit’, that is yet to come, but when it does, I will know and think, “ahh, this is because of…………………”

Maybe it’s the muse taking pity on me and deciding to let me in on the bit he normally does on his own, I don’t know but it’s exciting.

My mind is being ‘called’ to take notice of things I have never taken much interest in before.  I’m feeling compelled to watch certain movies, and I know it’s because they contain things that will help me develop a future story.  The first two of these are 2001 and 2010, both classic space operas.  I had some difficulty getting hold of 2001, but thanks to a great friend Paul (thanks buddy) I was able to watch it and I know why I had to watch it.  Today I watched 2010 and although I’m not totally sure what nugget of gold this one has for me, I do know it’s not the same one that 2001 has.  All will become clear in the fullness of time.  I also know I have to watch Doom, probably several times over, and again, I do know why and what I’m looking for.  I have this movie on DVD and luckily, it’s one of my favourites, so I won’t mind at all.

All I know at this moment, is that it will be a classic space opera and will take place entirely in a space ship.  The protagonists will be a unit of soldiers, and a highly sophisticated computer will star alongside them.  I even know the main protagonist’s name,  that was one that came to me ages ago, which is written in my ‘little purple book’ of ideas.  I’ve no idea whether this will be a stand alone or a series, although my educated guess is a stand alone.  I have no title as yet, but I do know that it will come while I’m writing it.

Writing has always been an intuitive process for me, but I’ve never before been party to the build up that lays the foundations for the story.  This is a first for me, and it’s wonderful to be a part of.  I’ve no idea why my muse is letting me in on this initial foundation laying process, but I’m very happy that he is.  Maybe it’s a new muse taking over, one who likes to do things differently.

There have been other changes here too lately.  I wrote some time ago that I decided to do another anthology of short stores, only this one would be paranormal rather than horror.  I have a couple of them done, and I started another, which I planned to be around 4k words.  Well that story is now at 12k and has no intention of finishing yet, so I’m now writing a paranormal novel that I never planned to write. Who’da thunk?

One week ago, on Ash Wednesday actually, I gave up smoking.  I’m getting pangs of course, but my new best friend is my nicorette inhalator and it’s helping me stay on the wagon so far.  Maybe without the poison of smoking, my creative mind can now see further, and maybe my muse can now reach me more easily, I don’t know.

Change is happening, and change is good.

Who is in control, muse or me?

thinking-152218_640

 

People often ask me, “where do you get your ideas?”  My answer is always the same, “they just seem to drop in on their own.”  I know that’s not a very helpful answer, but it’s the truth, and I always tend to think of the ideas as coming from somewhere outside of me.  Whether it’s just creative energy floating around in the ether that just happens to land on my brain cells, or whether it’s being fed to me by the spirits of dead writers, or even if it escaping from another dimension that just happens to have strayed too close to this one, I don’t really care.

Many creative people talk about their muse as if it’s a person, and I’m the same.  Mine feels like a male, but maybe that’s because I’m a female and subconsciously, I know I need the male energy to complete me.  He doesn’t have a name and I haven’t given him one, but I do believe in him as male.  He’s fairly easy going most of the time, but he can crack the whip when he feels the need.  When he does, he’s persistent and won’t accept being ignored.

His method is subtle though.  If I’m ignoring him, he will bombard my brain with ideas, or a single idea, and no matter what I try to do, it won’t go away.  If I have a certain direction in which I want to take my story, and that doesn’t match his plan, it’s his way or the highway.  I can be typing away quite happily, then suddenly find myself typing stuff I had no intention of typing, with no idea where the idea for those words came from, and it’s usually the polar opposite of what I wanted to do.  I’ve come to realise that he knows best, so I always give in and let him  have his way.  If I’ve been resisting his push for a while, when I do finally give in and write, the story usually pours out like a tidal wave.

I decided a little while ago, to write some more short stories for another anthology, this time paranormal based rather than straight up horror.  I had a couple done, and had an idea for a third that kept banging away inside my head for ages.  When I finally sat down to write what I thought was going to be a short story of no more than 4k words, it quickly became obvious that His Lordship had other ideas.  He wants this to be a book, maybe a novella, but certainly NOT a short story, perish the thought.

This sounds like I’m complaining, but I’m not.  I love that the creative force is so strong and active and tangible for me, and I feel sorry for those who don’t feel that way.  I don’t know how I could advise those folks.

So who is really in charge?  The answer for me is two fold; either the writer takes charge and ignores the muse, or the writer listens to the muse and let’s them direct the story.  My personality is one that needs strong leadership and an active ‘hands on’ approach.  I need firm but constantly encouraging guidance.  I’m one of those types who would thrive in the gym if I had a personal trainer yelling at me all the time.  Sometimes I find it hard to motivate myself, so a strong push from outside of myself is what works for me.

I’m happy to let my muse be in control.  I trust him completely and never argue, it’s pointless to try anyway.  I always say that I don’t actually write my stories, my characters write them, and I just take dictation.  I find the whole subject of the muse, fascinating, and would love to know what your experience of it is.