"Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it's always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins." Neil Gaiman. Each time you begin a new project, or even a day's writing, you're faced that blank page - and often the overwhelming urge to crawl back into bed. At times like these you need to unleash your secret weapon. That weapon, and the best way to fight that initial fear-blockade is to find your Muse.
What is a Muse? Basically, it's someone else to blame. And sometimes that is enough.
Muses are of ancient Greek fame, the nine Muses of the arts. Although they were often portrayed as scantily clad women, inspiring through the arousal of sexual desire was not their primary purpose. Instead, they simultaneously embodied and sponsored the arts, and you could not produce truly great art if the Muses did not chose to grant you the necessary skill and inspiration.
Muses appear throughout history in various forms, but always as an entity that bestows inspiration and passion upon an individual (rather than arousing it from within). This is a critical distinction. The result is that while it's your responsibility to be open and willing to work when the inspiration is given, it is her/his/its responsibility to give you that inspiration. Therefore, if you sit down and work, and nothing good comes out, well that's not your fault. Your Muse is away for the day. Of course, you are responsible for doing everything you can to win the fair Muse over, no more can be expected at this point in time.
Having to internalise and take responsibility for this purely creative element is one of the reasons for the idea of the tortured artist, so evident in contemporary culture. It is now the writer's fault if they cannot produce inspired work on demand. This is incredibly stressful, enough to make anyone curl up and whimper. It both instils and magnifies the fear of failure that can utterly cripple a writer, that which causes a lot of the writer's block in the world. As Elizabeth Gilbert said in an engaging TED Talk, ("Your elusive creative genius"), "I think that allowing somebody, one mere person to believe that he or she is like, the vessel, like the font and the essence and the source of all divine, creative, unknowable, eternal mystery is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile, human psyche... and I think the pressure of that has been killing off our artists for the last 500 years."
As such, one of the most effective mental exercises for the developing writer is to find and identify your Muse. It is something external to you that has the ability to grant you inspiration when it wants, and only requires that you sit down and faithfully work, and maybe write it a sonnet or two in thanks. Then, unseen by you, it will infuse its magic into your work, and together you will create something great. And if the work you produce is not great? Well, you can blame your muse for not turning up on that day.
What is your Muse? My personal faith works well for me, and you need to find that which works best for you. If you are at all imaginative, give it personality, characteristics with which you can interact. Make a deal with it: your part is to turn up and write on demand (perhaps a little wooing is in order), their part is to bless the process and take responsibility for the outcome.
I have found that cats make good Muses. There is something in their air that hints at the ability to grant inspiration (it would also explain why they love sitting on keyboards so much!). Moreover, they have egos big enough to take your successes or failures in their stride.
Perhaps you could imagine your Muse is the spirit of your favourite writer, or perhaps Botticelli's Venus, the spirit of new-born art. Whoever (or whatever) it is, their role is to be an external being, there to assure you of some higher meaning to your work, and to remind you to relax and let the words flow.
Strange as it sounds, I urge you to undertake this activity right now. Search for a something that will work for you and has a strong personal meaning. Either real or imaginary, designate an other to take the pressure and stress of the creative process, so you can simply enjoy and have fun in your writing.
What is a Muse? Basically, it's someone else to blame. And sometimes that is enough.
Muses are of ancient Greek fame, the nine Muses of the arts. Although they were often portrayed as scantily clad women, inspiring through the arousal of sexual desire was not their primary purpose. Instead, they simultaneously embodied and sponsored the arts, and you could not produce truly great art if the Muses did not chose to grant you the necessary skill and inspiration.
Muses appear throughout history in various forms, but always as an entity that bestows inspiration and passion upon an individual (rather than arousing it from within). This is a critical distinction. The result is that while it's your responsibility to be open and willing to work when the inspiration is given, it is her/his/its responsibility to give you that inspiration. Therefore, if you sit down and work, and nothing good comes out, well that's not your fault. Your Muse is away for the day. Of course, you are responsible for doing everything you can to win the fair Muse over, no more can be expected at this point in time.
Having to internalise and take responsibility for this purely creative element is one of the reasons for the idea of the tortured artist, so evident in contemporary culture. It is now the writer's fault if they cannot produce inspired work on demand. This is incredibly stressful, enough to make anyone curl up and whimper. It both instils and magnifies the fear of failure that can utterly cripple a writer, that which causes a lot of the writer's block in the world. As Elizabeth Gilbert said in an engaging TED Talk, ("Your elusive creative genius"), "I think that allowing somebody, one mere person to believe that he or she is like, the vessel, like the font and the essence and the source of all divine, creative, unknowable, eternal mystery is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile, human psyche... and I think the pressure of that has been killing off our artists for the last 500 years."
As such, one of the most effective mental exercises for the developing writer is to find and identify your Muse. It is something external to you that has the ability to grant you inspiration when it wants, and only requires that you sit down and faithfully work, and maybe write it a sonnet or two in thanks. Then, unseen by you, it will infuse its magic into your work, and together you will create something great. And if the work you produce is not great? Well, you can blame your muse for not turning up on that day.
What is your Muse? My personal faith works well for me, and you need to find that which works best for you. If you are at all imaginative, give it personality, characteristics with which you can interact. Make a deal with it: your part is to turn up and write on demand (perhaps a little wooing is in order), their part is to bless the process and take responsibility for the outcome.
I have found that cats make good Muses. There is something in their air that hints at the ability to grant inspiration (it would also explain why they love sitting on keyboards so much!). Moreover, they have egos big enough to take your successes or failures in their stride.
Perhaps you could imagine your Muse is the spirit of your favourite writer, or perhaps Botticelli's Venus, the spirit of new-born art. Whoever (or whatever) it is, their role is to be an external being, there to assure you of some higher meaning to your work, and to remind you to relax and let the words flow.
Strange as it sounds, I urge you to undertake this activity right now. Search for a something that will work for you and has a strong personal meaning. Either real or imaginary, designate an other to take the pressure and stress of the creative process, so you can simply enjoy and have fun in your writing.
About the Author:
This is an excerpt from Buffy Greentree's book 'The Five Day Writer's Retreat', available now on Amazon Five_day_Writer_Retreat
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