Really, Muse? Is This Fun for You?

by Melissa Corliss DeLorenzo

muse Is every Muse as fickle as mine?

Or as much like those boys in high school, the ones you really liked, who were hot and cold for you. Passionate then aloof.

What does it mean to have a muse? It’s such a lovely idea. It lends writing a less solitary, less lonely grace. Historically, the muses were invoked to inspire creativity. The word inspiration means the immediate influence of a god. She won’t always tell you what to write, but she will infect you with the urge to say something.

If it were not for my Muse, I would not feel compelled at that sweet moment just before sleep to sit upright and grope for the pen and paper I keep at my bedside to scratch out a line or an idea. I could enjoy a sleek and vacant mind. I could simply appreciate the scenery while on a drive instead of almost running off the road while attempting to steer and jot something down on a napkin at the same time. I would not in all my waking moments vacillate between the joy of creating and the torment of not creating.

But who is this Muse? What is that creative mojo she awakens? That feeling of being truly alive that comes with creation; that invigorating feeling of excitement in your belly? When I am creating, life is better, fuller, happier. What is the chemical thing that happens? The thing that makes you not want to sleep. It’s like being in love.

But the writer cannot rely solely on the Muse. It’s a codependent relationship. Like a particularly onerous lover, you must coax and coddle your Muse. Carry paper and a pen with you at all times. Keep paper and pen at your bedside. Write things down at two am – you will not remember in the morning and the Muse will be too stubborn to remind you. After all, she told you once already – it was not her fault you were half asleep. Write all the junk that comes out of you, edit it later. You will cull good material in subsequent drafts. Immerse yourself in writing: read writers you admire, read books about writing, show people your writing, start a blog, accept criticism – find the common threads and address them. Write everyday. Write when you would rather do anything else (including the laundry, the dishes, clipping the dog’s nails, cleaning out the drain clogged with hair and ungodly gunk). Write when you feel you need to scream with frustration. Stay there and do it until you want to do it more than anything else you could be doing. Write the things that excite you and scare you. Think about writing all the time. Be vigilant.

Coincidentally, our two guest writers this week both wrote about the Muse from opposing perspectives. I am a middle of the road kind of person, which is not to say I hold no opinions, but rather that I tend to recognize both angles of an idea. The idea of a Muse is such a lovely one. However, if I do have a Muse she is either petulant or gets a kick out of watching me squirm. So, whether she is real or not, I am still reliant on myself. Writing is work. So, I do the work. When I have to be, I am my own Muse.

What do you think about Muses? What is that creative mojo? How do you find it and keep it going?

Book Giveway!
Did you hear about our upcoming book giveaway? Read The Writer’s Life Q&A with Catherine Gildiner on November 3rd, share your thoughts and qualify to win a copy of her book, After the Falls: Coming of Age in the Sixties! See the announcement for details.

Melissa Corliss DeLorenzo is a writer, reader, yogini (when she can squeeze it in), mom, part-time Office Manager, a homemaker and the Coordinator and Writer for The Writer’s Life blog. She loves to cook and take long walks with her kids and is a woman who wants to meaningfully exchange and intersect with other women writers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Currently she works at a web development company (because part-time Office Manager buys more groceries than Struggling Writer). She is at work on a novel and a short story collection. Melissa lives in North Central Massachusetts with her family.