Muse Protection Program

Photo courtesy of Svilen Milev www.efffective.com (yes, three F's!)

As writers, we're a pretty neurotic bunch. I suspect more than half of us are also superstitious. I know I am. When I write, I have to have the same music on (Original Cast Recording from the Phantom of the Opera starring Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford), be in same clothes (smurf pajama bottoms and a t-shirt), have the same drink at hand (Dr Pepper for story stuff, Llano Blush for the sexy stuff) and be at a real desk (I've tried to write propped up in bed or lounging in the chaise and it's just so unproductive!). I also follow the exact same routine when I get on the computer and before I start writing. I like to think of it as priming my muse. Getting her out of bed and ready to face the writing day.
First, I check my email. Then Facebook. Then Twitter. I scan my favorite news sites (5 in all) then finally open up my music player and hit play on Phantom. I'm ready to go and so is my muse. She settles down and we kick some serious writing ass. That blinking cursor and white screen don't scare us!

It hasn't always been this way, though. In fact, it's only been a few years since I got BACK into writing. I was in a void of creativity for two years and it was a most depressing time. I was often grumpy and empty yet every time I tried to start anything, even write one lousy sentence, my muse dove for the covers and refused to come out. She'd been beaten near to death with a very large stick. And probably a bomb made of C4.


Unfortunately what was going on wasn't quite that obvious. It was subtle and stealthy and nearly lethal to my creative side. When I finally realized that the situation was killing my muse, I removed myself from the situation but my muse refused to come out to play.

Squee! The Muse and  I
celebrate our first
release!

As I said, it took her two years to come back out. I lured her out with Julie Cameron's The Artist's Way, good, supportive friends, sheer determination and a rope. It was one of the hardest things I'd done but it was a positive thing. Not long after, I published Her Dark Master, my first book. I was elated.

Things went swimmingly for a while then I ran into another roadblock when I was unexpectedly waylaid by a wall of censure and cold shoulders. The thing that made this really bad is the attitude emanated from people I trusted and confided in. I fought for months and I felt my muse slipping further and further away. This time, though, I was determined not to let her go. I threw the rope around her teeny little waist and yanked with all my strength.

Then, I sat down and had a talk with myself. It was rough and often rude and there was lots of crying (hey, I said we were neurotic. Not only do we hear the voices in our heads, we often argue with them.) When the tissues were sodden and the chocolate consumed, I had an epiphany. She and I worked out a deal to protect her at all costs: write for myself, my characters and no one else. Ever since I had that brainstorm, my muse and I have been happily burning up the keyboard with lots of books (nine of them with more on the way!) and even more ideas. I can quite often be caught with my face frozen, mouth agape and brain working feverishly. Thankfully, my family is used to this expression and now, instead of calling an ambulance, they hand me something to write on.

The lesson of Muse Protection came to the fore again today when I was involved in a discussion with fellow authors about how to handle the things we all have to face like rejection, critics, ridicule and the ever popular "You write what?!" I offered my two cents, then my muse and I happily went back to writing a chilling little story that makes my skin crawl and her cackle with absolute glee.

I'm not sure about the story, but she's having a blast and really, if your muse is happy, who cares?

So, protect your muse. Protect your writing. Cull from your life those who would drag you down and pummel your muse into creative unconsciousness. She deserves much better than that.

P.S. My muse just happens to be the adult form of Ember, the daughter of Cutter & Leetah from Elfquest by the genius and talented brains of Richard & Wendy Pini. If you don't know Elfquest, then you are so missing out. It's one of the coolest graphic comic series in the history of ever. Check it out! My Ember muse image is from the Gatherum. She's totally grown, sporting a huge assed sword and looking smug and defiant. LOVE IT.

Happy reading,
Jennifer