So...I just looked at the date on my last post, and realized that I have been shamefully lacking in the regularity of my posts. For that, I apologize. I can only blame homework and the fact that I was out of town with the fam for a few days. Good times, but back to business...
Over the summer, I was just starting to discover the blogosphere. I was still looking around for blogs that I felt I could really enjoy. While looking around one blog, I found another: http://looseleafwriting.blogspot.com/ (I highly recommend it, by the way. It's truly fabulous.)
Anyway...one of Alexa's posts was talking about how her inspiration comes to her while she writes. Alexa described her "Muse", and then posed some questions at the end of the post. Specifically, she asked who we were trying to please when we were writing, and what our muse was like. Here was my response:
"I would say that I write for myself. I have to assume that no one will be reading this stuff but me, (at least in the beginning). That way I know I'm being completely honest and am open to more ideas as they come to me. My writing sucks when I let myself get distracted with questions like "What will others think about this?"
My muse only comes to me when I stop thinking so hard and let her do the writing. She's kind of a control freak but our relationship works pretty well, so who am I to try and change things?"
When I checked back a day or so later, I found this post from a guy called Lysdexicuss:
"I am back here commenting because my curiosity is piqued by Candice's description of her Muse, being a Control Freak...? See, that to me would be my Ego, not my muse... When my Ego tries to write (which doesn't happen too much anymore) everything sucks or just goes awry. My Muse is really much like your b & w photo of an 'Adoring Audience in your head', except, there are more colorful crazy b*****s than preppy dudes, and the phrase "I'm a schizophrenic and so am I" constantly loops along with my typewriter ribbon. So, my Muse is actually the opposite of a control freak, but, a faucett that gets turned on an I (my Ego) am just the poor sap who tries to catch droplets of lightning in a bottle before it all goes down the drain. CANDICE~! Please elaborate on your Muse~! She/He sounds like they'd make a great character in a story about Writers~!"
This response rather surprised me. I piqued someone's curiosity? I was somewhat flattered, especially because I was still new to the blogosphere, and finding that I could write something that got someone's attention like that made me happy. So I put a lot of thought into my response, and this is what I came up with:
"Hmmmm...how to describe my Muse...?
She really is just a little bit of a control freak, but powerless to take over and inspire me unless I step aside and allow her to.
Think about an overexcited parent watching their kid's soccer game. Their team is losing. Picture my Muse fluttering around on the sidelines, screaming advice at me and shoving the other Muses around. She's jumping up and down, getting more and more frustrated by the fact that her hands are tied tightly behind her back.
Then, when I finally relax and let her in, she's so riled up and filled with ideas, she takes absolute control of my fingers. I don't even have to think. I'm just an instrument in the very capable hands of my Muse. Everything flows naturally, and I'm always happy with the result.
My ego is what prevents me from being open to my Muse. Then, when I get my ego out of the way, my Muse doesn't just step forward to help, she jumps in with both feet, pushes me out of the way, and takes over.
I hope this cleared things up for you Lysdexicuss. I feel like I may have only made things more confusing. I'm sorry if that's the case!"
The more I think about my muse, the more I realize how accurate this description is. In the end, though, I don't think it matters what my muse's personality might be, I work well with her, and our relationship is pretty healthy.
So now I pose this question in honor of Alexa, (who is now one of my favorite bloggers):
What is your relationship like with your muse? What are her most noticeable personality traits? What is the inspiration-process like for you? Let me know, I'm very curious.
My muse and I are no longer together after a rather messy divorce, metaphorically speaking.
ReplyDeleteI guess I just get an idea and run with it. No drafts or notes usually. Sometimes I will be planning something and I will think "this will blog well" and then grab my camera and record notes and pics. Other times, I just need to let it out. Use it as my therapy. I guess that makes my Muse related to yours in some way. Taking over when I am in front of the keyboard.
ReplyDeleteGeorge: I'm sorry to hear about you and your muse splitting up. I hope she didn't take away half of your words in the divorce settlement. ;)
ReplyDeleteMynx: I get what you're saying, sometimes inspiration comes beforehand, other times I have no idea what I'm going to write until I start typing. And you're right, it is excellent therapy. :)
My muse...well, I have two, really, different girls who rule in turn. I think my first muse (and my favorite) is kind of like Anne from Green Gables and Elizabeth Bennet. She likes to laugh and loves funny things, which is why my posts are sometimes funny memories I have lying around in my head. She has a lot of thoughts and wants to talk all of the time...but when she gets her chance to write out what she thinks and feels and sees she gets really excited and jumbled up and the fingers can't keep up (which is where the typos usually occur). The result is that the words on the page aren't nearly as expressive and beautiful as the thoughts she had and so it's usually a disappointment to her and to me when the final product is posted.
ReplyDeleteMy other muse is very angry and hates injustice or unfairness and despises the world and people who are boring, ordinary, or disappointing. She is vengeful and vindictive and loves to point out the flaws in other people who rub her the wrong way. This is how angry posts occur, and she especially loves writing about the idiots I deal with at work every day. She likes to vent, I guess, but gets carried away.
And then sometimes it's just me writing because I'm bored and feel like doing something. But I'm always writing for myself, for one reason or another.
Chanel: It was interesting reading about your multiple muses. That made me smile, and so does your blog, I really enjoy reading it. And I truly believe that writing for yourself is the best way to go--for the most part. :)
ReplyDelete