Just Musing...

Someone posted in my comments section that I should forget about writing my novel and focus on humor. Gina almost daily begs me to stop writing about entertainment media and instead stick to pet writing. Other friends urge me to write more or less about music, about my personal life, about politics.  Others just beg me to blog, about anything dammit, but BLOG MORE!

All these people seem to be overlooking one critical fact: I'm not in charge.

I don't know if muses really exist, or if everyone has them, or only writers, or what the deal is. I just know that there is a little gang of temeramental bitches who run my life and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. They tell me what to write. They decide if I'm going to write at all. They decide the tone and the mood of each piece. And they don't care, not the slightest bit, about my career, my bank balance, or my bedtime.

If my fictional muses are up, then I'm up, writing fiction. If my non-fictional muses want to play, we play. If my funny muses are tickling me, we laugh. If my academic science-wonk muses are feeling feisty, we get serious. I have journalism muses, bitch-slap-the stupid-people muses, political muses, cute pet story muses, and journal muses - they're writing this post and really are completely indifferent to the fact that I prefer not to get journal-y on my blog.

You think I'm kidding? I'm not. Some massively disciplined people may have gotten their muses beaten into submission, or maybe just figured out how to get their cooperation. Some people may not have as many different kinds of muses as I have, all clamoring for their time at the keyboard. Maybe I'm having a psychotic break and this has nothing to do with the creative process.

I've even found myself taken over by my muses. I mean, phsyically. One night I was lying in bed, and realized I'd been so wrapped up in something I was writing I'd forgotten to eat dinner. I got up to make some scrambled eggs, and the next thing I knew I had been at my computer for two hours, writing. And no, I don't take Ambien.

I suppose I should be grateful I have muses. I've never had writer's block (she says, knocking frantically on wood), although I've often had to do one kind of work when my muses were screaming at me to do another. I won't say writing I do under muse-protest actually sucks, but it's never my best.

No, the best I can manage is hoping the appropriate muses will come out when I need them, and that one day they'll learn to understand that the cryptic numerical figures on that spreadsheet indicate the need to reliably produce the type of writing for which I get paid.

Hint, hint, girls.

Comments

[Judi]

All I can tell you is.....I'll read any damn thing you write. Things that I would like to see more of:

Stuff about your personal dogs
Pet Health
Anything going on in Christie's world
Some politics

If you wrote a book, I'd buy it.

:)

[KathyF]

Wait...you mean I'm not crazy? This behavior is normal?

[KT]

I need to have a little chat with your fictional muses, please? I have a request ;)

Seriously, though ... I want you to write what 1. makes you happy and 2. what pays the bills ... preferably in that order since I do like you and want you to be happy!