Muse Muscle

Not to think about something, but the muse that sits behind you, urging you on to writer brilliance. Every writer has a muse, be they real or imagined. A muse is someone who inspires you, tosses you the bone of an idea and sits back to slyly watch your confusion, your puzzlement, your pause, interest and then frenetic pace as you plunge that bone into the plot pot and make a feast for the senses.

There's one rule: don't piss your muse off. Do that, and you're doomed to either mediocrity or, worse, no words at all.

My muse sits behind me, sometimes smirking, sometimes serious, always nagging. She is changeable. She is sometimes a Greek Goddess, sometimes a black-clad Goth, sometimes and arse-kicking biker chick, sometimes a chic business woman. She appropriates characters, interjects with dialogue, smacks her forehead when I get it wrong, puts a light bulb above my head when she gives me an idea. She is friend and foe, sage and savant, lover and lout, but she is always with me.

People often ask writers where their ideas come from. Well, my answer is the Muse. I don't know her name, I don't need to. She's observant, blunt, caustic, humourous, impatient and ever so willing to plunge into my stories to interfere, to boost, to guide the characters in whatever direction she wants. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's always entertaining.

We work together, she and I, to create. I guess you could say she's the brains and I'm the brawn, after all, she's an amorphous being who happens to have some terrific ideas. And I, I have the fingers on the keyboard.

All I have to do is listen. Writer's block isn't a problem. A blank page can be cured by the words "Chapter One". She curious enough to come over from the snack bar and have a look.

My muse and I are a team. Why not go and listen to yours? You might be surprised by what they're trying to tell you.