I don’t really believe in the Muse, but I do think that allowing yourself to believe in visitations from an external “muse” or “genius” is a useful fiction. It’s like when practicing Taiji, if you allow yourself to believe that qi energy is flowing through your body, it makes it easier to relax into the pattern of motion and flow through it. Believing in a muse reminds you to not argue with whatever story is flowing through your mind, to accept it as a gift and write it down as fast as you can.
I do feel like I have been possessed for the last few days, by an old story I’ve been avoiding for a couple years. This week it came bubbling up with a vengeance. Today, the wave has subsided to the point where I can deal with mundane things like changing the cat’s litter box. And I stumbled on a major contradiction in the story logic. I’m not stuck yet, but the wheels are sinking into the mud.
So now I’m going to pretend that my muse is someone I can talk to. Muse, if you really want me to tell this story, I’d appreciate it if you could tell me how exactly you want the rule of names to work in that world. I’ll see you in the morning, first thing, before coffee.
Writing Every Day 