Monday, December 20, 2010

Contradictions in my muse and me.

My muse is a wonderful lady sometimes. Yet somehow, she manages to be a complete bitch at the same time. 

For example, she believes that pressuring me to write during a time that I'm down is a bad idea, so she just doesn't give me anything to say. Of course, the one thing that can get me out of the doldrums would be... yep you guessed it. Writing.

She hits me with the most wonderful ideas.

When I'm too busy to do anything with them.

Then she leaves in a huff because I didn't get back to her quick enough. Leaving me with nothing when I do have time to write.

Sigh.

 She got me though the first draft of Doorways. And promptly started ignoring me when I wanted to get stuck into the rewrite.

Now she's nudging me towards writing again. Except that the idea floating around in my head has nothing to do with the rewrite. 

Charming.

I'm actually contemplating putting my rough draft aside for a month so that I can approach it with an open mind.  I think a big reason why I'm getting so stuck is that I'm co close to the current version that I just can't possibly imaging changing anything to the storyline. Even as I realize that huge changes are necessary.

But even as I say so, part of me is completely balking at the idea. After all. I spent so much time on Doorways that the idea of doing something else for a while is completely alien. Sigh.

My muse is refusing to give me any advice on this one. So now I'm asking yours. Do I take a break or don't I?

12 comments:

  1. Start by owning your muse. She's not the boss; you are. And then you can think about it on your own terms, rather than hers.

    Claim it, Misha, claim it. :)

    I'll hazard this, based on some of the things I've learned about you from your blog, but if you're annoyed or offended, please forgive me:

    The gift and call to writing come ultimately from God, and we need not be at their mercy. As any other spiritual gift, we can claim it in faith, and own it by inheritance and trust.

    If you follow what I mean.

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  2. That's very true. I do know this, but I get caught up with my own insecurities that I forget.

    Thank you very much for the reminder.

    :-)

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  3. I posted once on how my muse is a dominatrix. On certain occasions, she'll keep me up to 4 AM because of ideas. Usually, it's coupled with a day of drinking a wee bit too much caffeine.
    ;)

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  4. Ouch! At least mine respects the sanctity of my sleep. Never understood why though. :-)

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  5. Taking a break is a good idea. It's always smart to look back with fresh eyes.

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  6. I would say to take at least a short break.

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  7. You should definitely take a small break. Anne is right in saying it's smart to look back with fresh eyes.

    I hope your muse starts working a little better with you. Mine is a bit like yours as well, so I understand how you're feeling. :)

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  8. Take a break and let her play with a new idea. Then when it's time to get back down to work on Doorways you can tell her that you played on her terms and now it's time to play on yours ;) That's how I get Elli to behave (well, most of the time).

    Plus taking a short break is always good for sanity :)

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  9. Take the break :) A lot of people say that this really helps them when they jump into editing. I think I'll even be stepping away for awhile when I've finished my first draft.

    Playing with new ideas can really be inspiring, so take it by the horns :D

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  10. I always say do what feels right.

    That said, I have found that taking a break from something can be a really good thing. It can definitely open up your mind to things you wouldn't have thought about before.

    Good luck with your muse! ;)

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  11. My muse is doing the same thing right now i completely understand what your saying.

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  12. That is true, Anne. I think I lack the fresh eyes at the moment. :-)

    Thanks Golden. :-)

    Thanks Devin. May your muse behave too. ;-)

    Sticky that's a great way of looking at it. Thanks. :-D

    I think I will let my creeativity run around wild for a while. Thanks Jessica L. :-)

    Jessica H. you make a good point. Right now it doesn't feel right for me to work on Doorways, so maybe I shouldn't. Thanks for dropping by. :-)

    My sympathies Libby. Difficult muses are always a trial. :-) Good luck with yours too.

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