Last week, I finished my revision of my Blue WIP. It took a while for me to get into the
groove, I’d just finished writing a brand new novel, and it was hard to get excited
to completely redo something I’d already done.
But that’s the life of a writer, no?
Anyway, I figured that once I started, then it would get
easier. I would work one day then take a
few days off, then work another day. I
think what I was really waiting for was for the muse to strike. I wanted her to take me by the ears, pull me
into the chair and just overwhelm my brain with genius. (A person can dream, can’t they?)
The thing is, that’s not how the muse works. I know that.
I’ve dealt with her enough times that I know the best way to call on
her.
Start without her.
Writing isn’t always easy.
I wish it was. There are days
when I can barely form complete sentences, let alone anything worth
reading. But for some reason, the action
of writing, proving that you’re serious about what you want is what she really
wants to see. It may take days before it
finally strikes.
For me, because I took so long to actually sit down and
focus, it took me 2 months to rewrite this novel. Not that 2 months is a long time, but
considering how well I did in November, it felt like an eternity. But once I reached the second half, once I
forced myself into the chair, once I got words on the page, she finally
came. I finished the second half in
about 2 weeks and the last 10,000 words were completed in 2 days. I couldn’t sleep or eat until it was DONE!
I was so excited about it that I sent it to my alpha almost
as soon as I finished. I knew it was
good, or at least much better than the first draft. I could feel the difference, and I know that
it was a combination of hard work, dedication and small part muse.
So what do you think?
Does the muse even exist, or is that just a creative way of prolonging
work?
The muse definitely exists, but I agree with that you can't wait for her. She's a busy bee with her own crazy schedule. Sometimes, when I don't "feel" like working on something I want to work on (there is a difference) I work on other parts of the project. For example, I'm half way through 2nd round of editing for my current WIP and I had a bump. I really didn't feel like editing. So I started working on the facebook page, on the book blurb, and I setup a secret board on Pinterest. I know it's not writing, but its part of the work, and all this external work made me feel like I'm closer to the finish line. Sparks flew, and I got back to editing. :-)
ReplyDeleteThose are some great ways to get the sparks flying! I know what you mean when you say you don't "feel" like working on something you want work on. It's one of the most conflicting feelings.
DeleteThere are definitely those moments when the muse strikes, but, there's nothing stopping you from sitting your butt down in the chair and working. Typically, if I'm not feeling it, I go back and start reading the story from the beginning again. Fix any typo's I find, re-word niggling sentences that I'm not sure about and after some _focus_ I feel it flowing. Not always: there are 'off' days too, which is fine.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I get into a routine: wake up, put on ELO, drink tea, eat something nourishing, and then sit down to work. My brain understands that it's time to work now. Or I get on Google+ and lose myself for an hour /sigh/.
Thanks for the great post!