I wrote scene #1 of A Zombie Romance in minutes. The only editting required was the deletion of a few extraneous adjectives and adverbs and some punctuation tweaks. That week, I could write anything (or believed I could) brain to paper, and like the result. It was heaven. The following week was very different.
I'm not inclined to believe in muses. At least not when writing is easy. But when it isn't, blaming a muse has appeal.
Getting scene #2 of A Zombie Romance down was a hair pulling experience. I wrote more than 4000 words to get the 500 I ended up with and I'm still not satisfied with those. I ran down one rabbit hole after another, couldn't turn around and was forced to back out. I finally had to just post it and forget it. It's a bit of fun after all and I needed to get back to real work.
Unfortunately last week, my muse, if there be one, was no more interested in real work than she was in a bit of fun. *sigh*
How about you? Do you have a muse? Is she faithful or fickle?
Something that's helping me write today: the courage to fail inspired by this quote from Will Rogers: "If you hit the bull's eye every time, you're standing too close to the target."
I'm not inclined to believe in muses. At least not when writing is easy. But when it isn't, blaming a muse has appeal.
Getting scene #2 of A Zombie Romance down was a hair pulling experience. I wrote more than 4000 words to get the 500 I ended up with and I'm still not satisfied with those. I ran down one rabbit hole after another, couldn't turn around and was forced to back out. I finally had to just post it and forget it. It's a bit of fun after all and I needed to get back to real work.
Unfortunately last week, my muse, if there be one, was no more interested in real work than she was in a bit of fun. *sigh*
How about you? Do you have a muse? Is she faithful or fickle?
Something that's helping me write today: the courage to fail inspired by this quote from Will Rogers: "If you hit the bull's eye every time, you're standing too close to the target."
10 comments:
Clover Autrey said...
I love it when you're in the writing zone and the house is quiet, then you hear the inevitable crash of something breaking and "mom!".
Angi Morgan said...
Today...things worked.
For the past four days I've had nothing but frustrated stops and starts. Oh wait. TIM was home with snow days. Hmmm... so maybe my muse doesn't like Tim? Interesting concept?
But I enjoyed my time with him. Enjoyed being from the the chapter contest. Enjoyed freeing up my brain to work and be ready for this morning. And it did. Work that is.
So a writing muse? I'm not certain. But I know that sometimes writing is what I love to do and sometimes it's work.
Love the Will Rogers quote.
~~Angi
Wendy Marcus said...
Hi, Regina!
I came back for another visit. Loved the virtual confetti!!! This time (while dancing through) I joined as a follower. I'd love to see you on my follower list.
I don't believe in the muse theory. I know for certain that some days writing comes easy and some it doesn't. Days when the family is home I don't even try, unless something wonderful comes to me in the shower, which seems to be my most creative spot in the house!
Happy writing!
Gina Lee Nelson said...
Really agree with that Will Rogers quote. I don't think I have a muse; but perhaps we're just not close. I'm still trying to make writing a habit. Guess I don't like to think about a muse or writers' block.
Gina
Misa said...
That muse is totally fickle in my world! I have worked on my WIP only once in the last month. ARGH!! Where does each day go?
I like Will's quote, too.
Regina Richards said...
Welcome back, Wendy.
You and I have water creativity in common. For you it's the shower; I, on the other hand, am a bath tub plotter. :)
Regina Richards said...
Hi Gina,
Making writing a habit (or making anything a habit really) is sooo hard for me too. For creative folks it's sort of a Catch 22. On the one hand we are able to be creative because our brains dart agilely from one idea to the next. On the other hand, the fact that our brains are so creatively busy makes sitting out bodes in one place to do the actual keyboarding a challenge. *sigh*
Regina Richards said...
Clover,
I can't tell you how many times I've lost whole mental paragraphs to the cry of "mom!".
Angela,
"I know that sometimes writing is what I love to do and sometimes it's work." I love that! It's exactly the way it is for me as well. Knowing a published writer feels the same as an aspiring one like me is more comforting than I can say.
Misa,
Ditto to what I just said to Angela. To realize that a successful author like you (yep, I've been admiring your drive, work ethic, energy, and success from afar) has dry spells in their WIP is a real comfort. I thought I was the only one whose writing sails stalled in the doldrums at times. Or probably more accurately were ripped to shreds by the little storms of daily life in the non-writing world.
L.A. Mitchell said...
Your blog title is so perfect for me right now. I'm staring at the elephant of revisions. I tend to be superstitious about my muse...wrong, I know, but it is what it is. I have this suspicion that if I have an out-of-the-park homerun kind of writing day, the next is bound to suck. Like all the words are used up or something. I have no idea. Crazy.
I enjoyed visiting, R :) Take care!
Regina Richards said...
I share your superstitions apparently - or perhaps in my case it's just a the-guilty-need-punishment complex. I'm always sure that if I'm on a good run of writing days where things are smoking along and I take a day off (or several) that all talent will have deserted me when I return to the keyboard, that I am doomed to wade in the mud of incompetence as penance for abandoning my hot streak.