Some authors credit a muse for their creativity-- not a flesh and blood person, but a sort of ethereal or spiritual entity that inspires them.
And to be very very short and sweet about it: I hate the idea of a muse.
And I don't say that to insult those who credit a muse-- but the entire concept really bugs me. I feel like saying there's a muse behind what goes on in your head means that there is always an outside source responsible for your creativity and inspiration. I think that can be very discouraging for some people-- if they aren't inspired, does that mean they don't have a muse? That they'll never be able to write even if they want to? That the lack of an external thinker/inspirer means they're incapable until they find their muse? That you can't write until the muse says you can, even if you want to? That you're not allowed to just scribble things down that might suck and see what happens?
I also don't like the idea that something beyond yourself is responsible for your writing. If an external force is responsible for your writing, what else is it responsible for? Can you blame your poor decisions on it? Can you blame a weak book on it? Can you blame darker things, like bigotry or immorality on this external force controlling your thoughts?
Plus, the truth is-- sometimes I'm not inspired, but still have to work on a book. Sometimes I want to take a bath and eat cookies but I have a deadline. Sometimes I have to remind myself that writing is what I love, and force myself to sit down and work. Sometimes writing is mostly perspiration, without a lot of inspiration. I feel like the idea of a muse gives people an excuse to sit around and WAIT for creativity/inspiration to strike them instead of tapping into their anger or love or passion or confusion or hurt or boredom and using THAT to jumpstart their writing.
I know some people with a muse feel like the muse is an extension of themselves-- kind of like they're just personifying one aspect of their personality/being. That doesn't bother me quite as much, but I suppose where I get annoyed is when the line is blurred between Muse-is-just-another-name-for-my-creativ
What do you think about the muse concept?
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chasethestars
chasethestars
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ALSO I think anything that inspires me is part of my muse. Sunrise. A good book - it's a feeling of tapping into my own longing to create. Truth and Beauty, baby!
And now I am pretty much just repeating what you said. Hmmm.
If I do have a Muse (and most of the time I doubt it), she only visits me when I've put in at least equal work. If I don't have my butt in the chair, if I haven't done 90% of the legwork, she'd rather hang out with people who have their s*%&t together.
I see the muse as another side of myself, the place where the ideas come from, and I give this side of myself another aspect. To be fair, I give the editing rational side of myself an identity too. Neither is me. I have to keep the two in balance.
I think that inspiration is useful, but it should never be used as a way to avoid the work.
Your conceptualization is very pragmatic.
Catherine
If you don't 'want to' then your muse is at fault...blame shifting....
But when I'm on a roll and being brilliant... I give myself all the credit for it :D
Aw, thanks so much for your awesome comments about my work. :D <-- huge grin
It's 20 minutes long--just a warning.
Although I believe writing is primarily a matter of commitment and discipline, I also know that there are plenty of highly committed and self-disciplined people who will never write a book because they just don't feel that compelling need to do so. Which suggests to me that there's something a little bigger than just willpower at work here.
I've always believed that my desire to write is ultimately a gift from God, and that it's my responsibility to use that gift in good conscience. So while I'm naturally a pragmatic type, I do find myself appealing to an external Power for help when I'm struggling to write and being grateful to that same Power when my writing goes well. Even though I am also aware that nothing is going to happen unless I sit down and actually put the words down on paper -- they aren't just going to fall out of the sky on golden tablets for me to copy out at my leisure, or type themselves while I put my feet up and eat bonbons.
I also agree with Saundra's suggestion that there is something mystical about the process of creation, that there are moments of transport where the ideas seem to come spontaneously from some other realm -- admittedly that happens to me maybe 1% of the time and the other 99% is sheer bloodyminded drudgery, but still. It's pretty cool when it does happen.
it makes a better statement than "the little voices were telling me ..."
In conclusion, I think that my muse is more of a writing partner and someone (or something) to converse with if you're stuck.
Like, Quentin Tarantino once said that Uma Thurman is his muse. That made sense to me. I thought that the way she inspires him makes him want to write. And also, that what he writes is for her.
So that's the only way I've ever thought of a muse in relation to myself. My muse would be someone or something that makes me want to write. But not it would never be someone or something that has control of my writing in any way.
(I guess all of this really just shows my ignorance of mythology. I went to a Christian private school for nine years, so I missed most of that!)
And I'm also in agreement with Madeleine L'Engle that a good part of writing is listening, and letting the work flow through you, and with Tolkien that you have to allow yourself to be taught by your work. But-
That doesn't mean there's anyone but you doing it! I'm in total agreement with the original post there. )
I'm here from JonGibbs's blog, btw.
I inspire me. Stories live in my head and they want to be put down on paper. That's all there is to it. And I agree, sometimes I'm NOT inspired to write, and I write anyway, because there's an art form to the passion and you can work on the form even without the passion.
I always write better with her around. ;)
Edited at 2010-02-25 12:39 am (UTC)
:D
Hanna
But I do feel that my stories have an inspired component that I don't fully understand. Maybe it's divine, and maybe it's just a deep part of my unconscious mind. I write whether the connection with that force feels weak or strong (it changes day to day), but things flow better when it's strong. I put in the time either way.
I DO agree with inspiration though, and I think we all have that in spades. From music to weather to surrounding your work area with posters and action figures of your favorite movies...whatever works. People too, can be inspiration, events in ones life, and maybe those can be sometimes confused with the concept of a muse. I don't know. Muses aren't for me.
I like to think that *I* am the one being awesome all on my very own!!
Whenever you get inspiration, it's the product of your subconscious mind mulling over ideas, then seeing something--an image, a lyric, anything involving the senses--and sparking your conscious, thus transferring the genius ideas that seem to come out of nowhere. Or from your muse, as some would say.
Did you ever see the TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert? It's on YouTube. She does a really interesting piece on "genius" and "muse," talking about it as a collaborative effort. It's good. You should check it out.
I found the link! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA)
Sort of funny though, as I said, the above--is this partly a difference in perspective generally? People who believe in a god that directs their path vs. people who believe in self-direction and free will?