How do you see your muse?
cassiopeia7 answered this question re a post by milly_gal about how their muses appeared and acted, and if it was a separate entity. It got me thinking as well.
Question: How do you "see" your muse?
I see my muse as a kind of a nebulous omnipotent presence that feels feminine. She is fickle, skittish and ignorant. When I want to write she will often just go sit in a corner and stare at me blankly or disappear completely. All too often lately I have only a feeling of blankness when I want write, like my muse is just gone and there is a great big void where there used to be words. It's very frustrating and depressing. When I have loads of time to write like on holidays or now when I don't have a job, I'll rarely get a single word. When I'm working and had uni assignments due she would plague me with words that just had to be written, even if that meant not getting to bed till three in the morning.
When I get that urge to write, the words just seem to flow onto the paper. I have no idea where they come from or where the story is going, it's almost like they just flow out my finger tips. Sometimes even when I think I know where it is going the story somehow takes a turn and ends up somewhere very different, or maybe it'll take a completely different route but somehow end up in the same place I thought it would. It is an awesome ride and an almost addictive feeling. When I am in that state it almost feels like someone else is telling the story. Which only makes my writing blocks feel more real, visceral, like I am literally cut off from that part of my conciousness. I miss it like I miss being away from a loved one.
Strangely, despite feeling like my muse is female, when I am truly in the writing zone its like there is a narrator in my head, and he feels more male. It's almost like the inspiration is feminine, but the words are masculine. I think it is that feminine muse that fails me most of the time. I think she is what makes me sit down and open Word. It's like I have to wait for her to open the door for the words to come. 90% of the time if I can get a few words on paper, more words will follow. Its kinda like a Field of Dreams thing. She builds the idea, and he comes with the words. I need both of them to write at my best. (Both my muses seemed to hate being forced into the world of academia, I very often got a burst of creativity after/during a uni assignment.)
When it comes to art though, I don't feel like I have a muse. It's just me and the pencil/stylus. Which is why I will never consider myself an artist. It is a very different feeling to when I write. Art is something I do when the mood takes me, writing is something I feel in my bones.
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Question: How do you "see" your muse?
I see my muse as a kind of a nebulous omnipotent presence that feels feminine. She is fickle, skittish and ignorant. When I want to write she will often just go sit in a corner and stare at me blankly or disappear completely. All too often lately I have only a feeling of blankness when I want write, like my muse is just gone and there is a great big void where there used to be words. It's very frustrating and depressing. When I have loads of time to write like on holidays or now when I don't have a job, I'll rarely get a single word. When I'm working and had uni assignments due she would plague me with words that just had to be written, even if that meant not getting to bed till three in the morning.
When I get that urge to write, the words just seem to flow onto the paper. I have no idea where they come from or where the story is going, it's almost like they just flow out my finger tips. Sometimes even when I think I know where it is going the story somehow takes a turn and ends up somewhere very different, or maybe it'll take a completely different route but somehow end up in the same place I thought it would. It is an awesome ride and an almost addictive feeling. When I am in that state it almost feels like someone else is telling the story. Which only makes my writing blocks feel more real, visceral, like I am literally cut off from that part of my conciousness. I miss it like I miss being away from a loved one.
Strangely, despite feeling like my muse is female, when I am truly in the writing zone its like there is a narrator in my head, and he feels more male. It's almost like the inspiration is feminine, but the words are masculine. I think it is that feminine muse that fails me most of the time. I think she is what makes me sit down and open Word. It's like I have to wait for her to open the door for the words to come. 90% of the time if I can get a few words on paper, more words will follow. Its kinda like a Field of Dreams thing. She builds the idea, and he comes with the words. I need both of them to write at my best. (Both my muses seemed to hate being forced into the world of academia, I very often got a burst of creativity after/during a uni assignment.)
When it comes to art though, I don't feel like I have a muse. It's just me and the pencil/stylus. Which is why I will never consider myself an artist. It is a very different feeling to when I write. Art is something I do when the mood takes me, writing is something I feel in my bones.
.