Trusting the Muse
Day 12 of 31: 200 Words-a-Day Challenge
Today I greet you with 282 more words. What will you write?
The rules for this challenge are simple. If you need my prompt below, use it. If not, still write. JUST WRITE. If you chose to share – I sure hope you do since that’s the second aspect of this challenge! -- post what you wrote into the comments or share them in Notes.
If you comment on others’ shared writing: (1) be kind, (2) don’t critique unless explicitly requested, (3) tell the writer what in their writing resonated with you, made you think differently, or was an ‘aha’ for you.
Trusting the Muse
For the first time in eleven days when I sit to write my 200 words, I don’t know what I’ll write about. Typically, I start my day with the intention to pay attention. Throughout the day, I stay aware and attuned to any ideas for my writing that present themselves to me. They often appear unbidden, sometimes gifted to me subtly, other days, presented like a bonk on the head.
Today, I’m writing earlier than usual since I’ve got a full afternoon (yep, I write these prompts a day ahead so I can give them to you early). Experiences and interactions haven’t yet fertilized my subconscious with idea seeds. So I’m drawing on… what already lives in my mind.
Sometimes when I do that, though, all I can bring forth are to-do lists, complaints, angst, and worries. But sometimes—actually often, when I look back—magic happens and something wholly unexpected… and necessary… surfaces.
Even when I set an intention for what I’ll write, I’m often led down a completely unexpected path. In the weekly Co-Writing Sessions we host in the Women Writing for Change Facebook group, rarely a week goes by when someone doesn’t acknowledge how often that happens to them.
Too frequently, writers (and would-be writers) tell me they prefer to wait for inspiration to hit them before they sit to write. That works for so few.
If we don’t show up regardless of how inspired (or not) we feel, the muse has no where and no one to bestow her/his/its gifts upon. I fully believe that when I honor my muse by showing up for her, she shows up for me. She doesn’t always take me where I think I’m going, but it’s usually where I need to go.
Your Prompt / Day 12 of 31
Do you write only when inspired or do you have a regular practice of showing up to write? What is a muse; what does that mean to you? If you have one, what is your relationship with her/him/it? Is there trust and honor? Or is it prickly? If you don’t believe you have a muse, why not?
Thanks for joining me in this challenge! Please invite your friends.