Stephen King wrote a book called On Writing. Or something like that. In that book, he spoke of the muse and they key to truly invoking this vehicle of inspiration. To loosely paraphrase (and boy, do I mean loosely!) he said something to the effect of - the muse does not simply appear, wave a wand and then harp music plays as an idea is born. Rather, he felt like the muse was constantly present, watching for one who is diligently struggling in creative pursuit. In other words, to a writer the muse would only bestow brilliance upon the poor sap who labours constantly at their notebook, keyboard, or typewriter. Only when the writer has proved such dedication as to continue writing even when displeased with his or her work, does the muse take pity, sweep down with gilded chariot and intervene.
Oh dear Muse, you are a clever one. By behaving this way, you ensure that those capitalizing on your stimulation are truly deserving. I must remember the way you operate when there is a Dr. Who marathon on TV, Sex and the City is now in syndication on E (which means a nice Mormon girl can watch and not be assaulted by BEWBS and effwords!), and the series premier of Walking Dead is rapidly approaching. So thus begins a new writing technique I will employ: The TV fast. Anytime I feel like flipping on the ol' flatscreen I will think - wait. If my senses are being occupied by the tellie, will the muse be able to reach me? Will I hear the gentle knocking of the characters in my unwritten stories? The answer will always be nay. Which leads me to another point. Time spent thinking about writing, is not time spent writing. (I stole this from a Nike ad about running)
So. One week. No TV. I'm serious. Muse? Are you there? It's me Suzy. It's safe to come out now. The TV is off...starting tomorrow. After all, tonight is The Wire night. *Sigh*
Stephen King is a very smart man. I agree that the muses only reward those who prove themselves willing slaves to the craft. My muses are very demanding, but I do whatever I can to appease them, lest they find a more deserving host. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think there is room for balance, though. After all, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." A writer definitely needs to dedicate regular hours to the computer and write even when it feels like squeezing blood from a turnip, but not at the cost of one's sanity. Writing can be maddeningly monotonous, and too much can be enough to drive the sanest of people batty. I go through spurts when I have what I call "writing binges," in which I write and do nearly nothing else. As rewarding as it might be (I binge write because I must, not because I can) the practice is emotionally draining.
I must commend you for going without television for a week, however, and can't wait to hear about all of the writing you were able to do during that time. Good luck!
Thanks Lisa! Nice way to work in The Shining quote by the way. I will return and report on the TV fast. It really doesn't start til tomorrow. My sis and I have Thursday night TV time so I can't really blow her off. The muses would not be pleased.
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