Write or Watch TV? A Dilemma.

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*