If you write: novels, short stories, or short posts on Instagram, you know how much inspiration increases work productivity. Inspired by the idea, we create in the stream, soar above the lines, barely having time to touch the keyboard with our fingers, give birth to beautiful metaphors, and when the text is completed, we feel euphoria for a long time. Something like this can describe the state of the "arrival of the muse," although each has its unique characteristics.
At the beginning of a creative career, a writer often depends on inspiration and takes up work only if it appears. Itching in the palms, heart palpitations, chest tightness becomes motivators that encourage creativity. But as soon as your favorite hobby turns into a profession, the relationship "inspiration - flow state - good text" collapses. The author has the required daily norms and deadlines, and there is no more time to wait "when the story comes itself".
The publisher indicates the plans - if you are writing a book to order and the editor needs to put it in the print queue, your readers - if you have undertaken to layout chapter by chapter on the Internet platform, or you if you want to have time to finish the novel for a literary competition.
What to do in this case - to stimulate the arrival of the muse or learn to do without it? There is no ready-made solution - you will have to choose depending on your creative abilities.
Decide who you are: a dreamer or a sculptor
Not all writers need a muse. Sounds incredible, right? Some have never in their life experienced that nervous trembling, impatience that they talk so much about. Let us call them sculptors - they work on the text, like a sculptor on a shapeless piece of stone, barely a free minute falls out. Sculptors do not wait for "connection to space" - their strength is in continuous activity, thanks to which real masterpieces appear.
If you are perplexed every time you hear about a writer's trance that inspired someone with the plot of a book, you are possibly one of these creators. Are you sad? In vain! Do not consider yourself a soulless artisan. There is nothing wrong with a craft, especially if you masterfully own it. Besides, the sculptors have inspiration too. Its bursts are weaker than that of dreamers, but the flow is more stable. Remember your ability to work without a long swing and use it.
Dreamers are creators dependent on the muse. Without a feeling of being full of ideas, they cannot write. Sometimes dreamers only need one powerful charge of inspiration to work on an entire book. But some need continuous recharging and will not master a single chapter without a particular state. The entry point to the text is their weakness. Often, dreamers put off writing for weeks, or even months, because they cannot plunge into history. The deadline is flour for them, and any plans discourage the desire to compose.
Do not despair if you recognize yourself in the description. After all, when you are included in the process, the plot leads you to inspiration, the characters turn out to be alive, intelligent decisions come quickly. Dreamers know how to shut themselves off from the world and immerse themselves in their own - this is their unique ability.
Good news, we are not always in one creative state. Life circumstances, mood, even the specifics of the book make us alternately either trembling dreamers or business-like sculptors. If you learn to maneuver between the poles of the creative process, work will accelerate. Feeling like a sculptor, you take up the text, not expecting a miracle, and has become a dreamer for a while, and you will try to get the most out of inspiration. Or resort to tricks to summon him.
Muse, come!
Let there be a bit of magic in inspiration. Nevertheless, this is a condition that occurs under certain circumstances. Track at what, and you will be able to create them artificially. Pay attention to what causes your muse—perhaps listening to specific music, your favorite season, smell, drink, light, clothes? Be mindful of the details. Get a special notebook and celebrate each new catalyst for inspiration. From time to time, some of them will lose strength and will have to invent new ones. But soon you will realize that the process of the arrival of the muse is not so complicated. Often it's enough to retire for a day or a week in a "place of power," ventilate your head with a pleasant walk, appropriately arrange a working corner and writing productivity is ensured.
While you are at the beginning of the journey, book by book you will notice that you rely less on inspiration. We carefully studied our habits and rituals and began to relate to work easier and more responsible at the same time. It will become obvious to you - the entry point to the text is different for everyone. Someone carries the idea of a book in a head for ten years and is only ready to put it out on paper after a full stay, while for someone, it takes less than a minute from an idea to the first lines. And the inclusion in the stream has nothing to do with it. You will also face burnout and accept that you need to rest from your favorite occupation.
Therefore, the main advice to novice authors is to listen to yourself. Only you know what work techniques, conditions suit you. And only your text will tell you how to write it better.