Infuse the Muse

The weekend is upon us and I know for some that means more writing time and for others more family time. For me it’s both. We do spend time as a family over the weekend but I also try to sneak in a couple hours of uninterrupted writing time if I am in writing mode. So with that in mind let’s think about keeping that muse revved and ready for some productive work.

A while back I took time out to rewrite my very first book which had gone Out of Print in the hopes of resubmitting it elsewhere. (It is now available at Champagne Books.)

MY GOODNESS! That rewriting business really zapped the inspiration and creativity out of writing. I’d been feeling a bit overwhelmed and hadn't been having any good bouts of writing. And that made me irritable and an irritable writer is not a productive one. At least not in my case. I needed a shot in the pants to get me going but what? There are all kinds of articles about inspiring that story and focusing your muse. Some will work and others won’t. It just depends on you. Here’s what helped me during that rewrite.

I spent some time reading through Writer’s Digest magazine and The Writer magazine. Both excellent resources. In The Writer there was an article about breathing life into your characters. Now to be honest, there was nothing new or exciting about this article. Many of the points were ones I’ve read before and even shared with other authors. But I thought—what they hay—let’s give it a try. Because sometimes if you get bogged down, bored or just stuck on one project, a new one will get you going again.

I ran across a blurb I wrote about a year ago. This was it:

A Baby for Christmas

The last thing playboy Alec Beaumont expected to receive for Christmas was a baby, but that’s exactly what he got when he opened his door in mid December. The only person he can think to go to for help is his administrative assistant, Jane Meriwether. When gossip abounds that the baby is his and Jane’s, Alec’s father steps in and insists they get married. Even if Alec was ready for marriage, could sweet, church-going Jane ever find it in her heart to marry a sinner like him?

I read through that and thought—wouldn’t that make a great romantic comedy?! And the inspiration started to flow. I followed the advice in The Writer’s magazine and created the Alec and Jane characters as well as brainstormed some ideas of what would happen throughout the book and outlined the first chapter. Wow, the Muse was back! And then I reopened my other project and zoomed through the rest of the chapter. It worked. I was back in business. And when I get time I have a great story to start on.

So, tell me how is the Muse been treating you. If you’ve been feeling stuck, what works to get you started again?