Lilith Saintcrow

Just a quick writing post this Friday, because I am juggling eight fiery chainsaws and a partridge. (The poor bird looks scared to death.) ANYWAY.

I often say that the characters do all the heavy lifting and I’m just the scribe. This is true as far as it goes, and like all true statements it is more complex than it appears. To put it simply, there is a division of labor in this storytelling gig. I do my work, and the characters take care of themselves.

I am responsible for showing up at the keyboard every damn day. I am responsible for shutting out distractions and making writing a priority. I am also responsible for filling my creative “well” with images and Stuff. I am responsible for knowing the technical stuff–grammar and structure, etc.

The Muse is responsible for ideas, for characters, for the telling detail, and for vomiting up raw material for me to shape. (Pardon me a moment, I just had the image of a bulimic Muse and about laughed myself into a heart attack. Nobody else knows what’s so funny. Story of my life.)

I do not ever worry about running out of ideas or characters or stories. That is not my job. They are lined up around the block and it’s physically impossible for me to get to them all before I die, even if I write 24/7. Which I can’t do because, you know, I have a life. At least, I have kids. Close enough.

I’m responsible for my end, and the Muse never falls through on hers. I firmly believe that if you make writing a priority, if you make the time to sit consistently at the keyboard and keep your grammar and your metaphysical pencil sharpened, you will never have to worry about the Muse’s end of the deal. Yes, she is fickle–but like all good nymphs she is amazingly faithful in her fickleness.

The stories will come. You can’t stop them. They will inundate like the sea trying to gulp down Venice or Holland. Your job is to build the dikes and keep them maintained so you can keep the canals at a reasonable level. (Yeah, I know this analogy breaks down. You still get the picture, good enough.) Those dikes are consistent hard work and keeping your knowledge of craft constantly sharpened. You can reclaim acres and acres from the sea that way, in little chunks of work spread out over every day.

Do not wait for the Muse. She waits on you, not the other way around. Yeah, you can throw the bitch a bonbon every now and again to keep her happy. But the first step–of showing up consistently at the keyboard with your grammar clean and your head full of random stuff gleaned from life–is all yours. She will show up when you do. The more you show up, the more she learns to trust you. This trust is fragile; you can break it by choosing not to be consistent. Then, like any jilted Havisham, she will immure herself in a house you can’t get into. And that sucks like a big sucking thing.

But you can always tempt her out by showing up at the keyboard again. Consistently.

My Muse is a bitch. She really is. She’s fickle, unendurable, demanding, flighty, and constantly throwing cute little shinies across my path to distract me. She’s also a right dominatrix when a book really takes hold and all my spare RAM is taken up with keeping up with her.

But she always shows up. Every time I sit down and do my part of the job, she steps up. 100% of the time, she gives her all. And since she does…well, I’m not going to do any less.

So don’t worry about losing ideas or running out of ideas. That’s not your job. Your job is simple: show up consistently with your grammar and put your hands on the keyboard.

That’s it. No golden handshake or soopah-sekrit magic wand. You do your job, and the Muse will slather you with enough magic for twelve. She’ll spread it around like coconut oil on a roasting bodybuilder. She’ll cake it like Baby Jane’s aging face; she’ll spread it around like bribes in corrupt oligarchy. She’ll throw so much magic at you you’ll have trouble keeping up.

She is very good at her job. You only have to be consistent at yours. And all that wonder is yours for the taking.

Over and out.

Related posts:

1. Labor Day
2. Give That Bitch Some Bonbons
3. That Damn Muse

This entry was posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 2:12 pm and is filed under Writing (About). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.