Reflection
The Muse - Part III - she never gives out and she never gives in
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Reflection
The Muse (and The Shadow) often need time to work their magic. They don’t always give up their ideas in one session. I find that the Muse provides the best ideas when I allow her a generous period of Reflection.
When I start a new work, I’ve learned to step away from the work for a few days to weeks afterward. During this period, it helps The Muse tremendously if you “seed your mind” with inspiring input.
For me, this takes the form of reading. A person who writes, to have any hope of writing something worthwhile, must also be a devoted reader.
If you are a visual artist, seeding your mind includes developing your eye by seeking out and experiencing the great works of others. Of course cross-pollination can also happen. I’ve had ideas for writing from paintings, and I’m sure you’ve had ideas for painting from books you’ve read. The point is to step away and reflect, and to trust The Muse to whisper improvements that can be made into your ear. This trust in the Muse is the basis of our faith here in the Church of Art. Trusting this process can transform a merely good piece into a masterpiece. During this period of reflection, The Muse will sometimes simply pop ideas into your mind through synchronicities.
Learn to step away and have faith in synchronicities that happen during the creative process. It’s taken me a long time to develop my faith, and it’s a lesson I often forget. But, increasingly, this time of faithful reflection is a critical and trusted part of my writing process.
When I first started writing, and this applies especially to my attempts at fiction, I noticed that when I finished the first draft of a piece, and then stepped away for a day or two, the oddest things would occur. And they tended to occur at the most inopportune moments - while eating dinner, while my wife was asking me something, while washing dishes, while showering, while going for a walk, while waiting for my dentist appointment. Little inspirations would simply pop into my brain. These inspirations often appeared completely out of the blue. Other times, the thought would be triggered by something new that I saw or read.
Whatever the cause, these little nuggets of inspiration from the aether would materialize when the Muse appeared and whispered into my ear: entire plot changes, surprise twists, ideas to make the characters deeper and more human. Sometimes entire vignettes of a scene vividly appeared in my mind.
At first I thought I was simply “lucky” to have thought of such improvements, and I would scramble to go work on the piece before forgetting the new inspired idea. But after noticing that this happens each and every time I write, I've learned to trust the process of inviting the Muse of Synchronicity to do her job. The Muse may be a superstition, and perhaps this is all simply the inner workings of my own brain, but it’s a superstition that works for my process and therefore, it is useful.
So now, I do the following: I create a rough draft (usually unbelievably rough) and I put it away. For the next few days to about a week or so, I simply trust that inspired ideas are going to appear. And appear they do.
Sometimes I consider, and then reject them. Sometimes, I play with them in my head and think through how they could work. Sometimes, I just know that it's a great idea that will improve the work (these are the best).
I've also learned that it's not necessary to write the idea down immediately. I like to let my mind work on it a bit. If I don’t remember it in a few hours, it probably wasn’t that great of an idea.
“That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you. If you try to approach a cat and pick it up, hell, it won't let you do it. You've got to say, "Well, to hell with you." And the cat says, "Wait a minute. He's not behaving the way most humans do." Then the cat follows you out of curiosity: "Well, what's wrong with you that you don't love me?” — Ray Bradbury
So, as I go through my day, if I have an idea I want to add to my current piece, and, if I still remember it after letting it percolate, I just note it on my phone or iPad and move on. Just a few simple words to jog my memory when I finally return to the writing desk are sufficient.
I like to think of “inspiration” not as just as the original idea, but more as a quantity of quality that one puts into their art. In other words, some pieces have only a small amount of inspiration and some have quite a lot. By trusting in this process, I'm able to "add" inspiration in small and large quantities by going back to the draft and adding the accumulated quanta of inspiration I've had in the intervening days.
So, if you're looking to create work that is deeper, and that contains more inspiration, I'd recommend giving this process a go.
Lay down your first attempt at the work. And then just put it away for a few days. Let things simmer in your subconscious. You'll be surprised by the moments of inspiration that happen and they will lead you to large leaps of improvement in the work.
Sum ergo creo!
Clintavo
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This one really resonated. Thanks 🙏