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How to Keep Your Muse in Your Life
The Muse is a fickle dominatrix. When she has you, she has your entire body and will not let go. She doesn’t know a safe word, and the truth is, neither do you. You need to give in to her urgings and create, create, create until you are exhausted and collapse from sheer exhaustion.
This is what I used to think, many years ago, when I also thought that drinking led to truth-telling and that any writer who did not have the approval of the Academy was not worth my time or my brain space.
I was right about one thing, all those years ago. You are in relationship with the Muse at all times. Like any relationship, it requires time and attention in order to work. It calls for examination, and possibly counseling in order to be sustained. And conflict is inevitable in this relationship, as in any other.
The Muse and I have been on friendly-but-distant terms for a while now. Sometimes we would sit together and have a beautiful time making something out of ideas and air. Sometimes I would completely ignore anything she said. And, most often, she would completely ignore me while I struggled with words and inertia.
I learned a few things that I hope to remember for the rest of my life. I think I have been able to repair this relationship and turn it into something mutually beneficial. I am still learning, but for now…