Blast you Muse!

Definitely. Then other times my muse just leaves, sometimes for months and usually when I'm miserable over something else and could really use some muse escapage. If I ever get hold of the bitch, I'ma whip it.

Happens. The creative mind loves to get busy when we're stuck doing boring, repetitive tasks.

So...keep your phone on you. If you get an idea you can't possibly let go, jump like your phone just gave you a silent alert. Look at it, mutter, "Sorry, gotta reply to this," and jot down as few words as will help you remember the gist of it later: math geek supermarket, or whatever. Text it to your email account, or stick it in a note file, just somewhere you can access it later.

Et voila! They don't think you're absolutely crazy, and with luck you can explore the thought later.

Along with keeping your phone always handy I keep a small notepad and pen in my pocket for those times like in meetings that pulling a phone out is a looked down upon. Just get those ideas that are flying out of your head down!

I think this is one of the benefits of having a schedule. My Muse knows when to show up, and when to stay the hell away. I don't even think about writing when I'm not sitting down and getting the words written, but the moment I do sit down, the Muse sits down with me.

I am hopeful I get to the point of having a normalized schedule. Maybe in twenty years if I'm lucky. Gives a great idea for a writing prompt though... An authors sits down with their muse and has the talk about showing up when they aren't asked to.

I, too, am also working on developing some sort of schedule for writing. Lately, I find that my inspiration always wants to take hold of me the evenings before exams or when papers are due. Often times, I find that using the voice memo on my phone helps a lot.

It's late, I have work in the morning. Lights go off, my head hits the pillow, then the dialogue starts. Ignore it...ignore it...ignore it. Sigh. Pick up the iPad and jot down the words in Textilus. Hour later, sleepy sleepy.

I lose some good stuff because I just want to sleep.

I've got quite a good memory for my random ideas, so they generally stick with me. Before I start a new project the story generally takes shape solely in my mind for a month or so while I'm writing something else, then I put together an outline.

Keeping a notepad is a good idea, though I'm always a little wary of having one by my bed. There's a brilliant quote from a writer along the lines of:

"I kept a notepad by my bed because I kept on waking up during dreams with flashes of inspiration. But then I'd look at it in the morning and realise all I'd written was 'purple sentient bananas'."

I'm trying to get through my last semester in grad school. However, I'm tempted to begin an epic fantasy while waiting for beta readers on another project. So, I try to placate the muse with short pieces that take less than three days to complete. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Right now, I'm tweaking some world-building stuffs for my epic.

I've used my phone to jot down many ideas.

Post it notes are also handy (then you can rearrange those hair brained ideas into a semblance of order later if you want).

I'll sometimes get random ideas for stories in my head while listening to a tune. Listening to the tune again later works well as a prompt for me to reconjure the idea, but I know that doesn't work for everyone.

I think the worst is when your muse decides to visit your dreams, and you think you've written a whole new chapter in your novel, only to wake up the next morning and realize it was a dream...and you can't remember the blasted "genius idea" your muse decided to gift you in your sleep. I swear my muse is an evil little imp sometimes.

This muse person tries to make me laugh at inappropriate times!!!

j.

My ideas generally come to me when I'm going to sleep. What I don't do (and sometimes I get the feeling that I'm alone in this) is burst out of bed and scream to the PC to write that idea down.
Instead, I play with it in my head, working out the knots until it works.

The ideas that are worth remembering, I remember.

Sorry for the question, but what's a muse in writing terms?

MrNumbahOne said:

Sorry for the question, but what's a muse in writing terms?

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A reference to the Greek demigoddesses of the same name. A writer talking about his/her muse is referring to their inspiration. Like saying you wanted write but didn't have any ideas coming forth. Then suddenly, images and concepts float into your mind and you have to scramble for pen and paper. This is a muse passing by to grant you a moment of inspiration, as it were.

It's the equivalent of talking about the Sandman when you're trying to go to sleep.

Some writers also use it to refer to someone in their lives that inspires them and gives them strength to pursue their writing in the first place.

I have my best ideas when I'm driving somewhere in the car. It's very annoying.

My muse also tends to show up at inappropriate times. Generally when I'm supposed to be doing work - you know my paying job. I keep a notepad and sticky notes on my desk as well as note app on my phone to jot down inspiration. I work from home so ocassionally (I do really try to limit it) I will pop open my personal laptop and write for 30 or so minutes just to get things out of my head. My muse...she's a jerk sometimes.

NRoach said:

My ideas generally come to me when I'm going to sleep. What I don't do (and sometimes I get the feeling that I'm alone in this) is burst out of bed and scream to the PC to write that idea down.
Instead, I play with it in my head, working out the knots until it works.

The ideas that are worth remembering, I remember.

Click to expand...

This, so completely how it works for me.

If a particular idea or sentence structure strucks me, I repeat it in my mind so that when I do get to the computer the following day, I can then work on it. Same thing with scenes or even overall plot. I do not start writing till it is all sorted out in my mind as working in full, at least, that has been my experience thus far.

And the ideas I forget? They were probably not worth remembering, otherwise they would have stuck, or will come back when needed, no sweat.