Wherefore Art Thou, Muse?

I love Stephen King's On Writing -- it's one of those rare craft books that is equally entertaining as it is informative. I actually think it's one of the few I'd recommend to non-writers because it explains some of our quirks/neuroses so well.

One of the things that resonated most with me was when King talked about the concept of the muse. King pictures his muse as a base, cigar-chomping fella who only shows up when he's least expected and won't ever deign to make an appearance when summoned....