Follow the Voice Inside

There are times when I think I’m strange. When I decided to become a writer, I just started writing. Oh, I took a class at the local community center, and one or two free online classes, but for the most part I just sat down at the computer and trusted the Muses to guide me.

Part of the reason I think I may be strange is because I have this little voice inside my head, or maybe it’s a feeling in my heart, that keeps saying “Don’t listen to anyone else’s advice about how to be a writer.” It’s my firm belief that each person must follow their own Muse. We each have our own creative process. I won’t be able to write like Jane Austen, or Stephen King, or J. K. Rowling, because I’m not them. I have to write the way I write. And so do you.

I’m not condemning you if you feel you need to take the classes, or read the books before you begin to create. As I pointed out, everyone has their process. What I want to encourage you to do is to trust yourself. We’re all born to be creative. However, we’ve had that impulse beaten, or conditioned out of us. Conformity can be a bad thing. So, it takes time for us to find our way back to that creative impulse.

Creativity is like a plant. The more you water and feed it, the more it grows. Just the act of sitting down and working on your project helps more creative ideas flow. My little voice says sit down and write. Every time I listen, I’m excited to see where the muse takes me.

I encourage you to trust your creative impulse. Let yourself make mistakes and try again. I’m so glad I’ve done that. Now I’m less intimated by the blank page.