A Control Freak’s Guide to Respecting The Mystery of The Creative Process

Everybody knows dating is like a dance.

You can only control your part but you hope, as the relationship progresses, you’re compatible. You hope you don’t step on each others feet.

Things need to feel natural like they were always supposed to happen.

And the fastest way to ruin a good dance is to try to control everything. You just kinda need to move together, as one.

As odd as it sounds, it’s similar when writing a book.

I used to try to control the words too much and so writing was frustrating.

I’d pull up at the office or whatever coffee shop I wanted to work at that day and I’d talk myself up, saying how much I was going to get done, how I was going to finish a chapter or a thought or whatever.

Then I’d sit there at the coffee shop and the words wouldn’t be there.

I’d get frustrated and angry and then the words would get even more elusive.

Here’s what I’ve learned, though.

There’s a hidden, elusive, strange and shy “other party” involved in the writing process.

She’s like a shy little girl who really likes you and wants to show you her words but isn’t going to be intimidated into it.

She can’t be forced.

If she likes you, she’ll write the words you’re looking for on a napkin and pass them across the table for you to write down in your book. And you have to respect her. Always.

So how in the world do you get a book written (or for that matter a blog or essay or sermon) with such a fickle muse?

I’ve learned a few keys:

Show up. She likes it when you show up. And show up without an agenda. Love her for her potential words, not for what she’s going to give you every day. Just enjoy showing up and getting to know her a bit. If she gives you words, she gives you words. But she respects the person who shows up.
Let her talk about what she wants to talk about. You can definitely lead the conversation (because the book has to have a topic, after all) but she may want to talk about something from another chapter for a minute. Respect that. And for heavens sake write it down.
Love her heart. So sometimes her words aren’t that good. That’s fine. Nobody’s perfect. But she’s much more likely to give you the good words when you don’t overly criticize the bad ones. Some days aren’t going to be great. But thank your muse all the same and ask for a next date.

I now view writing a book a lot more like a relationship with a hidden muse than like building a building or fixing a toilet.

There’s a mysterious component to it.

It’s fascinating.

And my job is to show up, day after day after day and get to know the muse and write down what she gives me and respect her always. In a way, we’re writing a book together.

She doesn’t want credit but she does want respect.

Respect the muse, always.

Hope this helps.

A Control Freak’s Guide to Respecting The Mystery of The Creative Process is a post from: Storyline Blog