What is it About the Muse?
Writing is a collaborative process with the muse
Writing often feels like a collaboration, even when I’m the only one at the table. Throughout history, there’s been an ancient idea of the muse divine beings of inspiration, sources of knowledge that spark poetry, music, literature, science, and art. When I sit down to write, I usually have a rough map of where I want to go, but then something else takes over, something elusive and powerful. I don’t know exactly what the muse is, but I know it’s real. I believe the most important part of writing is learning to listen to it. Over time, I’ve realized the only way this collaboration works is through complete, unwavering trust. The story always seems to come down from some mysterious place, and my job is to be quiet enough to hear it. When I let the process flow naturally, without second-guessing or trying to wrestle control, the story unfolds in ways I could never have planned. It feels less like creating and more like discovering. I remember one night in particular, while I was writing a scene in “Awakening,” where the character Nir-RoDan testifies before the Ardent High Council.
I had spent about a week studying the speeches of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Why those men? Well, quite frankly, because despite what one may think of their politics or policies, both were able to speak to the hearts of people and remind them of the ideals we strive for, even if we don’t always achieve them. In this scene, Nir-RoDan speaks about the traditions and values of the Ardent people and how those values have recently diminished, replaced by suspicion and fear. If you want to read it, this scene is from Chapter 28, “Battle Master Nir-RoDan.” Here is an excerpt from that moment:
“The time-honored Ardent tradition of hospitality was once a virtue among our people. For thousands of years, stories have been passed down tribal lines generation after generation. Stories of cooperation with strangers, friendship, and peace with alien beings and other newcomers. But today this great Ardent tradition has been replaced with suspicion and fear of all things Un-Ardent. We are persecuted and judged for extending the open hand of friendship. We are marked as unclean by Priests; our honor is constantly challenged, our friends and guests in our own homes are themselves marked as abominations fit only to be cleansed! As a result, we Ardent no longer bother to approach the stranger or the newcomer with an open hand. Our Priests in their ignorance and fear demand that a closed fist accompany every encounter!”
“This is not who we are as a people. As you are surely aware, I served in the Rim Wars most of my young life, and in that time, I came to know both friendship and fear. My house guests sitting in custody are not abominations, they are my friends, my guests, whom I sit around the pit fire with, and drink sweet ferment under the stars and the moons above. When we Ardent greet each other, we do so with a dagger held by the blade to signify friendship, strength, and peace. That is Ardent, and that is who we are!”
Chapter 28 is a pivotal point in the story, and I wanted the reader to feel and believe that this was a society at a breaking point. From time to time, people and nations need to be reminded of the values they hold dear. When those values are abandoned, it takes humility, honesty, critical self-examination, and determination to recapture them. This scene in my view is a perfect example of the muse at work. When I began writing it, I had absolutely no idea how to structure the arguments or even what angle to take. So, I calmed my mind, used my various techniques to get into the right headspace to write, and started listening. I simply wrote down what I heard. On the best nights, when I’m undisturbed and fully immersed in the flow, it’s like riding the crest of a golden, celestial wave. The words spill out effortlessly on to the page, and the result feels like it came from somewhere else entirely. Those are the nights where what emerges on the page surprises even me and that’s when I know the muse is at work.
My advice to anyone considering writing is to read as much as possible, experience life as much as possible and most importantly learn to listen to whatever inspires you call it the muse call it whatever you like. Once you do that you may find that the stories you want to write will come to you, all you have to do is listen for them.
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