Thought of the moment....

No matter how hard you try, you will NEVER control anyone else's attitudes, actions, or outcomes. The only person that you have the ability to directly impact is you, and it is your responsibility to learn how to do just that...to utilize the knowledge, skills, and abilities you have been given to impact the world in the most positive way that you can EVERY chance you get!



Monday, March 7, 2011

The Unruly Muse!

First and foremost. Hello to all my new followers and fellow crusaders. You are all wonderful and I am slowly making my way around to all of your wonderful blogs.


Do you ever feel like when your on your on and when your off ….your way off?  That is how I have been feeling lately. My writing is suffering due to work conditions that will greatly improve by mid-April. We are short handed where I work which has caused me to pick up some more responsibilities and slack. I have also had to travel an additional 500 miles a month because of these changes. Not only does this put me out of the office more, but it really wears me down too and by the time I get home, I am already so far behind that I am playing catch up and never feel like I can get anywhere.
 
I am so far behind on revising my manuscript that I had hoped to have done by now and have several others that I have had to stop production on because of other scheduling conflicts that have arisen putting me at war with my muse, Chaos. She is viciously mad and has every right to be, she lashes out at me in my sleep more than normal with ideas for writing when she knows that I can't get to them. Just yesterday she taunted me while I was painting my son's bedroom that has to be finished in order to put in base board water heaters and carpeting. I was so exhausted last night from painting when I fell asleep that I didn't want to dream. But Chaos was not happy about that. She kept nudging the bed with new ideas until she woke me and made me go and jot things down.
 
So today my but is dragging again and I cannot wait until the 18th when we leave to go on Spring Break to warmer weather and get some time off so maybe she will let me get caught up. I will be away from work which will be nice and relaxing in its own right. But if I know Chaos, she will have a plan of her own.
 
What do you do with an unruly muse?

41 comments:

Misha Gerrick said...

Shame! It's terrible that one's muse never understands that it's not your fault that there's no time.

I hope you reach an understanding with him/her before you get too exhausted.

:-)

Unknown said...

My muse comes in spurts like that too. If you have long distances to drive, you could try talking into a digital tape recorder (or a regualar one!) so you have your ideas for later. [I tried this once, but found it strange to say my thoughts out loud.]

Devin Bond said...

Awe, I hate it when life ends up kicking your butt. The 18th will come up soon though!

When my muse is being unruly, generally I'll give it some sort of outlet--even if I can't write. Sometimes they're just can't be tamed though.

Carla White said...

I usually just keep a pen and paper nearby at all times so I can jot down the ideas before I forget. Then, I write as I have time to write. Sometimes if there's too much going on, I save the really good stuff for something longer and use the smaller stuff for a blog post or something in the meantime to calm the muse down.

shelly said...

Regina:

Know how you feel. Actually, my unruly muse makes me cranky. I can't stand it when something or someone gets between me and my keyboards.

Gonna go down to blogging three times a week. I've come to terms that I can't do it all. Although, I make super human attempts to do so.

Tanya Reimer said...

Oh man. It sounds like you do need a break. Life's like that, but chin up, at least you got a muse, mine is off messing with a demon somewhere. Jerk can't keep his pants on long enough to give me one worthwhile whisper. ;)

Intangible Hearts said...

I guess I can put that whole office thing behind me for awhile.
Great post!

Michelle Merrill said...

Sorry things are so busy for you. Good luck with work and everything. My muse is really good at creating extra chaos. For some reason I like a little chaos though :)

Sari Webb said...

I hope work gets better for you soon, Regina. I know what that's like. I had eleven months of doing two people's jobs at my old work (part of the reason I left).

Hopefully you'll get back from your holiday feeling refreshed, but also with heaps of revising done.

Colene Murphy said...

You are going to FLY out of the writing gate when your work slows down! Hope the 18th comes quickly for you!

Elizabeth Mueller said...

*HUGS* I know how you feel. Sometimes my writing feels like the master, and I, it's slave. But you have it right. Family is first. If you didn't go to work then how would the bills get paid? Sometimes we need breaks--and need to give ourselves permission to say, it's okay to go on without writing. I've had to do it.

You have enough to worry about without feeling guilty about Chaos.

*Hugs* Just remember to be good to yourself and don't let the guilt drag you down. You are your own person and Chaos has to allow you your time, too!

I hope you get to feeling better!

♥.•*¨ Elizabeth ¨*•.♥

Elizabeth Mueller said...

PS-I just read Laura's post today. She's a psychiatrist I think and wrote this post that I feel suits you to a Tee!!

http://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/mental-health-monday-know-your-no/

I hope it helps.

Enjoy yourself! *Hugs*

Amie Kaufman said...

Did you write this just for me? Right now I'm slammed at work and by RL, and boy it's hard to keep moving! I know I'll manage (and I know you will too), but it kind of feels like when it rains, it pours.

Cat said...

Oh how cruel our Muses are. But could you imagine a life without her? Mine left me for years once and now I'd be lost without her. Although, I know what you mean. Muses I believe are related to evil little pixies. Hang in there and enjoy your visitation with you Muse as best you can. Try the recorder bit. I do once in a while but it is weird to get used to it. Hang in there.

Susan Fields said...

I hope things get better for you at work very soon! I know I get in a very bad mood when I go too long without writing time.

Savannah Chase said...

I know how you feel...Life can turn the muse upside down and sometimes when we need to give it a kick it still does not help...I hope things get better and you will be back to normal...

Jennifer Hillier said...

My muse is really messing with me these days, coming up will kinds of new ideas for a book that's Already Written. Hello. Not my making my job easier here, plus I have a deadline! She's what I call a Mean Girl.

Ciara said...

I know I'm looking forward to Spring Break! Woot. I hope you have a great time.

Lydia Kang said...

My Muse loves to wake me up from sleep. It's like Muses purposely disrupt sleep, just for the heck of it.
Good luck on getting back to your revisions!

Lindsay N. Currie said...

Ooh, yes. Sometimes I struggle with this also. Especially when it comes to sleeping like you mentioned. I find that falling asleep is difficult because my mind races even when I don't want it to!

Deniz Bevan said...

I change at the drop of a hat - one minute I feel like every word of mine sucks and there's no point continuing, the next I think that if I can just get one paragraph right, maybe it won't sound so bad... I can't take any days off because of this - it's so easy to let your muse slip further and further away. Gotta keep the ol' butt in the chair [g]

J.L. Campbell said...

Beyond jotting your ideas down where you can find them later, I'm not sure what to tell you.

I know how it is when you don't have a minute to stop and unwind. Hope that vacation time rolls around real soon.

Anonymous said...

Yes I know that feeling. I just bide my time until it comes back and try not to force it to return. Good luck :O)

Cheryl B. Dale said...

Jot down a word or two to jog your memory later. Good luck on your holiday!

William Kendall said...

I know the feeling of being off. I have academics getting in the way of writing from time to time, and there have been times when the writing comes a lot slower then it should.

Rachael Harrie said...

Ugh, I know what you mean! My constant battle is ill-health - it slows me down so much more than I'd like :(

I hope things get better for you at work soon.

Hugs,

Rach

Anonymous said...

You sound really busy and full of ideas. Not a great combination. Best wishes finding some more writing time/energy!

Talli Roland said...

Oh gosh, I hope you get more time to work on stuff!I'm with Cheryl - jot things down when you can!

Anonymous said...

You should make the same deal with Chaos that I made with Elli (assuming it's possible to make deals with Chaos :P) Elli can play as much as she wants when I'm not sitting down to work on a specific WIP. All day at work, or driving in the car, or showering, or watching tv or hanging out online she can have fun with whatever characters and world she wants. Go crazy. Make it completely OOC if she wants. But when it's time to sit down and work on something she better damn well open the door to that world and those characters and behave herself until we are done. (We also take lots of breaks - usually one after every scene - so she can take a break and be a little silly again).

It usually works, at least for us :)

PK HREZO said...

Hey Regina! Iknow just how you feel. I've been so busy with work that I have very little time to write. It's depressing, but I'm making notes all the time.

SO you're coming to FLA??? Yay!We should meet up for coffee or something. Let me know!
Have a wonderful Spring Break! I'm sure it's very much needed!!

Deborah Walker said...

What a wonderful name for your muse. Make a deal with Chaos. Fifteen minutes a day, is that do-able at the moment? You'll be suprised how it mounts up.

Unknown said...

Hang in there, Regina! Life has a way of sucking the soul out of our writing ambitions, but I usually find after a break that my writing has improved. Or at least my desire and need to write has improved. Also, I always try to look at my non-writing time as time spent doing research for my writing. Meaning that I'm always trying to find conversations, themes or things from 'real' life I can use in my fiction.

In the end, she'll come back to you, the Muse always does.

EJ

Jess said...

I hope Chaos stays behind when you go on Spring Break, but I've heard tricky things about Muses :) Best of luck in appeasing her!

Unknown said...

Oh, an unruly muse. We all know about those. Funny how our characters never seem to understand that we have a real life to live while they're off on their little adventures, plotting their romantic lives, we're trying to just steal a kiss from our own husband.

I usually just make notes to keep it all straight, but at some point I end up moody. I miss my writing time too much. The good side to that is that my family usually leaves me alone then. he he.

Charlotte Rains Dixon said...

The best piece of advice I ever got is: this too, shall pass. Doesn't seem like it at the time, but its always true. So hang in there.

Lauri said...

Good luck with your muse. And I hope life settles down enough so that you can take advantage of all her ideas.

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Oh man, I've been there! That muse strikes at the most inconvenient times. I'm glad you got up to jot those ideas down, though. You never know if they'll come back. Have a great time on your Spring Break! It'll be here before you know it!

Louise Wise said...

Fellow crusader dropping in to say hi. It's hard to do it all: write, work, home commitments etc but unless there's a deadline you're stuck with what's the rush? Seriously, don't feel forced t write because your work will suffer.

Anonymous said...

Oh how I love waking up several times in the middle of the night and scrambling for pen and paper just to write a few words down that I know I won't be able to read.

Actually I really do, because it means that the creative juices are still there working.

Stay strong!

Alison Pearce Stevens said...

My muse does this, too, when I can't write. All the pent-up creativity fighting for an outlet. Hang in there!

Anonymous said...

I completely understand how life can overwhelm and slightly halt or postpone writing. Even when I have time, I don't have the energy to focus on my book. With work, family, friends, and everythng else, how in the world did I manage to publish my first book?

One of these days, my determination and motivation will return and I will buckle down. Good luck! Just keep in mind that your muse will always win and keep you thinking and writing in your mind. :)

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