5 Everyday muses
If ever you find yourself stagnating, running dry, the ideas just aren't being translated from your head to the pages in front of you... just put the metaphorical pen down and leave.
1. Nature
Get back into nature. I don't care where you live, you should never be more than 30 minutes from a park, a forest, a lake, a freaking botanical garden! Take stroll around! Touch the trees, the grass, the water. Each sensation has the potential to get those creative juices flowing. Whether you're writing crime or romance or a paper on Darwin, taking a couple of deep breaths of fresh air is a surefire way to get yourself working again. You may even consider bringing your manuscript with you, finding some soft grass in a beautiful clearing. The perfect setting to get some proper words to paper!
2. People
Go out! People are the ultimate everyday muse. As with nature, all it takes is open eyes to find inspiration in the seemingly mundane lives around us. An old couple on a bench, a group of youths drinking beer and smoking weed at the local skaterpark, your own mates in a coffee house or a bar telling you about their day. Concentrate on their stories as you go past, maybe even turn it into a game where you make up short stories to go with the most intriguing people you see around. You'll get home and have endless amounts of inspiration.
3. The fridge
Now, most writers tend to be rather introvert. They often don't mind spending a lot of time on their own, observing rather than attending the world. This is, of course, a major generalisation but hopefully you get the picture! On a rainy day you may not feel particularly obliged to leave the flat for anything other than work, but you've lost your inspiration and have been staring at the screen for hours only putting in two words. Well- go to the fridge. That mouldy cheese in the back, the millions of plastic dressing cups from the countless take-out's you've had, the iffy milk that requires a sniff before you pour into your piping hot cup of tea. Plenty of stuff to get you moving. And if not, have a sandwich and watch the news. Sooner or later the lightbulb will blink on!
4. Work
I know, not really a choice muse, but possibly the best one yet. Whether you're bartending at the local boozer, teaching fifth grade chemistry or working in a little tea house (yes, I like tea okay!) you should be privy to plenty of interpersonal relationships! Many service industry employees get used to just zoning out and letting the world run its course around them, without noticing much of it. Try turning yourself back on. Listen to the conversations around you, I swear its better than that soap that you're recording for later. People will discuss pretty much anything in the public sphere without much concern for who is listening. It's weird, but we all seem to have gotten into our heads that the people serving us have a confidentiality clause in their contracts. The most amazing conversations happen when the participants believe themselves to be in a sphere of their own. And all they are doing, is providing someone with fuel for their manuscripts.
5. Books
It may be old news but there are millions of books out there just waiting to be read. And each one is a muse in and by itself. I find this to be by far the best way for me to get inspired. Authors of all genres, all lengths, all levels of experience help each other through their own writing. If you're writing Children's literature then read some Rick Riordan. Horror? Try Stephen King. Crime? How about Robert Galbraith? Or mix it up! There are plenty of ways of mixing different genres of course and the best way to start: Read as much as you possibly can. Get a sense of the different books and authors out there. Sooner or later the words will start flowing freely again and you'll be on your way to becoming a muse yourself.