How To Lure Your Muse

On By K.M. Allan

One thing I love about writing is the days when the words just flow.

Every sentence you pen down comes out near perfect, first time. Every transition to the next paragraph is effortless, and the ideas and inspiration seem limitless. What started as a blank page is now pages upon pages of pure writing gold!

Then there are the days when you get two words into a new scene and can’t for the life of you think of a third word. It’s like you’ve forgotten what words are. That’s any word. At all.

Your sentences have no flow and your paragraph transitions are clunky. You wonder what could have happened. The Muse has left. Is she on vacation? Did you drive her away with months of endless edits? Did she get bored going over chapter twelve yet again, even though you swore it was finished? Whatever her reasons, you need to lure her back and you need to do it now.

How To Lure Your Muse

Beg

Are you too pathetic for this? Not when you have a deadline to meet. Get yourself into a quiet space, close your eyes, and start silently begging, pleading, and Jedi-Mind-Tricking.

Light A Candle

If the Muse hasn’t heard your pleas, signal her with some light. No one can resist the call of the flame. Bonus points for a candle that smells like vanilla or cookies.

Offer Chocolate

If the delicious smelling candle has piqued her interest, seal the deal with chocolate. The creamy, velvety deliciousness of a bar of chocolate should be hard for any Muse to resist. Just don’t eat it all before she shows up.

Promise A Walk

Now on the off chance you have a defective Muse who doesn’t like chocolate (in which case, condolences), you can offer a walk. Get to the woods if you can, or a beach, or body of water—any place that’s inspiring.

Tea Ritual

After your walk, swing by a coffee shop and spring for a fancy caffeinated brew or pot of steaming tea. If your Muse stands you up, try the next tip.

A Showering Of Gifts

Shower her with gifts. New stationery. A new book to read (after she’s helped you write, of course). Even a new computer if you’re that serious. Gifts that will help you get into the writing mood are sure to work, but if they don’t…

Write

If all else fails, the best trick for luring your Muse is to get a pen, a piece of paper, or a keyboard attached to a computer and write.

You may have to stop and start. The words may not be good. But if you write for long enough, the Muse will show up.

— K.M. Allan

You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

31 thoughts on “How To Lure Your Muse”

  2. Love this post, Kate! That pesky muse is hard to capture, at least for long enough to get plenty of words down ❤ I love the humor here, but it's also great advice for getting in the writing mood so that, hopefully, we do actually sit down to some productive writing time. ❤ xxx

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Love this post! I agree, sometimes you just have to write! I also find that my output on bad writing days looks really similar to my output on good writing days. Usually it’s just the “flow” that feels different, but at this point I know I can write without the flow. 🙂

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  13. Muse can be a petulant child at times but what i’ve discovered is that I fail to ‘refill the well’ so to speak. Creating at a fast tempo will eventually burn out. However, taking care of yourself is the easiest way to help create the best receptive atmosphere for your muse to reach you. Go to the movies, take a walk, meditate, hit the gym, whatever it is that massages your soul has a direct correlation to how open your mind is.

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