Do you ever have those days, or weeks, (or several months) where your Muse just won’t cooperate with you? You know you should be writing, or drawing, or reading this other specific thing. It’s important, you should just do it… but your internal Muse is like, “eh, let’s do this instead!” Well as someone intimately familiar with this issue, I’ve made a helpful list on how to get your Muse back on track and dedicated to the projects it should be!
1. You could try bargaining with it! “If you let me write a chapter of this book I’ll crank out
another dozen poems about our deepest secrets!”
2. Play hard to get. Ignore your Muse completely and do the most mundane activities, like
watching paint dry or counting ceiling tiles. Watch how quickly it comes crawling back.
3. Reverse Psychology. Tell your Muse how you love being unproductive. Paint drying is my
passion now.
4. Unleash the drama! I’m actually giving up writing and becoming a professional paint mixer at
a local hardware store.
5. Begging is always an option!
6. Threaten to replace it? Casually leave open a tab on ‘How to Hire a New Muse’ or start filling
out adoption papers for a pet rock. It’s less stubborn.
7. Stage an intervention! Get all your unfinished projects together and let them have a word with
your Muse. Nothing says "Get it together" like a pile of neglected manuscripts glaring
accusingly.
8. Make it jealous. Start praising someone else’s artistic output quite loudly and gush how their
Muse must be so cooperative. (Make sure your Muse is in earshot!)
9. Launch a guilt campaign and whisper to your Muse as you fall asleep, "Think of all the
characters left hanging mid-scene, frozen in time, unable to move on with their lives. It's almost
cruel, really."
10. Host a fake retirement party! Throw a retirement bash for your Muse. Invite all your other
creative skills to the party. Make sure to prepare a speech about how it's finally time to let the
old Muse go and maybe take up something less reliant on inspiration, like competitive paint
mixing.
NOTE: No guarantee of effectiveness.
In the end, while it’s fun to imagine outsmarting our elusive Muses with tricks and games, often the most straightforward approach can be the most effective. If your Muse seems stubbornly fixated on something unexpected, maybe it’s trying to tell you something important. Instead of resisting, consider embracing the diversion. Dive into what captures your Muse's interest, even if it seems like a detour. This isn’t just giving in—it’s an exploration. It's about trusting the creative process and recognizing that sometimes the path to productivity winds through unexpected territories.
Your Muse isn’t just a source of inspiration—it’s also your guide through the chaotic landscape of creativity. By following its lead, you might discover new passions, uncover hidden talents, or finally break through the wall that blocks your current project. Sometimes, the project you feel compelled to put aside is not the one you truly need to focus on, and what feels like procrastination might actually be your intuition guiding you towards what you should pursue next.
So next time your Muse whispers a seemingly wayward suggestion, listen. It might just lead you to your most profound work yet. Remember, the journey with your Muse should be a dance, not a tug of war. Let it lead sometimes; you might be pleasantly surprised where you end up.