On the Subject of ‘Muses’ From a Writer’s Perspective.

Whenever I see people discussing a writer’s claim to have a connection to ‘muses’ as either being ‘insane’, or being suspect of some paranormal influence, I always want to have a sit down with them to explain what having ‘muses’ mean as a writer.  This isn’t to say that there aren’t people out there who have some difficulty discerning voices in their minds, or that there aren’t people who may have some otherworldly connections (after all, many very famous and successful actors claim this very thing), but the average writer who mentions muses isn’t speaking from either of these directions.

 

 

When a writer creates a character, if they have done so with the honest intent of telling this being’s story and not just using them to maybe gain attention for their writing, they gain a voice.  They have a personality, a modus operandi, a world.  They have relationships and experiences that form them.  Because you now have a thriving character, you begin to place yourself into their shoes to understand more about them, and they tell you what they want, what they’ve done, what they think about and how they feel.

 

It’s sort of like growing up watching a television show religiously.  We all find a character within the show that we attach to, whether it’s due to sympathy or vicarious fantasy, and we want to watch them grow.  Then comes the moment that something absolutely life-changing happens.  In your mind, you’re already factoring in the way that character will behave.  You’ve watched that character for years!  You know that character!  You know that when that event happens, they’re totally going to—

 

--why didn’t they react the way they should have?

 

Suddenly, you try to work it out.  Maybe this normally cool, calm, collected individual absolutely lost their mind; perhaps they’re normally explosive, passionate, and they’re responding mutely by comparison.

 

That’s not right.  You know that’s not right, because you know that character, inside and out, and if you were writing for them you’d make sure they were given justice in that situation.

 

Okay, so maybe your reactions vary, but I promise you that you have had a complete, “What the hell?” moment at least once in your life, watching a show, reading a book, playing a video game, where the character’s reactions and consequent actions make absolutely no sense to the idea you had of them in your head.

 

When a writer is developing a character, events that change that character are pivotal.  We have to figure out the logical stretch from the current persona to the altered minded persona of this character.  Knowing how that jump happens is how the muse ‘speaks’ to us.

 

If the character is placed in a situation that makes no logical sense to the character or anything in the character’s history, life and personality, that scene is almost painful to write because the character has no logical way of interacting with a scene that they should simply not be in.

 

That is the muse telling us they don’t want to do that.

 

It’s crazy and complex, because as truly passionate writers do, they tend to forget that saying things like, “My muse is giving me a really hard time right now in this scene.  She just doesn’t understand why this is important!” in public can kind of make people second guess where your mind is at.  It sounds like you believe your character is literally standing there, yelling at you.

 

No, for the average but truly passionate writer, we don’t actually believe that.  But it’s easier to explain to fellow writers with their own muses, and is a fun way to boot.  There’s nothing more fun than allowing muses to interact with each other in ridiculous 4^th wall type things.  It’s stupid, it relieves stress, it’s fun.  I promise we don’t actually believe these characters exist.

 

So, the next time your writer friend starts talking about how their muse “really wants to do this”, or is “absolutely livid they have to do that”, there’s no need to be concerned.  It’s really figurative, I promise.  Writers are good at expressing themselves through creative worlds—be they fanfic or original fiction—but they tend to be horrible at actually expressing themselves in real life.

 

Now, if your writer friend turns around and starts talking to thin air, or claiming their muse made them burn their house down or something, then I suggest finding someone better educated than I am in those matters.  :x