My muse is a slippery little beast. She sometimes hovers lovingly over my shoulder, sprinkling her magic muse dust all over my keyboard. The words fly from her to my brain to my fingertips and into my story. It's a delightful, magical time...
Admittedly, those times are very, very rare. Almost non-existent. As a matter of fact, it's possible I just told a big fat lie. Mostly, my muse is stubbornly silent and the words are all my own, pulled out of me with the difficulty of a tooth extraction, and almost as painful. When that happens, I often take a break and read passages from some of my favorite books in order to draw inspiration. I close my eyes and picture my setting and my characters. I talk to my characters. I ask them what they want from me. (I sometimes use a few curse words) But, overall, I keep writing. For whatever time I've set aside to work on my story, I make sure that I write something, that I fill the blank pages with whatever drivel pops into my head. Because, I know that whatever I come up with, I can fix. I remind myself that all I have to do is write something, then go over it as many times as necessary, that each pass through my story will be an improvement. The trick is getting the words down. I prefer those gloriously blessed days when my muse participates and the words spew forth faster than I can type them, but whether it's with her help or without, the trick is, KEEP WRITING.
