What to do when the Muse strikes.
I had coffee with a group of writers recently. The topic of conversation turned to finding the time (and inspiration) to write. One of the ladies at the table said that she was struggling to finish her book because she couldn’t seem to find the muse during her allotted writing time, but found herself awake and dying to write after midnight.
Boy, could I relate to that! It seems that my best writing hours are between midnight and five in the morning. Of course, that could be because I have children and that’s the one time of day I can guarantee uninterrupted writing time.
Or maybe not? Perhaps it’s not that the muse starts hopping in the wee hours of the morning because she knows she won’t be shut down to deal with whatever crisis parenthood throws at me. Maybe that’s when she wakes up, stretches, and feels the world waiting.
It’s dark, quiet, and pregnant with possibilities…especially when you write about things that go bump in the night! What better time for vampires, shapeshifters, angels and demons to stalk the imagination than when the darkness is heaviest.
Isn’t that why our ancestors huddled in caves around their fires?
I know my personal vampire agrees. The vast majority of BLOOD AND DESTINY was written between those hours. I could edit during the daylight, but the muses didn’t come out to play until midnight. Destiny and Marcus are definitely night owls.
When my husband was overseas, I used to just get up, flip on the light, and pound out the pages. Now, the computer is banished from the bedroom. When the mood strikes, I have to go downstairs to let it out. Me, coffee, and muses at two in the morning sounds like the perfect start to my day…even if it’s hours before anyone else is stirring in the world.
What about you? Does your imagination turn the shadows into something…more? If you’re a writer, then when does your muse strike and what do you do about it?
While you’re thinking about that, I’d like to give away a digital copy of the book of choice from my backlist to one commenter.
And to wrap it up, I’d like to remind everyone that the contest celebrating the release of BLOOD AND DESTINY is still going strong. The odds of winning are pretty good considering the amount of entries I’ve received. Details can be found on my website: www.kayechambers.com.
Happy Musing! ~ Kaye
Thank you for joining us, Kaye! Good luck, party people!
12 comments:
I am a night owl myself, but the unfortunate part of that is the fact that I have to work in the day time. I wake up when the sun starts to go away, but then the cycle starts again. So I am always delighted when I have great books to read, like Blood and Destiny (absolutely great book-loved Marcus, he's hot) Thanks for the peek into your habits, Kaye.
I love that I'm not the only person in the world awake at 4am because my brain won't shut down. I was that way before my son came along, but his presence has only amplified things.
Thank you Vivi for posting these at midnight so I have something to read before prying myself away from the computer.
And thank you Kaye for allowing the muse to strike in the wee hours of the night, I really enjoy your characters and am off to bed right now to read about Destiny and possible munch on some Easter candy. Thank you for letting them out to play.
I love and hate waking up in the wee hours with inspiration.
I'm a night owl and I can stay up all night reading, playing on the computer and just doing nothing. I hate having to get up early. Where I work I do 6 weeks of days then 6 weeks of nights. When I'm working days I have the bad habit of going to bed around 12:30 or 1:00AM then trying to get up at 5:00AM.
I find my muse clamors in my head the loudest when I am under tight deadlines - deadlines that, of course, have nothing to do with writing! That is when my multi-tasking superpowers flare to life.
:D
Miranda ~ SweetVernal Zephyr
Imagination seems to soar with me when its quiet at night and things go bump in the night. Not that I'm a scaredy cat...well, okay, I'm a whimp. LOL, my inner Don Knott's Mr-Chicken-character trembles and eyes bulge when my neck hairs stand on end thinking all sorts of things.
But we know that's how authors get much inspiration. *wink* Thanks for sharing Kaye.
I often find myself reading in the middle of the night if my brain is too active to sleep. The challenge is getting up the next morning.
I used to live in a house that was built in the 1870s. Nights alone there made me nervous at first. With all the people who had lived and loved and died in that house I thought there might be ghosts. I never saw any, but the sense of being surrounded by the past and the characters who lived it never went away.
Very interesting about the muse striking you in the middle of the night. I wish I could say that. It's sounds so dark and mysterious. My muse usually strikes when I'm walking or doing a mindless task like housework. Boring stuff. Yours is much more exciting.
Carolyn/Cara Marsi
I've always had a vivid imagination, and have a particular fondness for paranormal romance stories. I've been lucky to have read and enjoyed all of Kaye's stories so far. You can't go wrong with any on her list, so good luck everyone.
I am definitely a night person and have written the majority of my analytical essays for my degrees late at night into the early hours of the morning. My imagination definitely seems to be more active after the sun has gone down.
I'm certainly susceptible to late night inspiration. (As evidence by the fact that I tend to post things in the middle of the night...)
Thank you, Kaye, for stopping by today!
Thanks for all the wonderful comments! It's great to see how many people are night owls, too.
Vivi, who is our ebook download winner?
:)
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