Welcome to a new feature here on A Book So Fathomless called Fathomless Females. Throughout 2015, we'll be showcasing a bunch of amazing females authors through interviews, guest posts and lots more exciting things!
Today for our first post we have Regan Claire with us. Regan is the author of Gathering Water and Tempering Earth (you can look out for my review soon.) Without further ado, let's welcome Regan!
My Muse is a Crazy Drunk Woman… and That’s Okay
I don’t necessarily think that there is a group of mythical women/gods somewhere sending inspiration down to us mere mortals.
That’s just silly, right? Right?!?
But…
If there are, mine is most definitely the drunk one. Maybe they are
all. Maybe it’s a sorority of “good time” girls, torturing all of us
artists for a bit of fun in between expensive bottles of Vino.
Or shots of tequila.
I
have toyed with creating an altar for my muse. Even shopped around for
the perfect incense once. But, giving favor in return for offerings is
far too rational for my muse. My oh-so-very-drunk muse. Once I realized
this, I started treating her a little differently. After all, you can’t
rationalize with someone so inebriated that they can’t speak in coherent
sentences. First, however, I needed to figure out which type of drunk my muse was.
Was
she, say, the angry one who gets super offended by absolutely nothing
and refuses to speak to you for the rest of the night? Maybe she’s
the one dancing on the bar, so overly confident in her own craziness
that you can’t help but toss off your stilettos and climb up with her.
Was she the weepy one, stuck in bad memories and making everyone in her
vicinity relive them with her??
I like to think of her as the “overly friendly” one. Always hopping from bed idea
to idea, never settling down on one story. She’s the one that talks you
into going to a cock fight, then halfway through gets bored and decides
that bungee jumping would be a better way to spend your time. Or
fondue. Or a strip club— where she somehow manages to get on stage and
do a little dance before getting the two of you banned for life.
Not
that you cared about being banned for life from a strip club. But it
still stings a little, until you realize how hilarious it is. Which you
will never admit to her, of course.
In
reality, she’s really a mix of all of them. All the types. And the key
to dealing with her is the same way that every designated driver has
learned to deal with their group of friends on a particularly successful
night out.
You humor them.
You
put on your listening ears and nod your head at the appropriate times.
Don’t bring up that other story you’re desperately trying to work on.
She’ll just keep talking, only louder and more obnoxiously. So, you’re
missing sleep? Well, the crazed rambling will be over way faster
if you don’t interrupt. These ladies have a way of making even the most
sleep-deprived author toss and turn as if the fate of the world were on
their shoulders.
I’m
not saying ignore your other projects. We’re artists, but we also have a
job to do and deadlines to meet. But if your muse is clogging up the
creative juices on your “suppose-to” project, take a few days and listen
to what the heck she has to tell you. In my experience, after she gets
it off her chest (usually a few days of manic writing), she’ll release
her hold on you and permit you to finish that other project she gave you
a while back. Maybe while you’re writing on the new project,
she falls back in love with the old one and you come back from your
however-long-break from it with new zest and boat-load of kick-arse
ideas.
Maybe
I’ll change my mind about this as I continue to grow as an author. I
could wake up one day and be capable of the focus and sheer will-power
to put my muse in a time-out when she’s being naughty without suffering
the ill-effects of it [gasp, writers block!]. But until then, I’m just
along for the ride. I’ll go to every nudey-bar and jump off every
bridge, because at the very least, I’ll have a fun story to swap with
friends one day.
See what I did there? Haha.
Thank you Regan for joining us today! I hope you all enjoyed her post and I'll see next Sunday with another fathomless female!
Next time on Fathomless Females: Eva Pohler, author of The Gatekeeper's Saga.
