Show up for your Muses

One of my all time favourite quotes for creative types is, ‘Show up for your muses.’  Put yourself in the thick of a creative mind-set so those great light bulb moments can find you.

In Ancient Greece the muses were the goddesses of inspiration in arts, science, and literature. It was their way of explaining that ‘light bulb’ moment where a great idea just pops into your head. They said that at these moments, you were visited by your muse. Pretty cute, huh? 

But what we now know is that when we have a light bulb moment that really comes from deep within our own minds. We brew the ideas within our subconscious. This is good news because it means we’re in control. We’re the brewer. But like any brew it takes some ingredients to get you there.

I know so many people who don’t write because they’re waiting to have a good idea. They’re waiting for a light bulb moment. Or they have a basic idea, but they’re not sure what to do with it yet, so they’re left waiting for another light bulb moment.

It can get to the point where you can fear just sitting down with the page, actually trying to make it work, because you feel like nothing good will come out of you. And so you procrastinate. You put your mind onto something else, and of course, what’s going to happen is you won’t have any good ideas because your mind is thinking about other stuff. It’s a vicious circle.

But there’s a cure. Trust that if you take in the problem, if you take in inspiration, your subconscious will get to work trying to make good stuff for you.

Good ideas don’t need to be forced. A lot of screenwriters report that when they are stuck for inspiration on one project, they start working on another and suddenly ideas start popping into their head for both. Some people start watching reference movies. Some people try the old trick of writing out a copy of an existing screenplay. There’s a lot to try. With experimentation you can learn what works for you.