Don't Mess With The Muse

Dear Muse,
Have I slighted you? Not honored you? In my haste and excitement at that incredible 3,018 word day did I fly right by and start expecting the next great thing, without giving you the adulation you deserved?

I did, didn’t I? I did my usual, “Wow, ain’t I great! Let’s do more!” dance, didn’t I? Yes. Yes I did.

Did I immediately say, “Wow! At this pace, I can make THE END by an August 17th deadline!” and immediately blab it to the world? Yes. Yes I did.

I want so much to be like those other writers, the ones who whip out a novel in two months or 10,000 words in one sitting. I want to be like Nora Roberts who births five books a year, ripe with lovable and hate-able characters in locales I yearn to visit. I want to be instantly transported to that place and that time where I can write and not have to put on a veil to earn a living out in the world.

Dear Muse, my coveting ego has dishonored you. It has dishonored my Self. I write of lessons and transformation and ignore one of the most profound:

Be Where I Am. Be Who I Am. Accept it. Love it. And in so doing, love myself.

I am not those other writers. I am me. I am unique, and so are they. Only I have my voice, my imagination, my life experience. Only I can tell my story. In my own time, not theirs.

I see now, O Mighty Muse, my lesson:

My path is my path. My process is my process. And it’s not about THE END. It’s about the journey.

And the other lesson? Oh yeah. Don’t mess with the Muse, she’ll kick your ass!

~Olivia J. Herrell