I’ve done lots of blog posts about my muse, the voices in my head, and the creative process in general. But I just love this topic, so I’m blogging about it again.
As my friends and I talk about this subject, I have come to the realization that my process is a little unique. I typically see and hear the entire scene that I am trying to write. It plays like a movie in my head in amazing detail. The problem comes when I try to write it down – trying to capture the emotions I see in words, or the scene in the detail that exists in my head.
I write and write, desperate to keep up with a muse that is relentless in her passion.
This is true whether it is about writing a story, composing a sonata (which I did in my youth) or choreographing a show (something I did in college). No matter what the endeavor, I am always playing “catch up to my muse”.
I recently had a conversation with one of my beta readers about this – and she reminded me of one of my favorite moves – Amadeus (told ya I was a total geek!). In one particular scene, the confutatis scene, Mozart is dictating the Confutatis of his beloved Requiem to Salieri, who is scrambling to keep up. It is a great analogy to my process – Mozart is the muse, and I, the writer, am Salieri – desperately trying just to keep up.
Some days its easy – but most days, I’m a mess with it!
Here’s the only YouTube clip I could find of this scene. It is the perfect example of my process.
What about you guys? How does your process work?
amanda0hull
Cassidy Feliciano
Christine Fonseca
dwmayer
Edith Johnston
Tom
Jen Merrill
Kate Arms-Roberts
Donna Leonard
I really just have to sit down and commit myself to writing. I usually have an idea of where I want the story to go and what I want to have happen, but I rarely think about it too much. Mostly I just need to type.
Yeah, that’s weird. I know.
For me the answer is: in spurts. Sometimes I feel like I have so many things going on inside my head that I’ll never be able to get them all down on paper. Sometimes I’ve got nuthin’.
When I have a lot of activity, I open the draft and put on the caps lock. Then I type up my ideas, the things floating around for that story. Then save, and done. Then when I’m ready to write again, I have the idea saved right in the document. Works for me!
That is definitely not my problem. I don’t usually see the scenes before I write them either. I focus so much on the characters that the scenery often gets neglected.
Oh my gosh! I used to have the cassette tape of the Amadeus sound track–one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid, too! We are such nerds
!
I’m jealous that your muse gives you whole scenes. Mine usually gives me a very detailed flash of action, like someone running through a tunnel with papers whipping all around them, and then I have to figure out why it’s happening and what all I saw.
I think my muse just likes to mess with me
.
Pingback: Twitted by chrstinef
My brain works in much the same way, playing out each scene beforehand, which is why I have to write any ideas I get down on a piece of paper (if I’m not already writing). Otherwise I forget the ideas. The book I’m working on right now was relentless, and I could barely keep up, but it was so worth it!!