There is no feeling worse for a writer than watching the cursor blink on a blank document, knowing that words should be forming and pages filled. When you want to write with all of your being, but nothing comes forth. I hope you’ve never experienced this. I wish that no writer would ever have to go through it. But, unfortunately, they do.

I’ve experienced this on numerous occasions, too many to count. It makes me sick to my stomach to even think about it, but avoiding it doesn’t make it less so. I’ve tried many different ways to kick my muse into gear. Some have worked, others haven’t, and some have worked once and not the next time. It’s a crazy, difficult, and sometimes impossible feat to get your muse to cooperate. I still haven’t figured it out, I’m not sure I ever will, but I will keep trying.

Some of the methods I’ve tried are…

• Focusing on other things, hoping she’ll show up eventually
• Listening to different types of music to encourage her
• Laying in the bathtub hoping for inspiration
• Bribing her with chocolate or a nice glass of wine
• Writing anyway, thinking she’ll join in later

My muse is a trickster. Sometimes she’ll show up for just a short while, enough for me to write a nice scene or two, only to disappear again. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve started, only to lose interest in them a short while into the story. But, even for that tiny little bit, she was good to me. I’ve written a scene that I’ve absolutely loved! Maybe it’ll never make it into a novel, but it’s still worth remembering.

So, how do you encourage the participation of your muse? Do they give you as much trouble as mine? Share your thoughts with me, maybe even a secret or two, on getting through to the sneaky creatures.