Feeding the Muse

Finally, after all my reading into being creative, I have found something to actively work on.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been completing, when I have the time, Twyla’s Creative Biography. She had thirty-three questions about my past, current and future creative endeavors, as well as questions about my muse and inspiration. I became sad and stopped for a while around those two. My answers were quiet sad.

There isn’t anyone who inspires me every day (should there be?). And no one, save for the voices in my head, is my muse.

In all honesty, I started getting depressed when asked what I had in common with my heroes. As much as I looked, I had very little in common with those I admired. Nothing in our lives matched up, save for this desire to create a story on paper. While I didn’t expect find something that clicked, it did depress me a bit.

Either through sheer stubbornness not to quit or severe masochism because I hate myself, I stuck Ray Bradbury’s Zen and the Art of Writing in the bathroom. I started reading it months ago, but petered out due to site closures. This way, even in short bursts, I hoped to gain some of his enthusiasm for writing.

I hit the section of the book where Mr. Bradbury runs though his Muses and how they’ve changed over time. This writer and this artists for this time, then he moved on to this writer and this comic strip, or this series or whatever. I found it fascinating to see how he changed and grew through what inspired him. All fed his muse.

Feeding the Muse is one of those passive things that most creative types assume happens or doesn’t. Of course, I often wonder how much any creative type thinks about anything in the way of using and controlling their creativity. I worry that I’m some obsessive freak wasting time on figuring shit out while I should just being doing, but I console myself with the fact that once I worked some things out the creation process will run smoother.

I’ve decided I need to feed my Muse. Two things that fire me up higher than a space shuttle launch: 1) Innovated creativity and, 2) artists talking about their work. By innovated creativity, I mean things like Okay Go’s Here It Goes Again video and Kevin Smith’s Clerks. When I lived back home on the farm, I used to attend Mott Community College’s Student Art Show ever year. I would spend hours looking everything over, just thrilling to the rawness and new perspectives.

Two DVDs in my collection that I put on for a spark now and again are Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedian and Kevin Smith’s An Evening with Kevin Smith. I find it awe-inspiring watching Mr. Seinfeld start over again at a point when he could retire; he doesn’t hold back on how hard it is coming up with a whole new routine. And Kevin amuses as he gives you insight to his creative side and how he creates.

My next goal is to find local resources to feed that Muse. It should be fun trying to find something like that around here. I’ve been thinking of talking to the Dog & Bone about holding a writer’s circle weekend afternoons or something, but I’m afraid of the type of writers I would get. Then again, I’ve never done anything like that, so I wouldn’t know what to do.

I’ll figure something out.