THE WRITING ASYLUM

Oh no, I let my story go cold!

Sometimes that pesky thing called life creates obstacles and before we know it, our working novels feel like they are lost to brain purgatory. Never fear, below are five techniques you can use to turn your novel writing engine on when the muse is giving you the cold shoulder or the chocolate swirl emoji 💩.

1. Read Through Notes and Draft Thus Far

This one is a classic and a no-brainer. Reacquainting yourself with your words is like revisiting an old lover. You see the good, the cringe, and the flaws. Fight the urge to bitch-slap. Be polite. Memory lane is just a recall. Don’t you dare edit! Well, you can, but the idea is to move forward with the story, not fix the old flame. Take notes instead and move on.

Personally, I don’t bother with read-throughs. My notes are chaotic and make very little sense. Hey, the insanity was coherent once. And I have several manuscripts to wade through. That’s the punishment for writing in a world. The ImmorTales Series comes in story pieces rather than chronologically. As a consequence, I’m not even sure which story is book one yet. Lock me up in a padded cell now.

However, read-throughs might be the only option if the story has been gathering cobwebs for years.

The rest of the techniques are much quicker and require manipulating The Muse to come out and play.

Bread Crumbing The Muse Out

2. Create A Novel Inspired Music PlayList

Pick your music streaming service of choice and create playlists. Select songs that resonate with a character, location, or plot. YouTube is great for this (it’s free). The best part is, you can set the mood and play the list the next time you need to jumpstart the creative engine.

I created a playlist for Lucy the last time her story went cold. Music primes the mind to feel a certain way. You can read more about my experience here, and no trolling me for my taste in music. The 80s were awesome in that daggy “they can only do that in the 80s and still be cool” kind of way — okay?

3. Create a Pinterest Board

Creating a Pinterest board works the same way as creating a music playlist. Only this time, you’re stealing borrowing images for personal use. Hunt for images that remind you of your project. Pinterest is particularly great for settings. Give your character that dream kitchen, bedroom, porn room — whatever turns them on.

I use Pinterest when I am too tired to think. Low energy task. Images can inspire and help with story visualisation. Pinterest is a newish tool I use to trick the muse out. For me, music, movies, and tv shows are much more effective.

4. Watch Movies or TV Shows That Inspire

I love working with the idiot box on. The TV tricks me into sitting still. My laptop is always open. Yes, I can do two things at once. Clap for me. There are certain screen stories that trigger The Muse. For example, when I am ready to pick up my murder mystery series “Ether Island” again, you can bet your firstborn I’ll be on a “Twins Peak” marathon. Ooo, that theme song…

When my creative brain is dead, watching similar movies and tv shows light The Muse up the most. At some point, I ponder over my story. Sometimes new plot ideas emerge. Not the most time-efficient technique though.

5. Write Flash Fiction and Snips

Write flash fiction or snips, as I call them. A snip is a stream of conscious writing. Think about a character in your story and just write. No edit. Just go. No thinking. I find writing in the first person is most effective because I am in the character’s head. Secrets and motivations are exposed. Sometimes details you rather not know… dirty little monkey…

You can also write traditional flash fiction set in your story world. I often recall details I haven’t thought about in ages. Flash fiction has helped me fill in plot gaps and expand the world. WOOHOO.

I wrote a more detailed post on my methods here.

Writing flash fiction and snips are the fastest engine starters for me. It’s like sending The Muse back to school after the holidays. The first day is always lightweight, old friends are visited, and some new friendships and ideas are seeded.

Takeaway

Muses are fickle. Mine doesn’t like to work. The laziest muse ever! The more toys I throw at her, the better. Threats don’t work — I’ve tried. Bribes don’t motivate. That leaves manipulation as the only option. But every muse is different. Work out what works for you.

~*~

How do you manipulate your muse?