Inspiration: What’s your Muse?

Inspiration: what’s your muse?

Inspiration is a word much bandied about by writers. There’s a good reason for this. We want to feel inspired to write, because then the words flow, snatched from the ether in alluring combinations. We feel like real writers. We feel, well, inspired!

But here’s a little secret. Sometimes it doesn’t work like that. Sometimes it’s a hard slog to put pen to paper, fingertips to keyboards, and those words insist on lounging at the back of our brains like a bunch of listless, couldn’t care less teenagers needing a boot up their backsides.

But what is this crucial thing called inspiration, and how do we get it?

Most articles on the topic tend to be in answer to the age old question authors get asked: where do you get your ideas from? Content, however, is just one aspect. Another addresses my opening paragraphs: how do we stay inspired to write? Anything at all!

Let’s deal with the ideas aspect first. Sadly, I’m not someone with a thousand ‘must write’ topics running around in their heads desperate to be translated into prose. What kicks me off are random real life events. 

Hence my first books, Guardians of the Forest, came about following the people’s battle to save England’s public forests from being sold to the highest bidder. Fortunately, the government magnificently under-estimated the English love of woods and they backed down, eventually. I was heavily involved in the local campaign and later turned the idea of a forest under threat into a kids’ fantasy trilogy, now with a prequel and a sequel in draft.

I then kept the habit of drawing on real life tales. My women’s fiction historical novel Keepers, set in Australia in the 1950s, is rooted in my own parents’ stormy beginnings. And my historical fantasy River Witch came about when I read about a local woman tried for witchcraft – in 1906. 

The whole question of being inspired to write at all, however, is a different ballgame. This last year has been stressful for us, moving and subsequently living through a major house renovation. I’m too old to be content in half-decorated rooms piled around with bits of furniture and boxes, and having workmen constantly here (until midnight on one occasion). The chaos, plus managing it all, took its creative toll. It’s not finished, either! And in May, our beloved border collie passed away and we miss him badly still. 

It’s hard to stay inspired under such circumstances. And as well as Life, authors have the constant demands of marketing, keeping up the flow of new work, and generally trying to get our work noticed, all of which can be draining. 

But there are ways to get those juices flowing. Here are ones I turn to.

Walking is very important to me. I’m lucky to live at the edge of the Forest of Dean, a place which inspired Tolkien and Rowling, among many, many others over the centuries. As I said above, it was the woods which first tempted me to write, and I need my regular dose of tree therapy. I wander with my phone handy, both for taking photos and to capture writing ideas from flash fiction to novel plots. It works!

Reading is a great source of inspiration for me. I love to explore how authors draw me in and keep my attention. In a similar vein, I find it uplifting to learning write craft and to experiment with different approaches in my own work. For example, I’ve deviated from the norm in one significant respect in my novella, Walking in the Rain, and am thinking of offering a prize to the first person who notices!

Writing across genres also keeps my head and my writing fresh. I hugely admire those authors who write long series, and I know readers adore them. For me, however, I find energy in ringing the changes with different genres, to adjust the style for the story and the characters. Start freshly inspired with each book. 

At a quite specific level, I often use images to get me started when writing flash fiction. My competition winner, If you scream long enough into darkness, needed to reflect the theme of Echo. I came across a photo of a pink Cadillac with Echo as the number plate, and the story was born, spilling out in one burst (and then edited and edited!). 

Positive reader feedback is, as any author will tell you, hugely inspiring. Some writers are shy but I would encourage everyone to seek out occasions to read to and talk with audiences. Whether it’s kids or adults asking for more, please, and chatting about writing and publishing, the occasion energises me in the short term, and assures me my hard work is appreciated by some at least! That’s inspiring.

At the end of the day, the best inspiration comes from keeping on writing. Aware of the need to get back into the ‘fingers itching to hit the keyboard’ frame of mind, I now set myself daily writing prompts. To make sure I do them, I’m posting the prompts to my Facebook and Instagram pages, and inviting others to join in. I’m also posting my own output (unedited) to my blog and sharing that. Accountability is high. And I’m very much enjoying the discipline, even with the variable output.

As 2023 truly gets underway, I’m working on my publishing plan for the next two years. I have research to do, a draft to turn into a finished manuscript, and short stories to write to complete a collection. I’m eager to get into it all, and I’ll be turning often to my various muses to help me stay inspired. I’m wishing you all the best with your muses too. 

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To explore Cheryl’s books and stories and discover more about the background behind them, visit her website https://cherylburman.com/

For her writing prompts, go to https://www.facebook.com/CherylBurmanAuthor  or https://www.instagram.com/cherylburmanauthor/ and search for #cherylswritingprompt

You can also follow her on Twitter @cr_burman 

RIVER WITCH

‘Loved it! A truly magical read!’ Reedsy Review by USA Today Bestselling author Katherine D Graham

‘River Witch is mystical, incredible, and completely engrossing from beginning to end.’

‘This book goes right into the top 5 of the best witchy vibe books with feminist themes such as self reliance and empowerment that I have ever read.’

‘I have found myself wanting to watch a river and see if it will take me away too.’

Inspired by the true story of Ellen Hayward, tried for witchcraft in the Forest of Dean in 1906.

‘You and I are not ordinary folk, little mistress. We are wise. We call the river by her goddess name, Sabrina.’

Hester yearns for more than the simple routine of the farm. She listens to Sabrina’s whispers, and envies the freedom of the river nymphs.

When she meets Aaron, a man powerful in herbal lore, Hester determines to follow in her great-grandmother’s footsteps and become wise in the ways of healing. But her mother scorns her ambitions as witchery and decrees her daughter must have a husband to settle her down. Any husband.

Hester flees to Aaron, but he also insists she should marry and be ‘ordinary’ folk.

While a desperate Hester fights for her dream, Aaron must confront his past to embrace the future.

Will the goddess be their friend, or enemy?

BUY HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing