feeding your muse

I wanted to post something inspirational today. Yesterday's post? Well ... I feel rather bad about it. I don't mean to sound negative, but I'm a realist. I think we all have days when writing is more pain than delight, more terror than thrill. But if we have too many of those days, we may lay down the pen, put away the keyboard, starve our muse from sheer fear and neglect. So, we must find ways to continue to "feed our muse," in the words of dear Uncle Ray. (Note: If you're new to my blog, I've adopted Ray Bradbury as my honorary uncle.)

We must strive to look at things in a new way; stir up things now and then as to see what comes of it; stop to look and listen, though we may get the occasional odd stare. I'll admit it. I've eavesdropped on others' conversations, hoping some overheard tidbit will offer a story idea or help me hone my dialogue-writing skills. I'll do just about anything to keep my muse fed.

Uncle Ray tells us we must "stuff ourselves" with food for our muse. What is this food? The stuff, the sights, the sounds, the impressions of life. Okay, Uncle Ray says it much better than I ever can:

"Similarly, in a lifetime, we stuff ourselves with sounds, sights, smells, tastes,and textures of people, animals, landscapes, events, large and small. We stuff ourselves with these impressions and experiences and our reaction to them. Into our subconscious go not only factual data but reactive data, our movement toward or away from the sensed events.
These are the stuffs, the foods, of which The Muse grows."

You heard Uncle Ray. Let's get out there, folks. Stuffing ourselves with the foods of life. Let's feed our muse.