"M" is for Muse, and Mary

"O muse!
Sing in me, and through me tell the story"
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen


I have spent a lifetime letting my muse hand me words to put on paper.  The only time I ever tried to be disciplined about writing was when I took some college writing courses a few years back, and even then, my muse took in the assignments, let ideas simmer, then handed me the words I needed before they were due.  This A-Z blogging challenge is the first time I have committed to writing something on a daily basis, without waiting to see if I would be getting the words from my muse.
I was discussing this in a facebook message with my wonderful friend, Mary (the one who inspired me to take this A-Z challenge!),  and here is the quote of what I shared with her about how I am experiencing all of this:

"The idea of a daily blog is completely new to me, and I can sense my own timidness in the uncomplicated posts I make, but I have a very weird relationship with my muse, and this is stretching it a bit. Normally, I only write when the inspiration slams me, and it is usually a poem, although a short story can also hit me. It sounds rather crazy to say this, but it is like most of these blog posts are just me writing, without the help of my muse. It almost feels like my muse is off, pouting in a corner, angry that I am using some discipline in my writing (except for the poem for my grandson, which was one of those moments where I get slammed with a piece at once, write it down, and usually don't even have to edit) This is a good exercise for me. Yesterday, as I did my blog about kindness, it almost felt like my muse was peeking over at me, thinking 'hmmm, she is really going through with this without me.'  Maybe, by the end of the month, we will be working together again."

I'm not much of a disciplinarian.  My kids and pets can attest to this.  I have no desire to make others do my bidding like a puppet master, and I do not understand the need I see in many people to control aspects of others' lives.  So it feels a bit uncomfortable to imagine getting disciplined about writing, because I cannot imagine expecting my muse to "write" when I say so.  We will see how this all works out as we head on thru to Z.  Who knows, maybe I will start to keep a daily journal after this challenge is over.
This is a very interesting challenge, and I am thankful to Mary, and my muse.