I've got a new work in progress on the back burner and haven't had the chance to sit down and fully plot it out. Until I purge it onto my spreadsheets and post-it notes, I'll be a prisoner to my muse.
I become quite crazed when a story's cooking. Once while plotting a manuscript, I ran out of my precious yellow sticky pads. I happened to glance at our freshly painted bedroom wall, so nice and creamy white. A primeval plotting beast raged within me, hungered for the stretch of wall. "Do it. Iz smooth. Iz clean. Iz white," the beast growled.
Then my gaze shifted to my husband's photo on the nightstand. His expression and the premonition of what would happen effectively broke the demon muse's spell. Is your muse ever naughty or crazed?
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"Do it. Iz smooth. Iz clean. Iz white," the beast growled.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Love it!
I REALLY wanted to write on that wall. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteDid you tell your dh how close you came to writing on the wall? Maybe he'll make sure you never run out of post-it notes. (Which is one of the best inventions. EVER.) ;D
ReplyDeleteYou should have used something that was easily removable! It would have made for an interesting evening!!
ReplyDeleteLOL! You're quite the dare-devil. Aren't you Mary. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes, Penny. I must say, I did confess and the next day when I arrived home from work the kitchen counter was piled high with post it note pads! I think now I've got a life-time supply.
Too funny! You can never have too many post it notes. :D (Unless you goof and buy the super cheap ones that won't come apart. Grrr.)
ReplyDeleteI thought I was crazy when this happens to me. Little did I know it is inherent in writers. With me, I just almost run into somebody on the road - blindspot- failure to inspect.
ReplyDeleteWe're dangerous. You know that, right? ;)
ReplyDeleteI've missed my exit going to work, too. For the same reason. Happy musing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liana! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Maeve,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to you what you are saying. Many have been the times when I have been carried on or nearly carried on past my station on the train going to work because I was so engrossed in plotting a story.
Only a fellow writer can understand how it with us.
Cheers
Margaret
Cheers, Margaret! :)
ReplyDeleteYour husband probably won't appreciate this suggestion...but it's worth a shot: our artistic teenage DD loves to draw - on everything, even her bedroom walls. I figured it was her room and when she moved out, we'd just paint over the artwork. DH didn't see it that way, so I bought some blackboard paint and painted a big square on one wall. She loves it! Might work for you in a pinch when the post-it notes are gone LOL
ReplyDeleteNow there's an idea that might keep me out of trouble...at least as far as plotting is concerned. ;) Thanks for the suggestion, Valerie!
ReplyDeleteYou could have always written on the wall and placed your DH's picture back in front of it when you were finished :) He would have never noticed.
ReplyDeleteI've used the grandkids' crayons, chalk on the sidewalk... Whatever is handy. If I don't write it down fast, I'll lose it forever.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, Victoria, he's pretty perceptive. I don't slip much past him!
ReplyDeleteAnd I know exactly what you mean, Gale. If I don't get it jotted down on something fast, it slips away.
Love the "Pre-manuscript System Failure" Maeve. But it's not really a failure, is it? It's part of the process. I too have driven by exits and worse while working out plot details. So much better than thinking of mundane things like groceries!
ReplyDeleteI get my best ideas in the shower. If my hot water heater would hold out, I bet I could plot an entire book in there. My second best plotting location, the car, usually while driving. It's scary when I arrive at my destination with no recollection of the trip.
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