Summon Your Muse

[Psalm Of Fire]

There was a businessman who needed to give a presentation, one he knew his promotion hung on. But he always had problems being nervous in front of particularly important clients. In the days leading up to the meeting he prepared, and in the hours leading up to the meeting he did something different: he played ball with his son. And he listened to one of his favorite songs at least half a dozen times, one that made him feel able to take on the world.

He did well at the meeting, and received his promotion a few months later. But with the promotion came a cost: he would be giving presentations to large clients on a consistent basis. His weak point.

So before each meeting the following month he would play ball with this kid and listen to that song. Eventually he could save time, and just listen to that song. Each time it would relax him and make him get in the zone. Calm and confident.

After a years time, all he had to do was play the song in his mind or hum the melody if he was especially nervous. When he did that, boom his nervousness flooded out of him. His head cleared, and he could concentrate. He was in the zone, ready to deliver the presentation. All it took was humming.

What we see here is the use of a psychological cue. Do you remember how certain songs can just take you back to a point in your life? Or certain smells? Knowingly or not, he eventually used that same phenomenon to create a relaxed and confident state with nothing but thethe hum of the melody.

You can do the same for your writing; I have. I listen to a particular song almost every time before I write. In the beginning, when I first listened, I recited all the reasons why I wanted to write: "you love it, you have something you want to say and this is the platform to do it, you want to make that awesome feeling in people, you want to make them cry and fist pump, you want to rock fan fiction, you're preparing to launch a career, you want to become excellent, to excel beautifully, this is your practice to make something breathtaking, you love it."

You can find a day where I don't want to write, where I'd pull out my teeth instead, and if I put on that song and begin reciting those things: BAM! I'm in the zone.

You can change your mental state, and using a song and reciting things like that are tools that you can leverage against whatever funk into which you might have fallen. So I say don't wait for the muse, take it captive. Remind yourself why you write. If you don't have good reasons, make some, or just say "I want to write". Repeating that a few times has a strangely powerful effect.

There may be deeper issues preventing your writing, ones that will have to be addressed. But, a lot of times even with those deeper issues, this can be enough to get the words flowing.

Next time, I'll write on how I "continue the muse".

In the mean time, enjoy my "Amp-up Song" (well, loop, and no, I don't listen to it all). It's my heart's cry, it's the crowd cheering me on:



What song will you use if you decide to set up a psychological cue?

[Vael]

Thanks for the tip, I really appreciate it...here's the funny thing though, when I began readin' that, Emiya's Theme started playing. Yeah, the one from the TV Show and written by Kawai Kenji.

[Psalm Of Fire]

This one?



If so, yeah, that makes a good amp song, IMO. The reason I like the face-melter is that when I pretend I'm singing it (no shame :D) the emotions begin to flow. Emotions I need to write and sink into scenes. This song has conquering feel and a good emotional flow, so it would probably work for me, too.