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Hibernation, Muse, New story, Quotations, Virginia Woolf, Word Birds, Writer friends, Writing, Writing community
A few of you who follow me may recall my somewhat occasional & fanciful notion that Virginia Woolf is my muse. My admiration for her writing has sometimes led me to place imaginary trays of tea & buns outside her metaphorical door, with the aim of persuading her to lend her genius to my lesser & more lowly pursuits.
Right…
In other, more realistic, muse-related ramblings, I call on my word birds. And let’s be honest, they’re far more likely to aid me than the ghost of Mrs Woolf.
In these odd times, I confess to having struggled over the past week. Largely due to political shenanigans. (Let’s not dwell – this is a blog about my work, not my ‘men in grey suits where are all the women and the joined-up thinking?‘ observations.) Trying to get my old head around the new regime & telling myself, there is always the new story to write!
The interwebs have been awash with writer-focused memes, not least the one about how Will Shakespeare penned both King Lear & Macbeth during the plague. Aimed, I’m sure, at reassuring us that all we need to do is ignore the firestorm, hibernate, knuckle down & crack on with the latest book. All well & good but the reality is, anxiety is a poor bedfellow for the muse.
I’m hearing many stories, online & from my writer friends, about how they’re struggling to concentrate. How the plan to use this enforced time of solitary existence to write is already falling by the wayside.
A few weeks ago I began writing my fourth book. I love it to bits & if it isn’t quite writing itself (that would be a trick worthy of a witchy woman!) it is coming along nicely. Having lost some of my hwyl for the act of writing per se, rather than the story, I know this is a crucial moment. It’s an opportunity to write a story that wants to be written. No excuse not to. There are weeks, possibly months of this hibernating lark ahead of me so a grip must be got!
A myriad muses (musii?) for all my writer friends! And whether the shade of Mrs W likes it or not, I’m calling up one of my favourites quotes.
Onward & sideways as my mum used to say. Apposite on Mother’s Day too! I kissed her picture this morning & like to imagine, she kissed me back.
Making it up as I go along 
I don’t think you’re being ‘casual’ at all. We deal with stuff as individuals & I agree – taking responsibility for ourselves & our beloveds (where we can) is all we *can* do.
By nature I’m an optimist & don’t do anxiety, or it’s co-conspirator, stress. Far too stressful & angst inducing! But – I think the slivers I felt last week were entirely induced by *not* knowing what I am supposed to do because, like the US, the UK is ruled by a narcissistic fool who listens to no-one.
Last night I was thinking about writers & it occurred to me, we’re probably going to cope better than most, simply because, as you say, we spend most of our days in self-imposed solitary confinement anyway.
Stay safe, dear friend. All the cwtches – a vasty pond apart! xXx
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I have no real anxiety over this…or anything, really. I’m a fairly low-key person when it comes to such things (and make up for it in other ways, Hehee!) I think I used up all my anxiety in those years you know well about, and there’s just none left inside me. Also, considering I spend most of my days in the same way I did before, there’s been little to no impact on my writing brain.
I know it bothers the bejesus out of some, believing I’m being far too casual and I’m not taking this seriously. Aside from doing those things we’ve been told will help, what more can I do?
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