The Muse

On Tuesday, we had an election. On Wednesday, somebody was elected. That surprised me. I was fully anticipating having to wait until January to learn that the candidate I wanted in office had lost.

Yesterday, I read a number of blogs venting about the election, the reelected president and those who voted for him. People expressed many emotions: depression, disappointment, fear, frustration, hatred, hopelessness, pain, pessimism and, above all, the desire to move to Canada. It was all a bit overwhelming.

Last night, as I sat down to write the third installment of my NaNo-novel, all I could think about were their words. I wanted to put it out of my mind and continue with my story, but the ideas wouldn't flow. My muse was hiding, paralyzed by negative thoughts. With a little coffee and music, I finally convinced her to come out and play, but all she wanted to do was talk about the election.

Grateful she was even there, I allowed her to use my characters to express her opinions and fill the pages with her political rants. At one point, she strayed and went on a tangent about phlegm, but mostly, she stayed on topic and said what she wanted to say.

Today is Day 4 and my muse seems ready to return to the story of Johnny Beck and the Hike From Heck (the new working title, no more SMiRK). My word count is healthy and the goal for tonight is 2,100 words. It's ambitious, but my competitive spirit has kicked in and wants to keep up with those that have sprinted ahead. I'm looking forward to a productive Cupertino Write-In this evening.

My sister, who is also participating in NaNoWriMo, just emailed me a status report on her novel. She finally came up with a title: Nucular Families. Her muse must also have politics on the brain. So begins the 2004 edition of our sibling rivalry. If it's anything like last year, she'll let the title marinate for three weeks and bang out all 50,000 words during Thanksgiving, while the turkey is roasting, because it's just that easy for her. I think I need type faster.