I've said many times that my muse IS the gremlin on my shoulder... but what does that mean? And... am I being honest?
First, what is a 'Muse'? Writers often ascribe personality to the inner voice that is their creativity. That is, how they talk to themselves internally about their creative work. When asked who or what their muse is, a writer may say anything-- from the joker to the tooth fairy... or in my case, the gremlin on my shoulder.
Second, what is 'The Gremlin On Your Shoulder'? Experienced writers will also ascribe personality to the negative aspect of their creative voice. The part of their mind that says, "This isn't good enough!" - "Make it again!" or "Start a campfire... with your manuscript!" This negative voice is refered to as, obviously, "The Gremlin On Your Shoulder".
But me, I often sarcastically, yet completely honestly say, "My muse-- is the gremlin on my shoulder." But why?
I believe that your muse and the gremlin on your shoulder are merely two aspects of the same thing. They are the embodiment of the personality you ascribe to your creative process. I trust the negative things I hear from the gremlin as much as I trust the positive things I hear from my muse, because they are one and the same.
If you only accept the positive from your muse, your writing will suffer, due to lack of perspective. If you only accept the negativity from the gremlin, you may unfairly assume that your writing won't exist. But speaking as someone with a gremlin muse, I can tell you that’s not true. You see, he’s not evil… just, very hard to please. So, to answer the question, am I being honest when I say that my muse is the gremlin on my shoulder? Yes, 100% , my muse and my gremlin are the same person... they work as one mind to make my writing the best it can be.
When my gremlin muse says, start a campfire with your manuscript. My mind goes, ah… you mean a rewrite is necessary? And I get a thumbs up from the gremlin… while the “positive” part might say, but we worked so hard on that. Often times that positivity is really an unwillingness to kill your darlings.
You need to start a few manuscript campfires, until the gremlin starts to nod and grin.
What many people people call a muse, is often weak, and unwilling to do what is necessary. also, if the gremlin on your shoulder smiles… you know you’ve written something good. This is not just me telling you that the gremlin on my shoulder is my muse. It is me asking you to embrace your gremlin too. I hope you enjoyed the blog and got something out of it. Please check out my twitter @advice_writing for more concise advice.
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