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Hey Reader,

Actual footage of me waiting for inspiration to strike:

Have you ever thought or said, “I’m so uninspired right now, I’ll get started on this when inspiration strikes” or similar?

You must cease and desist, please.

Cos this myth about inspiration being some kind of divine blessing needs to get straight into the North Sea without a wetsuit.

It can be helpful, I guess, to imagine a benevolent Muse up there, booping us on the brains with a spark of inspiration.

After all, it takes the responsibility off us to get on with writing, doesn’t it?

(ooh the biyatch said WHAT? Yes I did.)

If the Muse or inspiration fairy or god or whatever isn’t delivering, that’s hardly MY fault, is it? What can I do???

But that’s not how this works.

Inspiration comes from within first, then it does some weird mysterious thing in a damp little pocket of our brains, and we forget about it, and THEN we get an idea and it feels like it came from nowhere.

To come up with ideas, we need to feed our curiosity all the time.

And if you’re not curious all the time, get curious. That world out there? FASCINATING. RIDICULOUS. HORRIFYING. WEIRD. WONDERFUL. BEAUTIFUL.

How does it work? What’s going on?

Learn things, observe things, think about things, mix ‘em all together, and see what happenes.

That’s inspiration.

Here’s where it all comes from, for me:

• Books
• Podcasts
• Movies
• TV shows
• Eavesdropping on strangers in restaurants, streets, and public transport (sometimes I follow people like a weirdo DON’T REPORT ME)
• Social media nonsense
• Magazines
• Art galleries
• Graffiti I pass in the real world
• Conversations with friends
• Conversations with strangers
• Conversations with enemies
• Training courses I take
• Trainings I deliver
• My clients
• My mentors
• My random obsessions with new things

Then I make notes. Thousands and thousands and thousands of notes. Hopefully with context.

Next time I’m sat skeletally waiting for inspiration to strike, all I have to do is open a notebook and pick something and BAM.

Like magic, the Muse delivers.

Cool, eh?

We have control over when and where inspiration can strike. It’s everywhere, all the time.

But we have to get off our butts and feed it.

Today is episode 15 of The MicroMuse — The Muse doesn’t work for you: the inspiration myth.

I’m talking about where that myth comes from, why it holds us back, and how you can take the reins of your own creativity and gallop with them.

​Join me at 11.45am when I’ll be sharing a sparkling boop of inspiration to boost your book, your writing, and your creativity with:

• 1 powerful truth
• 1 doable tip

​See you there?​

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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