The Muses Must be Frustrated

Because it seems I’m manifestation-challenged (at the moment anyway)

I wish there were such a thing as a mental transcriber to record my thoughts as they occur, well, some of my thoughts (some should definitely not be recorded). I frequently get a writing idea, and in my mind can see a complete, articulate, well-structured story. Then, when I get to a place to write it down, it is gone. I sit down to write but only fragments remain. I look at the blank screen and all those eloquent sentences and paragraphs have faded away. Like vestiges of a dream, they have dissipated into oblivion.

The Muses, so generous with providing creative concepts, must be impatient with my inability to get those ideas down in the clarity with which they came and present them to the world.

I’m sorry to miss out on these inspired writings, but ultimately they live and die only in my mind. Nothing left but the vague memory of those lucid moments which have vanished back into the ether.

The Muses must be frustrated. I hope they don’t shun me. Because, even though I’ve lacked execution ability, I do cherish those brief spells of lucidity. Still, there are kernels of ideas that remain, and I try to do my best with these using my ordinary brain. Maybe I must accept my work may trend more toward mundane rather than sublime. But still, I want to write. I still want to create meaningful work, maybe even helpful or insightful, regardless of its merits from a purely literary value. So, I stay at it.

If I am to have any success as a writer, it will have to be through practice, learning, and skill development. I can aspire to become a skilled craftsman even if not a literary genius. That is OK.

“A man’s got to know his limitations.” — Clint Eastwood Magnum Force

Only a very few are natural literary geniuses, but there are thousands of successful writers. Writing is a skill and a craft as well as an art, and practice, while not making it perfect, could still make it excellent. Might as well shoot high.

To develop this skill, I need to approach this endeavor as a business venture. And this is the real goal anyway. I want a viable part-time or retirement career. As I grow older, over the next decade, I want to slowly transition away from running my small real estate brokerage to an online business with writing as the core. There are many complementary angles.

And so I must study and learn everything I can from others who have found success. The mindset and motivation are as essential as the actual writing tips, if not more so.

There are some great learning resources available. Some right here on Medium.

First, for a business approach to writing, and becoming a writer while working a day job, the best writer on Medium I have found is Eve Arnold. Her posts are about solopreneurship, treating writing as a side business, time management, technique, motivation, and strategy.

Here is one of her posts:

Another writer who is a great resource for writing in general, and on Medium specifically, is Justin Cox. He runs the publication The Writing Cooperative.

Here is his recently updated guide to all things Medium:

A big part of writing is mindset and motivation. My favorite writer on this is Steven Pressfield. Actually, unbeknownst to him, I have adopted him as a mentor of sorts. I feel a connection for several reasons.

First, he is a late bloomer. His first novel, and perhaps best known, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was published after he was 50 years old. So maybe there is hope for me.

Mr. Pressfield has had many other successful novels, primarily historical fiction, as well as a great non-fiction series on being a writer. These are heavy on mindset, motivation, and lifestyle, presented in a quasi-memoir style portraying the hardships and obstacles during his journey to becoming a successful writer.

The first book in the series is The War of Art, but you will want to read the entire series.

My first story on Medium, almost 2 years ago, was about becoming a late-blooming writer, and the benefits that life experiences due to aging can have. Success during aging is one of my core areas of research and writing direction.

I’m in it for the long game. Writing topics to be explored include aging, spirituality, new thought, and sharing what I learn from studying writing and solopreneurship (free agency).

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