The Muse’s Rebellion: Finding Purpose in Writing

Writing With Purpose: What a Load of…?

Write with purpose. What’s the point of the story? These statements I heard for years from writing gurus. Must admit, I always shrugged.

Writing With Purpose: What a Load of…?

Thinking about my writing on these terms cripples The Muse. She doesn’t give two hoots about purpose or meaning, only what turns her on. But every story needs to have meaning… Nope, not buying it. It’s right up there with themes. For me, themes come naturally as the story unfolds — I don’t plan for them.

Every writer is different. I have writer friends who write with a purpose in mind. Some are deep thinkers and serious. Story themes are figured out before they start writing. They have something to say. They put me to shame and in the past I have felt like less of a writer. For the most part, I just want to be entertained.

My stories range from stupid humour to as black as Magic’s pelt (my fur baby). For some reason, I can not write straight general stories. They bore me. Not to read, but to write. The Muse runs off and drinks cocktails on Muse’s Only Beach. I bet your muse runs off and holidays there too from time to time. Mortals are not allowed.

Finding Story Purpose

As we all know, in 2020, the mother of all viruses, our dear friend Covid, screwed the world over. I sat back and watched the world suffer. Lucky for me, Western Australia kept Covid out until the end, and the virus hit us by invite. The fear cloaked the state like a bogeyman in the closet. For my blogging friends, Covid wasn’t a bogeyman, but a real tangible threat. Every week we shared a 100-word story for Friday Fictioneers. Many of the stories reflected the dark times. People were afraid. People hated their lives turned upside down. They needed space to vent. Writing is the best therapy.

In my “safe” of my corner of the world, I felt hopeless and wanted to do something. But what could I do from sleepy Perth? On reflecting, I began questioning the purpose of my stories and flash fiction blog. The world didn’t need more doom and gloom. I wanted to offer a place where people all over the globe could visit and escape from the real-life crap even if it was only for a couple of minutes. I said goodbye to the dark stories and exclusively wrote humour, feel-good stories. Naughty fairies, messed up Greek Gods, bickering with The Muse and Fudged Up Fairy Tale took over my fiction blog. Quirky flash fiction worlds made themselves at home. And I love it!

My silly stories have a purpose. Every single one of them -

ENTERTAINMENT.

ESCAPISM.

AMUSEMENT.

Are they deep and meaningful? Puck, no! Many are designed to tap into the inner child. Brown Fairy loves crap, literally, and he loves to share. The Muse loves self-deprecating humour. Modern fairy tale retellings mock with a “Shrek” spirit. And the Greek gods struggle in the 21st century with their rapey and anti-social ways. All good fun. People need escapism. Stories to help get through the hard times. Stories meant a lot to me as I suffered trauma growing up. A glowing star of hope. Laughter is the best medicine.

Finding a New Writing Purpose

The Era of Covid is winding up. Jeez, Tannille, don’t jinx the world. I’m starting to venture back to my dark story roots. Explore different tones. There will always be new quirky stories because The Muse loves grossing readers out and being a smartarse. Micro-fiction is fantastic for telling a joke. I typically don’t feel there are enough words to explore the deep and meaningful.

My writing will be contentious issue free, as it’s always been. Many writers rather voice their opinions and see their platform as a way to express what they believe in. Is anyone really listening anymore? I’m old school and believe readers should takeaway what they see in a story rather than beating them with my agenda. I rather bring people together in all aspects of my life rather than alienate. Live by example. People just need to understand my favourite word starts with “f”, and ends with “k”.

Do your stories hold meaning? Do you stop and think about the importance of your writing? What sort of writer do you want to be?

Originally published at http://thewritingasylum.com on July 31, 2023.