Habitual writing to beckon my muse

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I started this blog partly because I felt I needed a way to awaken my creative spirit with free form, stream-of-consciousness writing before I could endure the strict requirements of more formal writing.

I used to have a what I called "a poetic journal." In it, I would write not so much about the facts of life (what happened, where, when, with whom, etc.) but rather the emotional experience.

For example, here's a poem I wrote two decades ago:

Kiss me, solemn.
Touch me, blessed.
Hold me, sacred.
Treat me as a fairy tale.
Give me your hand.
Take my love.
Return me not my love,
but yours, sincere.
Grant my wish with yours.
Complete me, tonight.
Lay beside me, solemn.
Rest with me, peace.

In case you couldn't have guessed it: I was a love-struck teenager at the time I wrote that. That's what I mean by poetic journaling. Apparently, I'm not the only one inclined to poetic journaling.

Actually, I still have this poetic journal -- but it has sat unused for several years. I suppose that is not unusual. Sometimes a few years pass between writings. Then I'll go on a writing binge and write 20 poems. Then, nothing. Silence. Often for years.

Perhaps I got this tendency from my mom. She's an amateur painter. I think she's very good, but she would be far better if she painted on a regular basis. Instead, like my poetry-writing, she binges. She's had maybe three periods of productivity in her life. She has to wait for inspiration and motivation -- and then, once the muse has arrived, she is able to catch it and hold on to it for several months.  Eventually the muse wriggles free and she simply can't lure it to come back. Nor do I think she really tries.

I want to try to lure my muse to reside with me. Coax my muse to share mental, emotional, and spiritual space with me indefinitely. I imagine the intellectual adventures we might have! So, like an unrequited lover who tries to look like they are living an exciting life by going out and doing exciting things, I must look like I am a real writer to draw back the attention of my muse.

If I write with daily fervor (or near daily fervor...) then perhaps my muse will return and linger. Perhaps in enacting a writer's life, I will come to live it. So this blog is a space to beckon my muse -- to show it that I am here, building the habits of excellence and creative productivity.

After all, one is only a writer if one writes. There is no other definition.