(Special thanks to Rachel Jank for suggesting I write this.)

The practice of invoking the Muse is an old one.  Centering yourself in the morning with writing is an old practice as well. Combining them is a healthy path for building momentum in your writing practice.

How do we invoke the Muse?  First, let me assure you that this is not a religious practice.  It is a ritual. In their book, Rituals for Work, Margaret Hagan and Kursat Ozenc define ritual this way:

 

 

I was introduced to writing rituals through Steven Pressfield’s  The War of Art.  He characterizes writing as an inner, creative battle against what he calls “Resistance“.  Or as he notes, “It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.”

One of the tools to tear down Resistance is ritual, specifically the invocation to the Muse. Pressfield uses the invocation taken from T. E. Lawrence’s translation that opens “The Odyssey“.

 

 

Pressfield explicates how this works for him. Invocations are idiosyncratic.  You can create your own calling it what you will. I use William Blake’s invocation from his epic poem, “Milton” as my invocation.

 

 

 

 

This is too long for my short attention span so I have shortened it to this which I wrote on a blank playing card.

 

 

 

I read this after I create my ritual setup.  The video that follows shows how I set my props up.  Oftentimes I will do a 3-minute meditation before I begin this ritual, varying as seems apt.  The key to this is be intentional as you do it and try not to let it become ordinary.  It is a prayer of sorts to yourself.

 

Does it work? Yes. It gets me to write something every day and I can mine creative work from this “ore”.  Is it inspired writing? Not terribly, but inspiration often springs from it.  After I finish my ten-minute or so of writing, I highlight stuff that jumps out at me if there is any.  I return to the writing a couple of times a week to see if there is something else in there that beckons to me.

I make this part of what I call my “A.M. Check-In”.  I go off the routine at times, but the beauty of the invocation is that it has a weight that draws you right back to center if you get a little lost in your writing practice.  That is what a writing ritual is supposed to do.

Let me know if I can tell you more. If you want a Zoom session, let me know.  O Muse, may you help my friends write more.