This morning, around 3:30 a.m., my Muse snuck back into the house. And, with the grace and agility of a drunk elephant she woke me with what I hope is the answer I’ve been searching for and wasting countless hours and words for. The magic fix to Pardon Falls.

I’ve not been shy about something not being exactly right with the manuscript. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it … like tasting a recipe and knowing it’s missing something, but not being able to define what.

How did I find this missing something? What does it mean for the story? And, where the heck has my Muse been?

I’ll start with the first question. Well, I sorta copied off someone else’s homework (thanks, Chrissy! *waves*). OK, not really, but a dear writer friend who I look up to brought something to our writers’ group and I guess that something stuck in my brain (not to mention it was damn good!). I found that missing something by being present and listening to other writers. We never know what sticks with us and wakes us up at 3:30 a.m.

What does this mean for the story? Well, I won’t go into details here, but it will put Amanda in a bigger bind than what was already written into the story. You know what they say: write a character you love, get that character up a tree, throw rocks at her and let her figure her own way down. I found some pretty big rocks to chuck at her.

Where has my Muse been? Well, after sending her to her room (because this was 3:30 a.m. y’all) we had a chat and turns out, I scared her off. I was trying to force her into having all the answers and she didn’t. I know, I know, you wait for inspiration and you’ll be waiting your whole life. But, I didn’t wait, I started working on something else. Reignited my love of words and just waited for her to come home.

It’s a nice feeling. Sitting here with one story eager to be fixed and finished and another story halfway ready. But it’s more than that. The three or four stories still in their fetal stage in my mind will now have a soft, warm place to grow and develop.

My Muse is back. And, so am I.