Don't Panic: The Care and Taking of Your Muse

[As a heads up: The Chapter numbers and such are for organizational purposes and I dunno, eventually maybe what order people 'should' read things in. However, as I cannot do anything in a linear fashion, they'll be posted as I produce them. Any order that comes out of this is purely on fluke. Enjoy! :D]

You have a muse! Congrats! Now that you've found this bouncing baby of creative joy (horror/dismay/etc), and you haven't declared yourself mentally insane (or you have, in which case, godspeed and I hope your mental institution of choice has good food), there's a very very specific question that needs to be addressed before you continue on your way with both yourself and your muse. If you couldn't quite gather what the question was from the over-arching title to the wonderful beginning of this chapter, then either the muse has been playing hide-and-go-find-the-words with your eyesight, or you need to lie down for a nap (and if you need a nap, I must exercise the more motherly side of my brain to tell you to nap before continuing onward). For your convenience, however, the question is provided below in pleasant, bold lettering:

What now?

It's quite a broad question, I do have to admit to that. But, without knowing where else to go, many muse-owners are unsure of what they should be doing with their little creations. You wouldn't want all that creativity to go to waste, would you?

I should point out now that, while this guide covers muses meant for roleplaying or writing, muses can easily help out in other creative mediums. An artist can use a muse to help them with color or inspiration, an an actor can convey their muse's personality on stage, through their own actions. Muses, at their extremely basic level, are meant to be creative outlets (see Introduction: What The Hell Are You Even for more information on what a muse is). However, if you're looking for further advice on how to 'use your muse' in another field of work, I must stress that you find another guide to aide you in your endeavors, such as a how-to book on the topic of choice, or another guide much like this one (if there is even one out there). There is a future section that will cover muses being used, at least partially, as inspirations for other outlets, but it is not the end-all guide and should not be taken as such.

Actually, I should take a moment now to point out that this in itself is not an end-all guide for ANYTHING. While I do wish for as many readers as humanly possible to benefit from my words, I cannot stress enough that research is never-ending, and you can always do more! If this guide does not do what you wish for it to do, there are other books out there, and I highly recommend you read them! In the future, there will be a section on reading materials that I have or will read that may aid you in some manner or another.

But, now that all that's out of the way, it's time for the juicy bits. If you're looking for help with a writing and/or roleplaying outlet, or at least a good head-start, look no further than here!

….

Eventually.

So, you've found yourself with a voice in your head, huh? Not one of those 'I want you to kill all the people' crazy voices, but one that… doesn't sound quite like your own. One that demands and begs to be released, but… in a more creative setting. What is this odd sensation that screams (or whispers, depends on the person) to be let out and scamper in their own form of freedom?

It's a muse! 

That voice could be bouncing around like a little spastic kitty, or grumbling at you every time you're hungry. Who knows how long they've actually been there, observing your every action and helping you make decisions, but one thing is for certain, they're there, and you are most likely very stuck with them. They may speak up in sassmaster type tones when someone's rude with you, or they may demand you color outside the lines a little… or they might be the complete opposite and gently edge you toward a less-imposing route. Regardless of how the muse speaks up, so to speak… there is one very simple piece of advice that I can give. Whether you decide to read on from this introduction or not, there is one, extremely important thing that I will attempt to impress upon you in two words.

Don't panic.

Every muse is different, and you may even end up with more than one bouncing around in there. However, they are not new to your habits! In most cases, your muse has been there for some portion of your life, but has had a difficult time manifesting. Who knows what sparked them into popping up. If you check out certain roleplaying communities, it should be fairly obvious where some of the muses are created. Fandoms of multiple sorts contain many writers and creative minds (because, and let's be honest, many creative types are hermits and like our privacy and the thought of not actually having to move from our seats to talk to people appeals to us greatly). The internet has created quite an open forum for fandoms to connect, get together, and talk about their interests. Sometimes, it evolves into roleplaying, where we will throw muse personalities into a more tangible sense, and interact said muses with others. Many of you reading this are at least somewhat aware of how that works, and to some, more veteran types, you're much more aware of how easy it is to obtain multiple muses than it should be.

Muses are creative bubbles that are based off of your personality, but tend to be a part of you that you may not have realized. There will be more on this in the first chapter, but keep in mind that they aren't there to actually take you over. That's dumb, no matter what muse says. Most muses like taking care of their muns (or typists depending on the arena you're coming from), as muns are the people who are, in a sense, their homes.

But this isn't a guide for a muse to take care of you. This is a guide for you to take care of them. If you take care of them properly, they will in turn take care of you without any question asked, so that is far from the problem. 

It's likely you've stumbled upon this blog due to some desire to keep this odd creation inside your head, or at least to safely manage his/her/it's desire to scamper out and play with others. Either that or you've found the link because you were searching the right tags on dreamwidth and… well… here you are. Hopefully this guide will help both newbies to the muse/rp world as well as more seasoned 'veterans' who have lived with their muses for multiple years. Regardless, the intention is for everyone who reads it to enjoy it as much as I am writing it.

So, in the hopes to teach, write, and entertain, I do hope you find whatever it is you're looking for within this blog. If not, I hope you find it out there… somewhere… on your journey.

~ Shi