I’ve been writing non-stop for so long now – months and months. But it has dried up the last couple of weeks. It’s not surprising. The last couple of weeks have brought me to the end (or what I hope is the end) of a long, long, rough period. I’m tired. So very tired. I’m emotionally exhausted and don’t have much to give. I want to. I need to. I try to write. But it’s not there. My muse – my muse is a fickle little thing. And she (or maybe it’s a he since he’s so difficult) is feeling temperamental. He/She’s just not interested in hanging out with me.

If you’re a writer or artist and you haven’t seen the movie, The Muse, you must. You can rent it on Amazon. It’s a 1999 Albert Brooks movie. It’s laugh-out-loud funny for the artist types out there, like me. The premise of the movie is that screenwriter Steven Phillips (Albert Brooks) is at the lowest point in his career. He loses his contract with a studio and is basically told he doesn’t have it anymore.

In desperation, he reaches out to a friend (Jeff Bridges) who tells him that a real-life muse exists (and her name is Sarah). Sarah’s demands throughout the movie get crazier and crazier – but he’s writing again. So he feeds the muse, so to speak. Which, as you can imagine, creates all kinds of wild stories. Sharon Stone was the perfect person for this role. It’s a crazy movie and in true Brooks style, it’s a little weird. But I love his sense of humor – so of course I laugh throughout, no matter how many times I’ve seen it.

The muse, the muse . . . the goddamn muse. – Steven Phillips

But back to my muse. The muse is not inspiring me right now. What he is doing is taunting me a little – reminding me of what’s just outside my reach. He’s a cheeky little bugger. My goal for the rest of this week and weekend is to simply read my manuscript. That’s it. Just read it. I may even print it out. I hope that as I read it again, the inspiration returns. I miss it. And my muse.