Category Archives: writing

art, art journaling, creativity, inspirational, muse, resistance, writing

The muse is a fickle b*itch.

The muse never was very trustworthy in my opinion.  None of them. No wonder they are mythical (as if we can trust anything the ancients dreamed up, archetypes or not.)  Some might argue they exist on another plane of energy, but for the most part they are not for hire.

In the past I paid homage to the Literary Muse, and she would strike inconsistently and then crack the whip until you stayed up all night to write and your fingers bled.  Then she  would be suspiciously absent for loooong periods of time.  But no matter what, I wrote.

Nowadays if she shows up I give her a token eye roll and say I AM not for hire any longer, so there.  Go find another victim.

However,  sometimes I think I have to pay homage to my art muse who is more often than not totally absent, day or night.

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the bored uppity muse b*itch

I also have to pay a price for her to show up.

*I have to dance naked at midnight in my backyard first Sunday of the month and sing off-tune songs until my neighbor calls the police.

* I have to offer up my first child as a sacrifice. It’s lucky I don’t have any kids, but then again, my muse gives me the cold shoulder because of this.

*I have to eat raw kale for breakfast every morning (not a problem since I often put that in my green smoothie, na-na-na-nana.

*I have to spend $$$$$$$ on all the latest art tools and pay homage to all of the art teachers out there who offer torturous lengthy courses that make you feel like crap if you don’t finish all the assignments. And you never do.

*The muse always reminds me that I’m never “deep” enough in my art. In fact, I skim the surface of drek and I’m too happy about it. 🙂

So, what do you do when the muse is absent? Tell her to never show up because you don’t need her sorry ass.

You go in to your studio every day even if your body sends out the “fight or flight” signal.

You wrangle that art journal that can never lie quite flat and slam your fist into the page just to show who is the boss.

The unseen barrier of resistance that the evil studio fairies wove while you slept last night is thick over the empty pages. Is that a spiderweb over there in the corner?  And who glued the pages together?

Ah yes, I did.

You look over the paints and with a sigh you decide, “what the heck, I might as well slap on some purple and green paint down and go from there.”

Every brush stroke is a pain. The paint decides to spurt out in a great big glob or even leak from the bottom.  So you smear that sh*t all over the page.  Now that page looks like a Rothko painting… Maybe you could sell it as such on eBay, you think for $$$$.  Con-woman thoughts aside, why did Rothko always paint the same thing??

His muse must have been nuts or she avoided him altogether with the excuse that she doesn’t do horizontal lines.

Anyway, you sit with your Rothko art journal page and decide it’s not interesting enough so you start doodling in pink neon color or slap some brightly colored washi tape down. Much better already. Things are still similar to slogging through mud, but you persist.

And then suddenly you see a face in the mess on the paper, and find joy in adding some features.

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fickle muse

After that some more doodling commences and all is well.  In the end, you created a piece of art and all is good. All in the face of the muse who tried to actually distract you with everything else except art.  (Yes, I totally blame the muse.)

Art without the muse becomes an exploration to see what you’re made of. Either you give in to the resistance and go clean the kitchen, or you slog through the barrier and find what is on the other side.

It’s the only way to approach art and get something done.  (For me anyway.) Otherwise, I suspect the kitchen would be spotless and the studio full of dust.

Do you have balls enough to push through?

Only by doing will you find out.  Make it a habit and give the muse the boot if she dares to show up (late.)  You don’t need her because you already had the commitment down.

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No muse here.

You don’t need the muse because you have your own voice and inner wisdom. That is enough!

Lots of daring and determination to ya!

xo

Maria

P.S. if you want to spend some hard earned cash on art, please visit my etsy shop HERE.

art, fear, inspirational, motivational, resistance, writing

Resistance sucks donkey balls!

Hello gorgeous,

Resistance sucks donkey balls! (I got that expression from a friend in NZ haha.)

donkey
Resistance sucks donkey balls

Have you noticed how you don’t feel any resistance when you go out partying or watching TV shows? But as soon as you decide to do something that you really WANT to do, something worthwhile, resistance sets in. You might be one of the lucky few who sails through without a blemish, but then you’re probably a saint.

I’m an artist and I suffer from resistance every day. When I was a full-time writer I suffered from resistance too, but I had an ironclad discipline that pulled me through. With art however, you usually don’t have a chapter outline to follow, and a word processing program that  keeps you within the parameters of the page. Writing itself can be a resistance, BUT if you show up at the computer and start with one sentence, things might start flowing.  No promise though, and that’s where discipline comes in.

It is sort of a military word, isn’t it?  It worked wonders in my writing career.

Discipline and art don’t get along well.  The only discipline I can tie myself to is to move my body and sit down at my art table or stand by the easel.  After that, the wild donkey comes along and everything flows or the blank page syndrome sets in with a vengeance. That opens the door to the inner Critic (who sounds like someone I knew.)   He says: get depressed now and go find something in the fridge, or better yet, the freezer….

critic
Mr. Critic on a rant

My Mr. Critic is very sneaky, comes in on soft-soled shoes and doesn’t exactly critique my art, but fans the flames of frustration until I feel disgusted with the project. I never hear the words “you are no good” or “your art sucks,” no, we are way beyond that point. My Critic knows that if he says that, I’ll laugh in his face because I trust my art. So, subtler methods are often used to get me to fold.

But, I have learned to push on. That’s the only thing you can do. Don’t give up, don’t get up and go to the freezer, and don’t pay any attention to the feelings of frustration or doubt trying to railroad you. Welcome them! By Mr. Critic showing up in such stealthy fashion and throwing a curve ball only means you’re really onto something good.  When you’ve got it going and the passion is burning, Mr. Critic will sneak in with curve balls or frustration tantrums. It is a test of sorts, a test to see if you’re ready for the next level of awesomeness.

When things turn to sh*t you might be on the threshold to something truly great. It could be a new level of expertise or a new way of unexpected expression.  Go with it, and kick Mr. Critic to the curb!

If you want to grow, face the Critic and move on.  Never stop creating, whatever your passion. Nothing can stop you then. There is only one simple remedy.

Show up every day…. Stay with it until it moves forward.

xo

Maria

P.S. There is still time to join my current art e-course, Art Journaling Journey.  You can read more about it HERE.

inspirational, life, motivational, writing

Discover your inner fire.

Discover your inner fire.  It’s not that hard, but we tend to live in the lies we tell ourselves.  We all have Ph.Ds. in excuses, like family and other things we have to attend to in this 3D-existence.  But there is always time if we make it.  We also tend to not listen to the inner urges, labeling them as woo-woo or generally uncomfortable or ridiculous, like dreams at night.  Ninety percent of all the women I meet live for and through their families, but what about THEM?  What is their own outlet of happiness?  Nothing wrong with being focused on family, but not to a point where that’s all there is.

I feel kind of blah today, not very fired up, but I know what makes me happy.  Every day I sit down to listen within and every time I find my true north.  Then it’s all about will to make stuff happen in accordance to my inner direction.

How do you tame your will?  You don’t.  Will is like a cat, contrary at best, or outright belligerent at worst. Cats know how to be motivated, especially at meal times, lol.  Cats are also super lazy and they don’t give a sh*t.  Sometimes I wish I was more like them because they truly act from supreme indifference and detachment.  That doesn’t mean they have no feelings, but everything is on their terms.  You know immediately about your transgression  when you take a wrong step, like taking them to the vet.

So basically, you have a cat in your head.

There is a way to tame cats, sort of.  You have to coax them along with something alluring, like tuna treats.  When you love something, it has a kind of golden allure.  Your passion is like that; that thing you keep putting off.   Throw some treats at it!

Once you allow yourself (with some coaxing) to attend to that passion, you feel great.  That feeling is the tuna treat.  Basically, the more you allow yourself to experience that special feeling, the easier it gets to choose to be a participant, not a sideline observer.

Step away from the sideline.  When you don’t feel like it, apply some discipline (which is also an acquired skill) to push yourself forward.  One whiff of that tuna will get your right in the mood to pursue.  I know it works for me.

For me the tuna is the joy of creativity.  Writing this fires me up, and seeing a pile of painting brushes in my studio gives me an inner smile.  If you don’t know what yours is, do some digging for gold inside that murky mine of yours.  “I can’t find it,” you say??  Frigging BS.  Don’t be lazy, dig deeper.

Just accept that there is a special path waiting for you; the one only you can find.  Don’t you want to go on adventure?  Don’t you want to find out?  Live your life as an adventurer, not like a predictable hamster running on its wheel.  I have to say I prefer cats to hamsters.

Don’t you want to have your tombstone say you lived with passion, that you inspired others?

The habits can get so ingrained it can be hard to break out of them, and most people don’t even try.  I speak to YOU who wants to find out, who knows there is no other way to live.

That the same ole, same ole is not good enough.

My inspiration today: take positive action, no matter how much the resistance says no.  Engage will and discipline and get into your life.  You won’t look back because you know it’s true.

I’m doing the action right beside you, so let’s go!

Because life happens NOW!

xo

Maria

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Google images captainkyso.com

P.S.  My e-course Visionary Art Journaling offers many exercises to go within to discover your inner truth.  We will be working with art and the six senses.  It’s a self paced e-course.  The link is HERE.

If you’d like to receive my newsletter, sign up HERE.

ecourse, fiction, writing

Write That Novel Now! ecourse is live.

The ecourse Write That Novel Now! I’ve been working hard to put together is now live.  Click on the book cover in the sidebar, or go HERE.  I’m really excited about this development and I’m happy to share it to help struggling or novice writers to get a handle on the writing craft.   It is time to share my knowledge with the world.  For many years I thought there had to be a way to share this knowledge without just putting out another ebook on Amazon, but I didn’t know what to do.

My ecourse contains an ebook, but there is so much more, and I’m available for support in the dedicated Facebook group that I created for the students.

You know when something feels right, and creating the ecourse felt right all the way.  It hasn’t always been easy, and as with any writing, there are many not-so-fun parts and challenges to overcome to get it done.  For me it was the technical side, and that is an ongoing and sometimes painful learning curve.  I have banged my forehead against the edge of my desk a number of times, but there was no backing out of the project.  And, miraculously, it all came together in the end.   The bruises have now faded…  ;-P

I learned a lot of technical stuff and I’m grateful for that.  I know it will come in handy later when I create more courses.  Online classes is a great way to share with others, and for that I thank God.  I didn’t think I would ever thank anyone  for technology.  We truly live in a global village and the opportunities are endless.

If you know of any struggling writers, please share this blog with them.  I can truly help and they can learn quickly!

Anyone can come along for the ride!   Maybe you are the next New York Times bestseller author!  It’s never to late to try something new.

ecourse, fiction, writing

So excited about the ecourse!

The fiction writing ecourse is almost done.  I can’t wait to share it all with YOU!   I’ve put everything I know about writing in this course and it’s great.  It was time to get it all down on “paper” and share with the world.   I almost wrote a big book but I decided that an ecourse would be a lot more immediate and people don’t like to read long, complicated books to get the info they need.  It’s all about learning fast and implementing what you learn, so I’m really excited about the format.  The ecourse is divided into sections that are easy to follow.   It will be up online in the next few days, so stay connected for the link.  Happy writing!

ecourse, fiction, writing

Fiction writing ecourse coming soon!

Hi folks, this is the first post in this blog, though I have blogged a lot in the past.  In fact, I have an art blog and you can check it out HERE.  I had a writer’s blog but it went away on The Starship Enterprise never to be seen again…  🙂  I’m excited about this site because I built it myself and I’m far from a geek.  Anyhoo, I’m working on a very exciting fiction writing  ecourse for beginning or struggling writers.  It will be easy to follow with an ebook, questionaire PDFs, and audios.  I will keep you posted.   Shouldn’t be long now if all the technicalities work out.   Sayonara, and keep creating!