Seeking the Muse

I went for a late night drive. I was at a birthday party with a couple of new friends from my ward, and when I told them I wanted to drive, I don't think they really understood. "Where are you going to go?" asked one. Nowhere in particular was the answer, but I didn't want to sound insane, so I replied, "I don't know."

Haven't I talked about my love of driving? I love to drive. Just...drive. I don't always have to have a destination, and it doesn't always have to be for the scenery, either. For me, I find a certain catharsis in the open road, in just...driving.

Tonight, I was seeking to clear my head and think about my writing. I'm embarking on a new project at the moment, one which may--if it works out the way I'm planning--keep me busy for several years. I've been trying to sit down and work on it all day, with very little success. My brain has been too cluttered full of other things...my Sunday school lesson, my talk for Sacrament Meeting tomorrow, my friendships and dating life, the books I'm reading, my failure to make it to various things I was supposed to do today...you can see the clutterage.

But hitting the road tonight, even if I only made it to Payson before I turned around...it was exactly what I needed. I started with Coldplay, switched to a rock and metal mix I like, then changed to Nightwish in Payson and stuck with that the whole way home. And I was able to THINK, to brainstorm. Three new characters of protagonist quality were born during this drive, amidst a great deal of world-fleshing and conflict-storming.

Sometimes, the Muse descends of his/her own accord, and ideas are just born. But sometimes I have to seek out my Muse. Perhaps now the floods will come.