You may not be able to force your muse to appear on command, but you can replicate the settings in which she most often appears. Think about your last five writing sessions that were especially productive and answer the following questions:
- Where were you?
- What sounds surrounded you: Music, coffee shop clatter, a white noise machine, silence?
- What was the lighting like?
- What other pleasing sensory details do you recall about these sessions (perhaps the feel of the sun on your legs as you wrote by the pool or the scent of a particular candle)?
- What time of day was it?
- What genre were you writing in?
- Why specifically did these sessions feel more productive – because the words came without a fight, because you turned off your inner critic, because you doubled your usual word count, etc.?
Now look at your list. What do they have in common? How can you replicate these creativity-boosters in your writing life more often?
