We Who Wrestle With... the Muse

Blazing Reader,

Jordan Peterson may be wrestling with God (per his new book, We Who Wrestle With God)... but I wrestle more with my writing muse.

While my nearly completed novel, All the Humans are Sleeping, was with my editor, I wasn't sleeping. My muse wouldn't let me. She kept on telling me I needed to fill-in a section of the story.

With what, I asked?

As usual, I'm not told such things until I start writing.

And re-writing.

Lots of rewrites.

In the process, my fingers were possessed to add a new character to the story, which solved some other issues and makes for an extra plot twist in the concluding chapter (which already ends on goosebumps).

The best part is that the last two weeks of work have added 6,000 words to the novella — meaning its no longer a novella. At 61,000 words (and counting) its entered the novel zone.

All because my muse is a taskmaster who won't leave me in peace.

For more on my life with the writing muse check out: https://blazingpinecone.com/blog/2022-08-31/

John C.A. Manley

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, the forthcoming All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of speculative fiction. Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber at: https://blazingpinecone.com/subscribe/