Tickling the Muse
By Chris Green (w/a Crystal Green)

Do you ever find yourself at a creative standstill, needing to “fill the well,” but lacking the inspiration to do so?

Then get ready for some tickling.

We all know that going to movies, taking walks, traveling, and watching a sunset are all ways to conjure up a story premise or a way to enliven a scene that’s dead on arrival. But have you ever tried using music as a tool for creation? I’m not talking about listening to “You Can Leave Your Hat On” for the twentieth time just before you dive into a love scene. I’m talking about serious, focused use of music to stimulate your neurons.

At our April Spring into Romance Conference, I’ll be presenting an interactive workshop on this subject. As a teacher, I used this method with my students, so I’m convinced that music enhances creativity. Together, we’ll reach into ourselves and pull out those story ideas that are just waiting among the notes of a John Williams tune for you to grab them. We’ll also do some exercises to dream up imagery that will take your reader into the adventure you’re spinning for them.

Since this is an interactive workshop, be ready to work and share, to have fun, and take a break from the business side of writing. Hopefully, our time together will yield new premises, new places to travel with old characters, and new ways to look at pumping yourself up for a stubborn scene.

See you there!