The Profitability of Killing One's Muse

For anyone who has read this blog for any length of time, it is no secret that I have long coveted the Alpha Smart. I have wanted one for a couple of years, but the pocketbook just refused to relinquish the necessary cash.

So when I saw the contest being held over at Writer Unboxed, I had a gut feeling this was my chance. And anyone who knows me knows that when my gut speaks, I listen. The contest asked you to submit what made you an unboxed writer. I thought about this for a few minutes. Being a plotter, not a panster, makes me a pretty conventional individual when it comes to my writing. So what was it that made me unboxed? Where did I step outside the safety zone, fly off into the creative ether?

Then a conversation Maxx and I had had about her wayward muse came back to me and I realized something. I had killed mine. Being a big fan of reliability and a bit of a single-minded workhorse when I wanted to accomplish something, I had grown tired of waiting for my own fickle muse to show up. So I killed her off. I wasn't sure if this was "unboxed" or just plain crazy, but I sent in my submission anyway and had a good feeling when I did.

The good feeling held true, and yesterday Kathleen and Therese emailed me to say I had won the Alpha Smart 3000. And a box of Godiva truffles. Picture if you will the happy dance I did in my pod when I got that email. My hands clamped over my mouth to keep me from screaming, my feet pounding the carpeted floor. It probably looked as though I was in the throes of a apoplectic fit. I didn't care. I was the proud new owner of my very own Alphie.

The announcement and my entry are over at Writer Unboxed. Check it out. They have a great blog for anyone who hasn't visited.