Inspiration can be the hardest thing about being a creative. The places that it comes from vary wildly, and if you’re going out to look for it, there’s no way you’re going to find it. Instead you have to let it come to you. Thankfully, I was gifted with a muse.

   It seemed any time I was starting to feel idle, she’d come along. An experienced patron of the arts, she would take me in her chariot to the theater. I would sit wide eyed in the silent crowd and allow my imagination to run wild. The stories told to me on the stage were some of the most important. They allowed me to expand my thinking in a way that I wouldn’t imagine possible. It was her simple act of bringing me there that was one of the major keys that unlocked a world of possibilities.

One would think our tastes matched, but they overlapped little. She would often find herself bored by the plotlines and characters that enthralled me so. There were times I found her asleep in the middle of the play. At the time I didn’t understand why she would take me to see a story that she was uninterested in. Now I know she took me for my interest, as those memories were more important than her time.

   Many out there would have similar experiences to mine, but many of those ended eventually. Mine endured. My muse stood with me through the hardest process I’ve had to endure. Putting pen to paper was difficult, ensuring my stories were up to my standards even moreso. The most terrifying part though, was opening those stories to the world. My heart became bared for all to see, and I could do nothing but wait in fear.

   Many read my works and enjoyed them, much to my relief. More had purchased them but didn’t flip through the pages. Or maybe they did but didn’t find it to their liking, sparing my feelings by not telling me what they truly thought. Those ones left my mind racing. Though there was one who would not only pick up and praise my works, but do so with enthusiasm and appreciation like no one else could.

   My muse.

Nanny Mason, you’ve helped me keep on track for longer than you might have dared to imagine. Thank you, for taking me to those movies, and for enjoying my novels. Whenever I think of quitting, your words are the first in my mind that remind me there’s a reason to keep going.

Thank you, and Merry Christmas.