Joseph Campbell on the Writer's Muse

I woke up to this quote on my Joseph Campbell widget:

Quote :

Just as anyone who listens to the muse will hear, you can write out of your own intention or out of inspiration. There is such a thing. It comes up and talks. And those who have heard deeply the rhythms and hymns of the gods, can recite those hymns in such a way that the gods will be attracted.
The Hero's Journey

Do you listen to your muse when you write? Or do you "write out of your own intention"?

Ann

I wrote Arirang: The Bamboo Connection by intention, all 1000 words reduced to 488. I wrote it over a period of ten years but was "inspired" to finish during the hurricanes of 2004/2005.

Ghost Orchid wrote itself. I walked in the swamp and expierenced the exquisite beauty of this rare and endangered orchid as though it found its way into my soul. I was obsessed. I needed my daily dose of its ethereal beauty. One day I returned to my office from viewing the blooms and wrote Ghost Orchid. It flowed from my pen as though directed by the orchid itself. It "felt" paranormal; therefore, the story itself has paranormal aspects.

I needed to later expand on the basic story; yet, even the birth of new characters came from a place previously unknown to me. It was only during an interview about the published
Ghost Orchid that I realized Neev was likely the daughter I never had. She suffered the angst of abandonment that haunts me and my son though we write that aspect of our psyche off and blame other things for our poor choices in moments of crisis.

I read my story to my muse (for whom all my stories are written) and wrote around the clock for several days until it was in final form. My muse gave me Neev's name and the Celtic Cross. The rest came from my experience in the swamp, staring at this ghostly apparition floating in the swamp's breeze. The two gifts from my muse made it possible to find resolution to the quest, something I couldn't find on my own.

I'm a very practical person and an essayist. Ghost Orchid is unique in my writing history and stands alone as a mystery of mystical proportions.

My intention is whatever the muse tells me to write.