Though my time asking fellow erotica authors for tips or just stalking forums on how to "improve" my writing, I've been stuck in ruts before, and in an attempt to fix it, I ask others if there's a way that helps them move on with their state of writer's block. I can't remember who suggested this or where, but whether it was Hentai Foundry or this forum alone, it did spark a question in my mind: Does anyone else have a muse? (This is probably the person that I'm thinking of, though it was probably both by two different people.) And when I mean by a muse, I mean someone or something that inspires you to keep on writing. A picture perhaps, or maybe a specific song or playlist that you like to listen to, or is it a person such as Beatrice to Dante Alighieri who he included in the Divine Comedy as an angel that guides him and his partner, Vergil, through the Circles of Hell? Many a people are inspired by something, though in my experience I'm more than likely going to steal something that I recently watched or read (goodness forbids someone calls me out for my identity), but some seem to use experiences or people in their lives as a way to communicate their ideas or fantasies much simpler and easier, while others seem to be connected to a franchise and use their love for it to create fanfics. I've personally tried to find a muse, a picture of a character that I enjoyed found in Rule34, but even as I tried to conjure up an idea by staring at this picture, or used the dullness of everyday life as a motivator for escapism, the former never really works and the latter if there's a sudden bout of creativity or inspiration, so I can safely say that muses don't work for me. Though maybe you, oh reader, have something to share with the rest of us.
This is a pretty interesting question and I have a pretty interesting answer. I actually make my own muses in the form of my characters. By giving them personalities, imaginary bodies (I can't draw, so these physical forms are purely in my head), and a limited form of independence from my biases, I think that my characters are somewhat able to inspire what I write. If I get writer's block, I go into my mind and sort of speak to my characters for inspiration. Maybe I get good answers and I write them, maybe I don't, my muses are fickle like that. It is a really weird process that I doubt anyone but me will understand, yet I sometimes feel like I can make my characters actually independent and alive. I don't have any multi-personality disorder for those that are thinking that. Maybe I just have a good imagination? Maybe I drink too much before I write? I don't know, but I feel that my main muses are the characters written in my stories.
I feel like no matter how out-there a story of mine is, it's always grounded in some truth. Saying that, there have been some people in my life that have definitely sparked my erotica muse. Even just exploring my own sexuality by myself or with others has often found its way back in writing. Reading lots of stories, watching tv shows(even some music videos), just living life outside the internet -- everything has probably served as an influence in some way. Also, I've wondered if my mind is made from drugs on occasion.
A good IRL friend of mine from high school who I still keep in touch with today said to "write drunk, edit sober." I feel my best and most unique ideas come when I've had at least nine or so beers. Sure, when it is put on paper, it is written like Chinese is my first language, but that's why I edit and proofread while (relatively) sober.
