STORY INFO
In Search of Inspiration
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Author
Michał Przywara
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Categories
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Danh mục
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Update
6 months ago
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Part Chapter
1/??
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Reads
48
Content
Finally, after months of waiting, after countless arguments with the shipper, with border services, with his wife Shirley and with his son Miles, and with his wallet to cover all the extra importing fees, Carl Jones’s package arrived and sat in his study.It was a dented cardboard box, basketball-sized, swaddled with duct tape, and it screamed nondescript. If he had passed it in the street he would have kept on wa...
Outstanding reviews
I am actually wondering how Carl's wife would react to having another full grown woman in the household. She's just briefly appeared twice in the story.
I think they treat the muse like any other commodity - she even arrived in a package, after all. No different than ordering workout DVDs or something. (Although, in an earlier draft, which was much too long, I had Trish and Shirley go out for a ladies night, so maybe they just hit it off and Shirley didn't feel threatened.)Thanks for reading :)
Thank you for this story! I needed it this week. My muse has left me and I could do with an incompetent Trish for a bit. Favourite line“Five days later, he had resigned himself to being an uninspired hack who chased away his own muse.”Oh how true that rang!
Definitely been there before :) Thankfully the feeling passes - or being a hack, we can at least choose to be a good hack :PGlad you enjoyed it, Michelle!
Definitely been there before :) Thankfully the feeling passes - or being a hack, we can at least choose to be a good hack :PGlad you enjoyed it, Michelle!
Definitely been there before :) Thankfully the feeling passes - or being a hack, we can at least choose to be a good hack :PGlad you enjoyed it, Michelle!
Definitely been there before :) Thankfully the feeling passes - or being a hack, we can at least choose to be a good hack :PGlad you enjoyed it, Michelle!
It definitely feels a bit like shouting into the void sometimes - but I suppose if we all feel that, then we're not entirely alone :)That's a great follow up question. Nothing wrong with wanting to be read, I think. I'd be lying if I said it didn't appeal to me. It's connection, proof we exist - and maybe someone's day will be just a bit more positive.
Michal — congrats 💜
Thanks Danie! It's been a good week :)
Kill your darlings, brilliant! Fun concept and great home truth at the end for us writers.
Thanks, M. A.! It's definitely good advice, just maybe not taken literally :)
Exactly what it is. Hard work and persistence do the magic. Congrats.
Thanks!
Pleasure.
Congratulations! :) Woo hoo !!!
Thanks, Hannah :D
Masterful!
Thanks, Jonathan!
Congrats!😊
Thanks :D
So many great ideas all comprised in one piece. Once again, high marks for dialogue. Another "killer" Michal.
Thanks Kevin! :)
Congratulations on the shortlist! Your pieces are always so readable (that may sound like a generic complement, but I intend it to be high praise) and I generally feel like most of them belong on this list. This story sums up all the foibles of hopeful writers. Inspiration, ideas, visions of success all sound great, but come down to how many times you are willing to push the "backspace" key.Thanks for posting, I think everyone who is using reedsy appreciated this one.
Thanks, RJ! Yeah, I'm sure most writers can relate in some way. The broad arc of Carl's journey was based on real events, and some silly attitudes I once had - but there really is no beating practice.I appreciate the feedback!
Congrats Michal. Loved this one
Thanks! It's been a good week :)
Woohoo 🎉🎉🎉 this was such a fun story I'm so glad it's getting recognized today! Happy Friday!
Woo :) Thanks Anne Marie!
Woo :) Thanks Anne Marie!
Woo :) Thanks Anne Marie!
Ah, inspiration in a box! lol. Well done. Yes, practice is the answer.
Thanks Kathleen! And yeah, it certainly is :)
Good job. Self-doubt plagues us all, we just need to put in the Miles and get 'er done.
Thanks, Sue! That's definitely true :)
A story whose target audience is writers. Very cleverAnd so well written, I was willing to suspend disbelief at the wife's tacit approval of a full-grown woman arriving in a small box. (Esp. when Tush, I mean Trish, spent two weeks 'posing' in the garden. It took some pretty fast literary footwork to make me fall for that one Michal, a feat for which you should be given full credit. (Will Somebody Please, give this guy some credit?) Good story, great writing.
Thanks Ken! Yeah, it certainly is a little absurd - but then, so is reality sometimes, so maybe nothing is actually absurd. I've seen this attitude toward writing quite often, both in others and in myself. Changing it helped me immensely; maybe someone else will get something out of it too. I appreciate the feedback!
Great story Michal. So relevant and had me laughing aloud - always a good thing on my train to work!I think the muse cracked it with the solution of practise makes perfect (hopefully).The point the muse made about AI and his response to it is interesting. Writers want to write, they don’t want someone or something to do it for them. Where’s the reward in that?Do you want to write, or do you want to have written? Great point made by the muse.Very funny, but also relevant. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Helen! I'm glad you got some laughs out of it :) Trish was a fun character to write - but it really must be exasperating being a muse. We demand so much of them :)
Thanks, Helen! I'm glad you got some laughs out of it :) Trish was a fun character to write - but it really must be exasperating being a muse. We demand so much of them :)
I knew it! Dogs make everything better :) I like Peele's work. I still remember him from MadTV (I mean, watching it. I wasn't on MadTV.) I totally get that attitude too, and I'm sure most writers do. It's definitely a cool sensation when a reader points out something you yourself didn't see, because there's connections all over the place. Writers start stories, but readers complete them.Thanks for reading and leaving your thoughts, Anne Marie - it's appreciated as always :)
Hmmm could have sworn there was a Michal Przywara on MadTV 🤔🤣 I think you'd like his film work. It's dark, horror, satire all rolled into one. But yes, wholeheartedly agree - readers add the final touches to every piece. Really glad to have found a place full of them!
Hmmm could have sworn there was a Michal Przywara on MadTV 🤔🤣 I think you'd like his film work. It's dark, horror, satire all rolled into one. But yes, wholeheartedly agree - readers add the final touches to every piece. Really glad to have found a place full of them!
Thanks, Tom! "hilariously absurd mood" - very happy to hear that, that was precisely the goal :) And that Trish came across well. Very much a fun character to write :) I think "just get on with it!" is something I must have told myself countless times when looking at a blank page. I appreciate the feedback!
Haha 😂😂 Loved this SO much! 😂😂 - bits like this, in particular: She arched an eyebrow. “No, I assure you, my name’s Trish.”“What? No, I meant I’m Carl. Not Carol.”&:“Be strong, Carl! You must kill your darlings!” followed by:“Trish, you idiot! That’s a metaphor for cutting out purple prose and author self-inserts!”& then far too many others to mention… I literally laughed out loud the whole way through…😆Typo-wise,I just caught this teeny one: Huh. Is it now.”“Yes!” (Missing the ? after “now”)This has got to be a winner, Michal!
Haha 😂😂 Loved this SO much! 😂😂 - bits like this, in particular: She arched an eyebrow. “No, I assure you, my name’s Trish.”“What? No, I meant I’m Carl. Not Carol.”&:“Be strong, Carl! You must kill your darlings!” followed by:“Trish, you idiot! That’s a metaphor for cutting out purple prose and author self-inserts!”& then far too many others to mention… I literally laughed out loud the whole way through…😆Typo-wise,I just caught this teeny one: Huh. Is it now.”“Yes!” (Missing the ? after “now”)This has got to be a winner, Michal!
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