Conversations in My Head

In my head, there is a constant internal dialogue. (This is not an audible dialogue, which I don’t have but apparently some people do?) It could be a conversations between characters I am working on or the little voice inside my head that tells me not to do something or not to say something. Rarely do I listen to that voice which I almost always regret – that voice is wiser than me. At times, I narrate my life – thinking about all the ways to make doing laundry sound glamorous; walking up the stairs seem like an adventure; or taking a shower sound like an opening for a horror book. I can’t be the only one that does this. Right? Please tell me I am not the only one.

That constant internal monologue or dialogue is both a blessing and a curse. It can entertain me if necessary, but also distract me when I should be paying attention. I find it loudest when I am trying to fall asleep, which is the third most inconvenient time to generate ideas. The first is while you are sleeping – when the most fantastic book idea plays in your head like a blockbuster movie – and then you wake and forget it five minutes later. The second being in the shower, where you never have a pen and paper to write down intrusive shower thoughts. I don’t know why muse finds her moment then – is it because everything in the shower is so routine and mundane that your creativity comes alive? Sometimes, it all sounds better in my head and when I jot it down, it feels foolish – why would anyone else find this entertaining?

When does your muse strike the most? Do you narrate your own existence? Is there a constant dialogue in your mind?