This morning (Monday) I knew I needed to write this week’s post, and I found myself staring at a blank screen.

If I didn’t have a Tuesday deadline each week, I wouldn’t be doing this. I’d be waiting for something to come to me first.

Where is the muse?

Do you know what I’m asking?

Where is the inspiration?

Maybe that’s too pagan a way to say it.

Maybe I’m really saying, “God, where are you?”

I mean, I know where He is. He’s everywhere. He’s here.

But where is the voice that tells me what to say?

So I start writing about trying to find something to write about.

The idea of “the muse” comes from Greek mythology.

Zeus had nine daughters with the goddess of memory. Poets like Homer and Virgil would begin their epics by invoking these divine daughters, asking for inspiration.

They are:

1. Calliope – Epic poetry
   
   
2. Clio – History
   
   
3. Erato – Love poetry
   
   
4. Euterpe – Music
   
   
5. Melpomene – Tragedy
   
   
6. Polyhymnia – Hymns
   
   
7. Terpsichore – Dance
   
   
8. Thalia – Comedy
   
   
9. Urania – Astronomy
   
   

You see the problem? None of them are dedicated to essays about Christian writing on Substack.

Oh well. The muses aren’t biblical anyway, so they’re no help to me—especially since they don’t exist.

But the idea of the muse—the idea of inspiration as something external—comes from a very real experience.

It comes from the frustrating, bewildering moment when nothing comes… and then suddenly something does.

It comes from people who know what it’s like to sit there stupefied and then get carried off by an idea that seems too good to have come from themselves.

As one who doesn’t take Greek mythology literally, I still want to understand what’s happening—because, like you (I’m sure), I’d like to harness it.

So, let’s talk about what’s really going on when inspiration strikes.

First: Science.

If it wasn’t actually gods giving Homer and Virgil their lines, then it probably wasn’t the Holy Spirit either. (Hold on—I’ll bring Him back into the conversation shortly.)

But for now, what explains the real phenomenon? Why do even people who don’t know God sometimes create something breathtaking? What’s happening when the nonbeliever is writing what will become her Pulitzer Prize-winning piece?

Here’s what neuroscientists and psychologists are discovering:

1. The Default Mode Network (DMN):

This part of your brain lights up when you’re not focused on the outside world—when you’re daydreaming, wandering, connecting ideas. It’s the mental sandbox where creativity thrives. A lot of creative insight bubbles up from this quiet, backstage part of the mind.

2. The Prefrontal Cortex takes a break:

During deep creative flow, your brain turns down the part responsible for self-criticism, time awareness, and control. This is why writing can suddenly feel effortless. The editor steps aside and the storyteller takes over.

3. Dopamine gets released:

Novelty, insight, pattern recognition—these trigger a shot of dopamine, the reward chemical. It’s your brain’s way of saying, “Yes! Keep going.” That rush of joy or surprise you feel when the right sentence lands? That’s dopamine. Literal chemical delight.

All of this helps explain why creativity feels like it comes from outside you, even though it’s happening inside your brain.

The process is so spontaneous, so surprising, so smooth, that it feels other. For the Greeks, that meant calling on a muse. For some today, it feels like “flow state”. For the Christian, it feels like inspiration from God.

So… what is inspiration?

Scientifically, it’s a coalescence of memory, imagination, pattern recognition, and intuition—surfacing in a moment of clarity. It’s your whole self—body, mind, emotion—finally lining up in the same direction and letting the words run.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not spiritual.

If the Spirit of God is present in all things—if He is the giver of every good and perfect gift—then these brain states, these moments of flow, may still be evidence of His generosity. Maybe inspiration isn’t proof of divinity, but it is the echo of the divine image.

As Christians, we don’t need to chase muses. But we do still ask God to breathe on us, to guide us, to help us speak what we do not yet know how to say.

And sometimes, by His grace, He does.

Even on a Monday.

“The Spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.”

— Proverbs 20:27 (ESV)

“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

— Philippians 2:13 (ESV)

“For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

— 2 Peter 1:21 (ESV)

Lord! Carry me along!

What do you think?

How do we make room for the work of the Holy Spirit in this process?

Does He activate all that science? Or is it something outside of all that?

I want to know your thoughts. Feel free to comment below.

Want to experiment with this? Pick one of these this week:

1. 10 Minutes of Freewriting

Set a timer. Start with “I don’t know what to write…” and keep going. No edits. No judgment. Just go. It’ll wake up the creative networks.

2. Silent Prayer Walk

Take a walk with no phone, no podcast. Just pray slowly: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” See what stirs.

3. Read Something Beautiful Aloud

Scripture. Poetry. Literary prose. Read it out loud and then write something in its shadow. Let great writing open a door.

4. Breath Prayer + Stillness

Inhale: “You are my Shepherd…”

Exhale: “…I lack nothing.”

Five minutes. Breathe. Then write.

5. Ask the Spirit a Question

Quiet yourself and ask: “Lord, what do You want me to write today?”

Wait. Then begin when something gently surfaces.

Pick one. Try it. See what happens when you blend the God who made your brain with the God who fills your spirit.

P.S.

I’m hosting a free 5-day webinar for Christian writers. I will hold nothing back in my effort to teach you what you need to know to write your book.

Go here to sign up: www.writeandserve.com

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