Hi Reader,

It all started when our friends Jim and David Standhope explained that sometimes goats birth kids they can't care for in the middle of winter, and these kids need to come live inside the house and have bottles every two hours. We agreed to take the next bottle baby born on their farm.

It was a cold day in late January, three years ago, when we got the call and met the Standhopes in town to pick up our baby goat. He was tiny, wrapped in a blanket in Jim's arms.

My husband said, "I'll name him OD after my stepfather. He was a good man."

As Jim placed the bundle in my arms, he said, ceremoniously I thought at the time, "This is a goat."

I laugh now whenever I remember that exchange. All the gates OD has smashed. All the delicate plants he's stormed my garden and eaten. This OD is not a good man. He is a goat. He is a wonderful goat, in my opinion, but still a goat.

He had to live in the house with us for his first several weeks, drinking a tiny bottle of milk every two hours.

Most of the time OD and I were wrapped up in blankets together, and he was in my arms around the clock. That is a special bond.

But, as wonderful as he is, OD is still just a goat. A beautiful, half-wild force of nature.

Your writing muse is like that. You will never be able to completely tame it. It will come sometimes when you call it, but not every time.

The key is not to try to tame your muse, but to create structures and habits that support your writing practice, whether your muse is present or not. One of the most important structures you can create is a roadmap for your book project.

When you have a solid plan in place, one that defines your book's core message, structure, and purpose, it's like having a sturdy fence to guide your goaty muse's wild energy. Your plan provides direction and clarity, keeping you focused and motivated even when your muse seems to have wandered off chasing butterflies.

With a well-crafted book plan, you always know what to work on next, and how each piece fits into the larger whole. You can break your project into manageable tasks and make steady progress, even on days when inspiration feels elusive.

While you can't control when your muse shows up, you can create an atmosphere that invites it to visit more frequently by developing a clear plan for your book and committing to showing up for it regularly.

And here's the magical part: the more you show up as committed to your plan, the more you create space for your muse to find you. By taking consistent action and shaping your ideas into a coherent structure, you signal to your muse that you're ready to play, ready to create, ready to bring your book to life.

Just like caring for a half-wild goat, writing a book requires patience, persistence, and a bit of structure to guide the way. But with a solid plan in place and a commitment to showing up, you'll find yourself dancing with your muse more often than not - and watching your book come to life, one well-planned step at a time.

Happy writing!

Laura B. Fox ​The Guru's Ghost at The Soul-Driven Author​

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