Muse Machine: 150 Indirect Directions to Inspire Creativity

The Muse Machine is a collection of indirect directions—150 cards with somewhat mysterious creative prompts to consult whenever you feel stuck. The directions are short, suggestive, and open-ended, so that they spark unexpected insights. Whether you’re writing a novel, finishing your thesis, marketing a product, writing a newsletter, giving a toast, painting a picture, or posting on social media, we all use creativity in our daily lives. This card deck will help you ignite your imagination.

Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential and thought-provoking observers of happiness and human nature. She’s known for her ability to convey complex ideas—from science to literature to stories from her own life—with levity and clarity. She’s the author of many bestselling books, such as The Happiness Project, Better Than Before, and The Four Tendencies, which have sold millions of copies in more than thirty languages. Her most recent book is Life in Five Senses. She’s also host of the popular podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, and founder of award-winning Happier app, which helps people track their happiness-boosting habits. Gretchen Rubin has been interviewed by Oprah, eaten dinner with Nobel Prize-winner Daniel Kahneman, walked arm-in-arm with the Dalai Lama, had her work reported on in a medical journal, been written up in the New Yorker, and been an answer on Jeopardy! After starting her career in law, she realized she wanted to be a writer while she was clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Raised in Kansas City, she lives in New York City with her family.