Richard Russo’s “Everybody’s Fool” (postscript on creative process): The text speaks of having an alternate personality who “would know what came next”

One line quoted from the novel in yesterday’s post deserves further comment:

“It was Dougie [the main character’s alternate personality] who would know what came next.”

That line doesn't make sense to me in terms of the story itself, since Dougie is not able to see the future. You could interpret that line as meaning only that Dougie is more decisive than the regular personality, which he is, but the phrase “what came next” strikes me as having to do with the story-writing process, which involves what comes next.

In literary lore, writers are said to have a muse, a guide in the writing process. Several writers discussed in this blog have spoken of having an alternate personality who serves as their muse—Sue Grafton and Stephen King come to mind—and that is my interpretation of the line quoted above.

Richard Russo is saying that he, too, has an alternate personality who serves as his muse and helps him with what comes next.