05/14/12
My muse has been MIA for a few weeks. Trying to coax her back, has been difficult. None of my sure-fire tricks are working and it’s getting frustrating.
First, I tried free writing, which resulted in a decent word count, but not one word to move my present project forward. Then, I tried writing from a different viewpoint character. Absolutely nothing useable came from that effort.
Classical music, which normally works, didn’t. In desperation, I tried R & B from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Nope. Still much too distracting for my muse who sang along, but didn’t settle to any plot or character point. Same thing when I tried smooth jazz. She listened and enjoyed the tunes, but refused to do any real work.
Maybe she’s bored, I decided, work on something new. Using prompts from one of my craft books, I tried a short story, a memoir, and a poem. None of those moved her. Editing an earlier book didn’t entice her back either.
I admit I’m at a loss and am looking for help. Other than chocolate and alcohol, how do you get your muse back in writing mode?
05/7/12
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Last week I made a surprising discovery. I was sitting in my sunroom trying to write, when something caught my eye out the window. At first, I thought it was a large, stray cat – the animal’s movement sure seemed cat-like. It would have to be a cat with a death wish though, since we have a large, male German shepherd as part of our family. Instead, it turned out to be a gorgeous red fox. A few seconds later, I realized it was a mother fox, because out of our back woods popped four sweet, adorable kits. It was love at first sight.
I sat mesmerized, watching the fuzzy little rascals roll around playing and nipping at each other. They were pouncing at each other, pouncing at the bugs, and pouncing at the air. Heck, they were pouncing just for the sake of pouncing. Evidently, the class of the day was Pouncing 101. Read the rest of this entry »
04/30/12
Yes, it’s me. Carla, the absentee blogger. I didn’t fall off the face of the earth, though I have to admit, I can’t say it’s for lack of trying.
To say my life has been somewhat crazy could be considered by some to be an understatement. Five months ago my husband of eight years told me, “We need to talk.” We didn’t talk a lot before that, not about matters close to us. It was too uncomfortable, so we’d kind of gotten used to living in a state of parallel existence. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. Just, not that day.
Two weeks later he moved into his own apartment, leaving me with two teenagers from my first marriage, a house, three cats, and no clue what the hell I was going to do with the rest of my life. It didn’t help that I had no clue what I’d done to deserve this. Being told, “It’s not you, it’s me” didn’t explain a lot, nor did it do much for my self esteem. Clearly I wasn’t worth working it out, right? (Don’t answer that. It’s a rhetorical question.) Read the rest of this entry »
03/26/12
Have you heard the movie, Hunger Games, is now out in
theatres? Yes. Really. It is.
03/19/12
by Hope Ramsay
I used to belong to a Unitarian church that had a killer choir and every so often — about six times a year, they would put on an all-Bach Sunday. Not surprisingly big crowds turned out and the minister was wise enough not overdo the preaching on those Sundays. He let Bach do it for him.
It might be Monday and this is certainly not church, but it is our inspiration day. So I’m declaring an all Trisha Yearwood Monday. Read the rest of this entry »
03/12/12
Please welcome our guest Muse today, Susan Muller! Susan’s first book, The Secrets on Forest Bend, was a December release from Soul Mate Publishing, and Susan stopped by today to share her writing experience with us!
The word chapter may refer to a main division in a book or document, a period of time or an episode in a person’s life, or the local branch of an organization.
03/5/12
Ever noticed how extremely proliferate, clever, and creative writers have equally creative and stimulating hobbies? Most NY Times best-selling writers boast of exotic pastimes which include fencing, martial arts, playing musical instruments, sketching/painting to name a few. How do they do it all?
02/20/12
Unexpected Beauty by Grace Burrowes
Facebook is an expected part of a published author’s branding repertoire, so of course, you can “find me” on Facebook, or some facsimile of me named Grace Burrowes. The other day I saw a piece about an experiment run at a Washington DC metro station, as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
02/13/12
by DT Tarkus
Two hundred years ago, sailors considered the presence of women on ships to be bad luck. Much has changed since then. Today, men and women, young and old, can find or rekindle the spark on hundreds of cruise ships. Okay, that came across like an advertisement, but what better subject to deliberate on the eve of Valentine’s Day than love on the high seas?
02/6/12
Welcome to Day 6 of our Valentine’s Day giveaway. Commenting on this blog between Feb. 1 and Feb. 14 will put you in the drawing to win a fabulous gift basket from Blame It On the Muse authors.
The year was 1986. I was Maid of Honor for a college friend. The wedding was over and it was halfway into the reception. I was tired. I had a long drive home ahead of me. My feet were killing me in my stiletto heels. The bride saw me sitting alone (planning my escape) and said, “One of my friends has the hots for you and wants to meet you.” Oh, great, I thought. I’ve met some of your friends. [No offense, Ellen, if you’re reading this LOL] But I succumbed and went off with her to meet this guy, thinking I’d leave right after the introduction. She introduced me to Dan and said, “You guys are perfect for each other. You both play baseball.” Uh, yeah. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and I’d played a few innings in my office’s annual softball tournament that summer. He played with Barry Bonds. I played with Bob from tech support. Read the rest of this entry »
