05/12/11
Please greet today’s guest blogger, Abigail Sharpe! Abigail is a past GH finalist and my Lalala Sister! Welcome, Abigail!
Dear Muse:
Hello. Hi, there. I would say nice to meet you, but I’m not sure we’ve ever met. My name is Abigail and I write romance novels. I’m not published in book form yet, but I’ve been a finalist in a couple of contests and I have some short stories under contract or published on the Internet.
So, I guess I have some talent, and I’m working to develop it further. The one big problem I’m facing, however, is with you. I don’t know you. I don’t know if you hang around me when I write or if you inspire my dreams. I don’t know if you even know who I am. Maybe when you were supposed to get your Muse Assignment, you ditched it to go to the Bahamas to soak up some rays. I’ve had friends whose muses did that, but they always came back. I’m sure sitting by the pool binging on margaritas is much more fun than trying to help a frumpy thirtysomething get the voices out of her head.
The point of this is, I’d really like to get to know you. When my critique group members talk about how motivated they get, I end up with Muse Envy. I read about how the littlest things flick a light in a writer’s mind and suddenly there’s a best seller, and I wonder, when will that happen to me? I’d like to have you around. I’ll even feed you chocolate if that’s what you want. Just let me know. I’ll be waiting.
Your Wannabe Apprentice,
Abigail
How did you discover your muse? Or are you still waiting, like me?
36 Responses
welcome abigail. my muse has been with me since childhood, and she’s grown up with me…she was lulled into quiet for my college years while I dug through cadavers–but reappeared at the right time–when i no longer wanted, i NEEDED to write. She’s ever-present…and really never shuts her mouth.
Keep calling-Yours will arrive-or return. I’m thinking there’s a Muse gene, as writers are writers to their core.
Yup… there’s that muse envy again.
I don’t know if I’d have even recognized a muse when I was a child.
Abigail, I could call my Muse a whole series of nasty names, partly because he’s abandoned me lately. Or maybe he’s just redirected my energies toward knitting instead of writing. God knows I get enough ideas, browsing online for yarn and thinking, “Wouldn’t that look great as a ___?” (Sweater, scarf, sock, baby blanket…) I like the way his mind thinks but I need him to get focused on writing again so I can finish this long-suffering WIP.
I’ll bet you have a muse, too, and you’re just not recognizing him. It’s hard enough to sit down at the computer (or the notebook) to write. Have you ever looked at the story and thought, “What if we…?” That’s your muse.
For what it’s worth, I know mine is a man because most of the time, whatever I want to do, he wants to something else, but on those rare occasions when our ideas run along the same lines, magic happens!
At least, he tells me it’s magic, and I choose to believe him.
I’d believe him, too.
I dunno… my spidey sense never tingles when I’m feeling creative or when I’m stuck. How do you recognize a muse??
how about something that inspires you? a book or film of someone elses. Think WHY does this move me? That may coax your muse out of hiding
For me it’s a physical reaction. Last week I heard a lecture by someone who inspired me, and when I was finished madly scribbling notes, I looked at the page and couldn’t breathe. My heart was racing. If it hadn’t meant missing the rest of the lecture, I’d have run home to my laptop.
If I see something inspiring and the world around me really feels like it’s stopped moving, I know I’ve hit on something.
My latest WIP was inspired by something a school adminstrator said. I was particularly infuriated by her insensitive comment and I tried to get media attention to it. When no one stepped up, I decided the only way to get the problem noticed was to write the story myself, and it turned into my current project. The line is long gone, but the character who said it is still there, in all her rotten glory. (Muse = revenge!)
“I don’t believe in the muse.” I heard those words come out of Nora Roberts’ mouth my own honest self, and that was not the first time she’d said it. Except she believes in something, though she refers to it as applying one’s fundament to a seat cushion.
Those friends whose light bulbs snapped on to generate a bestseller, I’m thinking they were ruminating, outlining, character sketching, and otherwise sending out the signal to their subconscious, their imagination, call it what you want, that “I”m open for business and would appreciate a bestseller or two.”
It’s that old inspiration/perspiration thing. The more you work at it, the more the inspiration seems to come–usually when you’re bent over trying to pull up your socks, convinced you’ll never see inspiration again. It’s not easy, it’s not fair, and much of the time, it’s not fun…..but SOME of the time, it’s the best thing in the world.
Even when I’m feeling the creative juices, I don’t ever feel that extra oomph. Ya know? *sigh* Maybe I do have one but I’m expecting it to feel differently? I dunno. Hey, Muse! Make yourself known to me!
This may sound absurd but I wonder if it’s like orgasm. Every woman experiences it differently, but under the right circumstances, we all have the opportunity to experience it. (My apologies if this has turned into TMI!)
Hmmm, it’s like an old friendship… when did we first meet? Was it that sidewalk cafe where the old priest sat down and we joked about his ‘habit’? Or was it walking back to the car after graduate classes?
My muse has been with me for years. Sometimes, like an old friend, we lose touch. Sometimes, and I’m ashamed to say this, I’m just too busy.
Abigail, I’m sure your muse is out there, waiting for your invitation. And now that you’ve invited them in, your creative juices will flow…
And I love you understatement of your writing. “I’ve won a few contests.” Golden Heart 2010 finalist? You’re the bomb!
Lynn
Dear Muse,
I’m ready and open for business!
*laugh* Think it will work?
And I didn’t win the Golden Heart. Wouldn’t that have been nice? But I was a finalist. *grin*
ahhhhh grasshopper. You are word-worthy. Being a finalist is nothing to sneeze at. BELIEVE in the story (ug. i sound like Stuart Smalley) But its true.
Hey Ronna! You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and darnit, people like you!
Hi Abigail,
I understand Muse envy. My muse has appeared and disappeared over the years. Just when I thought I’d never see my muse again (we’re talking years without a peep), he showed up.
One thing I have noticed is that my muse is decidedly quiet in the face of critism. He doesn’t like anyone to critique his stories until their fully written. So I’ve learned not to share the story he’s inspired until it’s done. When I have done that, he’s packed up and headed back to Nags Head where he likes to vacation. I actually had to go back there last summer to find him.
Since finding him again, I’ve learned that he doesn’t mind re-writes he just hates his flow being interuppted.
Wow! Who knew a muse could be so touchy?
Keep writing and take a vacation to the Bahamas. Tell your family you need to go to reconnect with your muse. Hey, it’s a win-win situation. You get an awesome vacation and your muse will be happy to see you again.
Hmmmm… interesting. So maybe it doesn’t like the way I get feedback. Though – I am trying something new with this story. Previously I brought it to critique group as it was being written. This time I want to hash out the whole thing first. Maybe that will do it.
And maybe it would be better to do it in the Bahamas. Hmmmm..
Muse envy? You crack me up. You will find your muse again.
Selena
Maybe I need like a muse whistle. C’mere Muse! C’mere! I’ll give you a cookie!
Abigail, I don’t believe that you haven’t met your muse. He maybe evading you, but he’s there. Your writing’s too good not to have inspiration whispering in your ear.
I’m headed into a cave so those whispers can bounce off the wall and slam into three or four times!
~~Angi
But, Angi, how do I KNOW? What if Mr. Muse has been there all along and I just don’t recognize him (or her!) for what he is?
He’s going to feel ignored and leave me! Wah!!!
Never. Not going to happen to you.
! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it !
~~Angi
My Muse is a third grader who loves to color and do gloppy stuff with glue. Fortunately, it isn’t considered weird to buy all kinds of craft projects at Michaels. When I get stuck in a story, I pull out my craft box and try not to glue my fingers together.
Maggie
I love this, Maggie! Maybe I need to switch my attention to something else and see what happens.
Hi Abigail,
I used to wonder if I even had a muse then I finally understood that mine is always there – a part of me. How do I know? Because every time I sit down to a blank page (I don’t plan/outline/plot etc) she’s there with an idea.
Ooh, the stealthy muse. Maybe that’s what mine is.
Ooo, you’re not going to like me. I don’t believe in muses. (cringe) I know, how can I not believe in muses?! They’re far too fickle. I believe in playing “what if”, then writing and writing, and then editing and editing. It’s mind melting work, but it does work. If I waited to write only when something inspired me, I’d never write a thing, but I love the concept of a muse. It’s fun to think of some capricious creature hovering around, zinging you with a best-seller idea. That’s totally cool.
I still like you, Shea! And I wonder if maybe I really don’t believe either and that’s why I don’t have one?
But then, I *want* one, so maybe I do believe.
Oh, what to think.
Abigail~
I agree with Ms. Roberts in that I don’t really believe in having a “muse.” I mean, what is it exactly? The inspiration for a story? The character(s)? Is it something you need to have before you sit down to write? Or do you need your muse for combat the dreaded mushy middle?
That’s where I have issues. I get ginning on a story and the first 15-25K words fly off my fingertips. Ah, but the middle, that soul-sucking part of my story that keeps me up at night, vowing to never write anything other than a grocery list ever again, is my worst enemy. Is this because my “muse” has gone AWOL? I’d really like to know. *sigh*
Lynda, if I find out, I’ll tell you.
Abigail -
Remember Pavolv’s dog? Pavolv rang a bell every time he gave the dog food and then the dog associated the bell with food so whenever he (the dog) heard a bell he started to drool.
Go with the same principle (minus the drool!)- whenever you sit down to write, do one simple thing. Light a candle, turn on music, take ten deep breaths before you put your fingers on the keyboard. Do that EVERY time. That one thing will be your muse summoning ritual, whether you believe in him as a muse or as a piece of your subconcious. Sit down to write as if he’s already there, do your ritual, and he will come.
Ava,
I love this advice! I guess that makes my muse coffee and lots of it.
Does the ritual of checking email, blog sites and postsecret.com count?
Um, that’s PAVLOV – I don’t know how I got that wrong twice in 2 sentences. Hi, I’m Ava and I’m a writer. Geez…
I didn’t even notice. and Hi, I’m an editor. *laugh*
Hi Abigail,
My muse spends a lot of time AWOL. She shows up a couple of days after I start to think about possible openings, then she shows up with an idea and we’re off and running. Problem is, it can take me months before I come up with and new idea and then another couple of weeks before I come up with a possible opening.
All the advice about having certain “rituals” to call the muse out sound good. So does the “posterior in chair.”
Hope you find what works for you sooner rather than later.
Thank you, Claranne. Me, too. But these discussions have left me with some hope… I’ll check back with y’all and let you know how it went.
Thank you, ladies, for letting me muse about muses today. I had a great time seeing what y’all came up with for my lack-of-muse problem.
I’ll let you know what happens.