Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
I was inspired by C. Lee McKenzie when she posted last week on my blog about her Crazy Monkey Muse who happens to be male.
It got me to wondering what shape my Muse takes. I've never really thought about it.
Is it male or female?
Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?
Is it old or young? Handsome/beautiful or homely/ugly?
It finally dawned on me (I can be soooooooo sllloooooooow) that my Muse seems to take on/become the character of whatever story I'm working on.
So for Anansi and Company, Anansi was my Muse. For A Lizard's Tail, I channeled Marvin.
I realized this is true for every story I've ever written.
My Muse isn't some lounging Greek satyr.
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| "THAM Derveni crater satyr". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. |
My Muse is jumping up and down on the side-lines yelling and cheering and making lots of noise and demanding a lot of attention. (Hmmmmm, maybe not so much.)
The problem (if it is one) is that my Muse will disappear, particularly when I've finished something. I suppose my Muse must be exhausted after directing my latest block-buster hit and thinks it deserves a vacation on a beach somewhere.
I wouldn't mind being here either.
The result is, I never know what shape my Muse will take, when it will arrive, or how long it will stay.
What about you? What shape does your Muse take? Is he/she/it always available or do you have to run it down and, when you find it, chain it to your desk with the promise of freedom and chocolate if only it will inspire?
The month of January I am the Author of the Month on Carol Kilgore's web page. I'll be giving away books. Come check it out!
Not sure I really have a muse. He's not around enough for me to confirm...
ReplyDeleteLove the cute monkey. And awesome your characters are your muse. Like Alex, not sure who mine is.
ReplyDeleteMy characters are always my muses, too. I've always felt most inspired by whoever's voice I'm writing in. I'm not entirely sure my current muse will actually leave when I finish his book, though, but it's fine with me if he wants to keep bothering me.
ReplyDeleteI have a dragon muse, or at least, I have a stuffed dragon in my office. While I do have moments of inspiration, I can't say as I have a muse really. Once I get started on a project I just show up and write the next piece of it. If I'm having difficulties, I try to write something from the sidelines of the plot or characters that gets me going on track.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind being on a beach this time of year. Be nice. :-)
Sia McKye Over Coffee
I don't have a muse either. But I think I might go in search of one now.
ReplyDeleteRight this moment, my muse is an elusive ghost. Literally.
ReplyDeleteMy muse appears but I have to be ready to write. If I'm in a mode where I'm not writing fiction at the moment, I tend to not see much of my muse!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I do notice my muse changes with each story.
ReplyDeleteMy muse said if I talk about him/her, I'm toast. I don't want to be toast. Not even yummy pumpernickel cinnamon toast.
ReplyDeleteThe contest for Bish's books on my website runs for two more weeks. Come check it out!
I was just talking about an interview with an author I heard where she talked about her Muse, and how she talks to it :) I don't know about my muse--honestly I think mine has a few issues, haha!
ReplyDeleteI did think of you today while out on the ocean as I scooped up a ton of plastic bags floating along. I snagged as many as I could find!
No muse here, either (Alex). Pick up a pen, open a journal, cast back or forward, and then I write.
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ReplyDeleteI wrote something brilliant about music being my muse, but lost it when I tried to publish and didn't know some password. Interesting challenge Bish.
ReplyDeleteCute monkey and nice that your muse changes around. I never noticed a muse
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