Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related How would you describe your muse?

Just out of curiosity, FoLCs. What's your muse like? Is she a zany bunny-slippered person? Does he sit in the dark alot or play with army tanks all day? Does it run on a little wheel and eat cheese?

Also, does your muse tend to focus on one fic at a time, or jump from WIP to WIP like a really annoying grasshopper?

Petulant Grasshopper...yeah...I think that says it all. Though I could go on...she's moody, childish, and sometimes illogical (plot? what plot? <g>).

Sara

Lazy, completely irresponsible, belligerent, mule-headed and a pain in the butt, most days.

Oh, she's awake. Er...sweet, intelligent, hard-working, brilliant....

LabRat

Depends on what I'm writing. I seem to have more than one muse, or at least, a multi-personality muse. In one fandom, it's an angsty, brooding vampire. In others, it's a fire-breathing dragon, and it doesn't take it well when you say "no". In some, it's a hyper, bouncy bunny that will niggle you until you do what it wants. And in some, it's a pesky fairy with a magic plot wand.

I hope that makes some sense.

I don't have a muse. I write what I want to write when I have time to write. I can't believe there is a little mythical being telling me what to write and making my fingers type. I like to believe my own mind makes its own decisions.

However, I have a multi-track mind, and I often work on more than one story at once. It's why I sometimes post stories in a flurish. I usually finish stories in spurts.

- Laura

Muse? A pesky little thing that bugs me when I don't have time to write and turns her back on me as soon as I open a WORD file. And when she *does* agree to work, she decides to either start another WIP, or else work on anything BUT what I want her to work on. An annoyance, really. But I still love and need her.

Kaethel (posting from lovely Ontario and hoping this holiday will lure the Muse out of wherever she hid all those months )

Mine's absolutely non-existent right now. She'll only pop out if she realizes that there's free-time to dominate. She's very one-track, one story at a time. And small, too. She gets really impatient when stories exceed the third page.

JD

No longer speaking to me. That's how I would describe her. And for no reason that she'll volunteer, just not talking.

But when she's lively, she feels exactly like a bowl of gerbils dumped into my head. I know. It has taken me years to be able to confess that out loud.

Generally, it's when I'm minding my own business, trying to get something done, and bang, in a fuzzy flurry of arms and legs, she's there, chasing round and round in circles. And the only way to shut her up and stop the wheel from squeaking is to write.

Alas, she is very quiet now. Hibernating, maybe? Getting set for winter?

Emily, was just wondering where to come by a 'magic plot wand'? Love that! Could use that for two very stalled WIPs. Can you wave it this way?

And, as in every crowd, I see we have a Muse Agnostic:

Ah, Yellow Dart, that's very scientific of you. And I'll give you the pastoral answer to that. It doesn't matter if you don't believe in your muse. Always remember, your muse believes in you.

CC

muses are very, very expensive - require much care, the best wine and top of the line pampering and continual indulgences, like first class tickets to faraway spas.
So don't have one - can't afford it (him? her?)

cc m

My Muse has been kidnapped. I haven't received a ransom note yet, so it could just be that she ran away with that really cute male Muse-next-door. Regardless, she needs to get her booty back here because she has some work to do.

I think she's a cousin of Kaethel's muse, though, because she seems to show up when I have no time to write, is as stubborn as a mule when I do have time to write, and is far more interested in the stories I haven't started than the ones I need finishing.

When she gets back, I'm thinking of selling her. Really cheap. Any offers?

Lynn

My Muse is a very shy creature. She needs a lot of coaxing to even show her face, and if there are strangers around, you're very unlikely to see her at all. She's like a nervous hamster with a twitchy nose - once you coax her out of her nest, she patters quietly around, poking her inquisitive nose in just about every aspect of the story she can lay her paws on but never staying very long in any one spot. On the other hand, if you can persuade her to step onto her hamster wheel, she'll run and run and run. Being a rather inactive rodent, alas, she doesn't do this very often.

Just lately, she seems to have developed the very unattractive habit of sulking when she receives criticism. I'm planning on giving her a stiff talking to this afternoon about this, becuase it's really no good at all if your Muse can't accept that sometimes she doesn't get things right. If you hear any indignant squeaks coming from the general direction of Canada, therefore, you'll know who it is.

Yvonne

I started out with this really cool muse that was really logical and made tons of sense, but he was feeling really insecure sometimes and kept hiding out on me when I tried to write, sometimes sending over his cousin who I believe used to belong to Douglas Adams before he passed on <sad mourning > to put some really silly ideas into my head.

Then just a couple of months ago this big buff muse with a goatee and bullwhip started coming around. He was very intriguing and I kind of got occupied with him more than I should have, but the smart one got all jealous and won't talk to me anymore and his cousin little Dougy refuses to mediate, and in fact keeps offering me rotten salmon instead while whistling "The Bright Side of Life", meanwhile my bully muse tends to pace and glare and keeps asking why I haven't finished yet, and then I have to sit in the box....

I think I've said too much...

TEEEEEEEJ

I guess it's just the scientist in me -- and a neuroscientist at that . I think my brain works by itself in ways that are somewhat well-understood .

I can't tell you how many times I've had people tell me just that in different forms. My mom using a similar variation about foods that are red. The priests at St. Charles telling me something similar at Catholic School. CC about my nonexistant muse . . . it just keeps going .

- Laura

Huh? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always thought the existence of red foods was a matter of cold, hard fact rather than a matter of faith.

Yvonne

For a short span of a week I had a muse that was tall, skinny and had a pet Great Dane. I always felt high when I wrote with him. He kept whispering "give me the hoagie, give me the hoooooagie"

TEEEEEEEJ

As stupid.
Not only does she focus on stories I don't have the time or the will to write at that particular time, but sbe also makes me begin stories only to leave me high and dry a bit later!!

Lately, she moved. Now she only drops by sporadically.

HERE! HERE! I WANT LYNN'S MUSE!! PLEASE!!!

Ahem *clears throat and raises hand* I make an offer, Lynn.

See ya,
AnnaBtG.

/me - who has read Haunting Eden - tackles Anna from behind and pushes her way to the front of the queue, while fending off all potential rivals with a pitchfork....

LabRat

A will 'o wisp. She runs up, whispers a few sentences, and then runs away, laughing and taunting me. And then I won't see her again for several months, no matter how hard I try to chase her. *sigh*

Well...*apparently* I have a correction to make. She is *not* a grasshopper and not moody *or* childish by any means... :rolleyes: . She prefers to be known as a multi-talented, multi-tasking, free spirit-type individual. (*cough* lazy *cough*)

Sara (who's thinking that the apparent new found ability to write an a-plot, must have given her muse a big head )

Well, you have to ask her *very* nicely, or she won't bother to wave it at all. Feeding her chocolate helps.

Yes, red food exists. But it doesn't mean I have to eat it .

- Laura

Well, I've made this post before, but hey, why not?

I don't have a muse per se. I have a little kid. His name is Timmy, and he lives in the attic of my mind. I try to give him better quarters, but he likes his attic.

Timmy's a curious little guy who tends to get into trouble but, in some cartoonish manner, come out intact. You may know him from the old beloved TV show "Dinosaurs," where he appeared as Mr. Lizard's ill-fated lab assisstant. "<boom!> ... We're going to need another Timmy!" I think he's a lot happier with his new job.

So, he goes out wandering in the vast wilderness outside the attic. There, random ideas, being mischeveous as random ideas are wont to be, will sneak up on him and bonk him on the head. He'll sort through them, find the ones he likes, and take them home. Then, he'll work on some, leave others to collect dust in a darkened corner of the attic, and set others free.

When he feels like it, he'll show it to me. Sometimes, rarely, we'll work together. Mostly, he'll just take it back to his attic. He'll add to it and, when it hits critical mass, he'll let me know. Then (assuming this is an idea for a story and not some random invention or something) it's my job to get to the keyboard as soon as I can. Timmy takes over at that point. He writes everything he's got in one session. When he's done, I wake up, look at the screen, and go "cool!"

Fortunately, most of what he writes can be done in one session. The longer ones tend to get stuck. The problem with curious active children is that it's hard to keep their attention in one place. Writing one part at a time, with reader participation helped. That turned a couple of longer fics into a series of short ones, and kept him interested. Other stuff... Well, I've got a folder full of notes files for things he's come across, started on, but never finished. I'm hoping his latest project won't end up there, too.

Unfortunately, Timmy hasn't been feeling too well lately. I hear from him sporadically, sometimes not for months at a time. Lately, I've been even more tired than usual. Inexplicably so this week. I seem to barely be able to read story parts (sorry I'm getting behind again...). I'm worried poor little Timmy may be comatose again.

Hopefully, things will get better again soon. I'm working on my sleep, and we're investigating a new medical possibility to maybe get my brain working again. Some metaphorical sunlight and more space to play just might be what Timmy needs to get going. We'll see...

So, anyway, that's my "muse." Timmy, the curious adventurous little boy who lives in the attic of my mind with a typically unpredictable (but generally short) attention span. He does what he feels like, and there's pretty much nothing anyone can really do about it.

Paul

She's a he. And homeless.

She is a Hyper Active multi-task muse who likes to kick me whenever I am sleeping or just woke up and who likes to drive BRs insane.

My muse seems to be rather shy, these days. Doesn't want to speak up over the din of my everyday life... I suspect she's lost hope. But I can still get her to come out and play, once in a while...

She's what I think of as the inspiration for things, the little voice that whispers in my ear "what if...?" and then skips off. The nuts & bolts of writing, she leaves to me.

There for a while, I was pretty good at sitting down, for an hour a day, and producing several pages. Most days. Whether the muse wanted to play or not (I find that if I play without her, sooner or later, she gets piqued and comes out to add her two cents). But then, my daughter quit napping, and my husband began working at home. My muse is a gentle creature and runs away at loud noises.

Still, I've been trying to coax her back lately, and she's obliged me with a few insights. I think she'll give me a good story out of it -- but only if I do my share of the work.

PJ

I remember that show. There are times when I wonder if my muse didn't get knocked on the head by the baby dinosaur.

Shhh, Laura, every time someone says that, somewhere a muse dies!

Julie

ROTFL, Julie!

Or no, actually, now that I think about it, that's not funny! I'd been wondering why I don't have a muse, and now I think I know the answer! Someone, somewhere expressed their doubts, and it was my unfortunate muse who suffered the consequences.

Actually, it was more a case of miscarriage, since my poor muse died before being born. How sad it that?

- Vicki

Kitty,

If you're confused about the question, I can't really help. If you're confused about my answer, I just meant I don't have a muse - never had one. I wish I did.

- Vicki

Nope. I don't even know what your all talking about. What is a muse? a mouse?

Kitty,

From Muses - Daughters of Wit and Song :

The Muses or Mousai are the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (sister of Hyperion and Rheia)...

The specific attributes of each goddess:

Kleio, history
Euterpe, flute playing
Thaleia, comedy
Melpomene, tragedy
Terpsichore, dance
Erato, love poems
Polymnia, sacred music
Ourania, astrology
Kalliope, epic poetry (she holds the highest rank of the Muses)

The Muses can bestow the gift of talent and insight but they can also, viciously, revoke their blessings.

=================

Mary (and the others) are using the word to personify the source of inspiration for their stories. If they get a creative streak, they say their muse is active. If they get writer's block, they blame it on their muse and say he/she is being uncooperative.

And me, I blame my total lack of writing skills on the fact that my muse died before I was born.

- Vicki

I guess if that is the case them I might say that my muse is probablyMelpomene.

I have a couple of muses if you go by the Greek version of them (Kleio, Terpsichore and Erato). If you're strictly talking about fan fiction I tend to break my muse into "voices" or specific characterizations. For example, I will often have LnC!Lois and LnC!Clark interacting in my head. Sometimes, I'll only get an idea of what one of the two characters is saying but not the other (which is why I "break up" my muse into characters.)

Lazy and easily distracted.

Most of the time, I just use the phrase 'my muse' as a light-hearted personification or shorthand way of saying that a piece of fiction is (or, more often, is not) coming easily to me, but in my story With Apologies to Female Hawk , I fleshed her out a bit. And despite her protests in the story, I tend to think of her as Talia now.

Joy,
Lynn

I have two, Polly and Trope (full names Polyskitsodia and Psychotriopia). They're not among the original nine muses, and I think that makes them a little - edgy. And sometimes that edginess works well. Other times it gets me in deep doo-doo.

I can't tell you how many ideas they've given me that I've tossed out, and now that I've finally sent "The End Of The Road" out for beta review, they're flooding me with ideas for four other stories I've had on the back burner for many months. And I just got reminded of another drama where I have the treatment written but haven't started the actual story.

I'd offer to loan one or both of them to anyone who might want to work with them, but you'll need to read When Muses Go Bad first.

You have been warned!

It comes out of the blue, whispers a line or two then leaves me to write the rest.

Urggh!