@ChickenFreak of course the usage changes, and if a commonly half-literate anglophone start using "muse" to mean "the left tire of a school bus", I have no grudge against it. But this was supposed to be a "creative writing" forum where people who are interested in literature discuss literary subjects.
@Burlbird For anyone who doesn't know the classic origin of the word, I'm sure your definition was educational. It's not, however, the definition which the OP wishes to discuss. Do you have a muse in the sense that the OP means?
Thank you much for trying to sort this out, and trying to get everything back on track! By definition . . . No, this is not what my discussion was about. However, the discussion has manifest itself through many other minds. Now, it has become it's own 'thing.' (case in point.) I definitely do not want to hinder it's evolution. What I brought as a concept, now has fluidity; a bit of life one may say.
Please, keep up this topic everyone! (It gives me ideas.) "A few likes would help me out as well... I am here to stay!" I feel that... Good-Fiction = outside the [box]
@Dracan6 sorry if I over-defined something. You mentioned "many great artists (...) swear by the concept", and you did capitalized Muse. Then everybody started talking about seeing ghosts, having their work done by phantasms, how they don't need inspiration (?!) and how they don't believe in myths. And my first thought was: Calliope? Erato? Dona Maar? Lila Brik? It's confusing you see? Graves would probably bite his nails to blood if confronted with such confusion @AlannaHart Yeah, a couple of them actually. Two girls, one boy, and a religious figure most people here would ridicule. Dedicating a significantly creative part of one's life to the feminine (fruit-bearing) ideal embodied in a real person is probably best left unmentioned.
No need to be sorry, I have enjoined your take/input so far! And yes, I do see the confusion. That's 1/2 of my point. Remember however, I did say "concept." And these my friends, are relative to abstract ideas based on the many factors that constitute a persons mind.
I had a muse. I asked her on dates and she spoke to her manager, insisting she was 'just there to teach English.' Pfft.
Misery is my Muse. ... Sounds very melodramatic, I know. But seriously, I realized this many years ago when I had a conversation with an ex-vocalist of my band. He had hit a rough patch in his life and said he'd been writing a lot of new songs since things got bad. The same exact thing that had happened to me a few months before that. Then the logic of it just opened up to me: When I'm unhappy about whatever, I usually have something to say about it, so it spills into whatever I'm working on at the time, be it songs or novels. When I'm perfectly happy and content, it's more difficult to come up with things to say, but luckily I haven't been perfectly happy much in this life, so I have something to bitch about just about always. Oh, and Misery is definitely a she. 'Tis my guess I must have scorned her something awful at one time or another for her to be so fond of my company.
I like that! (Though, it totally calls images of Anne Wilkes/ the pig called Misery, from Steven King.) I am a musician as well, and I know exactly what you mean. What comes to mind at the moment, are bands that wrote from a depressive state. ( I am a minor key guy for life!) Their first album/ albums are pure gold. Total expression of the soul/emotion in despair. Yet, once they get attention. Once they get semi-famous(contracted/getting payed for their "misery.") They just cant pull it off anymore. I do not need to say why; it is self explanatory. Misery loves company, yeah? Not, adoring fans, as much money as you can spend, and the sky is the limit.
I don't really have this problem. The more I talk about an idea the more alive it becomes for me and the more likely I am to sit down and write it. Keeping something a secret is the hardest ever and it stunts my creativity. BTW, I read the book mentioned in the OP just a week ago. It is good for double checking your plot to make sure it hits all the right notes before plunging into a story. But I don't have the problem of still births. In fact my current WIP is a storyline I'd had bouncing around in my mind for over 2yrs already, just constantly tinkering and refining etc. I don't think I've ever had a muse. What is that?
I used to never let anybody read anything I wrote. I'd actually hide my writing from people, until I took a creative writing class and I had to let other people see it. Now I still don't usually discuss in depth about my stories to people except my sister. I've found if I talk about it, many of its flaws pop out without her having to make a comment. I also can get good advice or ideas from talking about it with her. Somehow it puts the story in a new light for me.
How does everyone tame their muse? Sometimes I get a bagillion ideas all at once and need to take control. Personally I take a shower, go kayaking or hiking, sometimes biking to get everything ordered and submitted. I carry a notebook at all times to try and organize my thoughts. Today for the first time in years I went to the range and did some much needed target shooting and found it did wonders on my organization. Between magazines I would organize my thoughts and do a little writing. I ended the the day watching the sunset over the Pawnee Grasslands and wrote an entire scene based on today's experiences. How does everyone else organize their thoughts and control their muse?
I'm more structural and orderly. The second I get the thought, I write it down on a MS word document and save it. If it's a story idea, I put it in the Story Idea document and prepare the manuscript/word count for the day I ever wanted to actually write it. If it's quotes, I put it in the 'Quotes' document with a brief description of the context of the quote/scene. If anything else, they'll have a home and not be cluttering my head.
Hi, I don't. My muse controls me completely. I'm thinking about having a contract put out on it though! Cheers, Greg.
Physical activity is often a very good way to get things sorted. I'm partial to long walks, myself. Involvment in another creative activity unrelated to writing can also be an excellent tonic.
I have a job that pulls me away from the computer. I think writing is an addiction. I yesterday intended to just write the next few hundred words, but like an alcoholic who stops in at the bar to get "one for the road," the hours slipped away. Before I knew it, I was drunk (literally; write drunk, edit sober) but 6000 words had materialized. If I didn't have a "real" job I'd likely never were pants or leave the computer screen unattended. Come to think of it, I wonder if the liquor store delivers?
If I am particularly stressed they will comfort me, but they do not really stop when they get a moment. Telling them to stop because I am busy works for a bit only if I am actually busy, but they get huffy about it.
Do you believe in the existence of a Muse or Muses? Somehow, I can't help but feel as if some of God's angels are putting words on my paper. Writing, to me, feels like magic...
