Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Welcome Home, Buddy.

hourglassUntil this summer, my muse and I always traveled Discipline Road together. We'd ride along, two amiable pals, setting writing goals and knocking them down. Usually, we'd do it incrementally, a little each day, pounding the keys, building the story. After a while, all the increments would add up to something we deemed worthwhile. It was a system that worked well for both of us (I hope I'm not putting words into my muse's mouth).

Then, this summer we got a little lax. "We'll do some writing tomorrow," we'd say, often simultaneously. "Or maybe the day after. There's a whole mess of other things that need to get done first." So the muse and I would drift off our separate ways. I'd get busy on some new project--learning software, cleaning the house, cybersurfing, whatever. I'm not sure where my muse went most days; all I know is that he wasn't by my side. (Sometimes we did get together to crank out a few blog posts, but otherwise, I hardly saw him. Probably spent a lot of time at the beach, catching up on his reading.)

Now, don't get me wrong. I accomplished a lot this summer, and most of it was important stuff. Unfortunately, I didn't make much headway on my work-in-progress.

I missed my muse.

But, I'm happy to report, my muse returned home yesterday. And he's rarin' to go.

Which is nice.


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12 comments:

Craig Hart said...

Maybe your muse and mine are friends. Ask him if he's seen mine and, if so, have him sent home.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I keep my muse next to me. She's restrained by a ball and chain. Sometimes she bites. Everything she provides me is churlish, thus contributing to the obnoxious characters in my books. I think I write better than she does...I'm considering firing her.

Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder

Patricia Stoltey said...

Uh oh, Elizabeth sounds cranky this morning. Sounds like her muse needs to be fed a little chocolate.

My muse has been on the job and pretty well-behaved for a couple of weeks now. I'm counting my blessings and trying my best to enjoy her to the fullest before she wanders off again.

Anonymous said...

I don't have a muse. Although sometimes I hear something scurrying between the walls. Maybe I have a troll.

Stephen Tremp

joe doaks-Author said...

Your muse is a male? Oh, Alan, you need to visit the muse store and pick up a new model...uh, no pun intended.

Best Regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog

Alan Orloff said...

Jack - I wondered about the bad influence my muse was hanging around with. Now that I know, I'm not surprised.

Elizabeth - Wow! You sure you write cozies? I'm with Patricia, try a little chocolate. For you, that is!

Patricia - Nice job on the writing weekend. Kudos to your muse, too!

Stephen - As long as your troll can help you with plotting or characterization, don't complain!

Galen - I have enough distractions, I don't need a hot model for a muse. (Can I get back to you on that, though?)

Elspeth Futcher said...

My muse is unpredictable. She can start screaming just as I'm about to go to sleep, forcing me to turn the light back on and scribble in the pad by the bed. Or she can sleep for days showing up only to whisper "Guilt be upon you! You've hardly written at all!" No ideas, no inspiration. Just guilt.

I have found that once she starts talking I can keep her talking if I concentrate. That's the time I write my outlines so that when she goes back to sleep I have something to work from.

Glad yours has shown up again. Maybe she was on vacation. Ask to see postcards.

Elspeth

Alan Orloff said...

Elspeth - Your muse reminds me a little of my children when they were younger. Screaming when I wanted to sleep.

You just can't reason with your muse.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Okay, I took everyone's advice and ate chocolate. I feel a mite better now. But it was chocolate cake from my daughter's Easy Bake oven, so maybe it wasn't enough. I tossed the muse into the dungeon (every suburban home should have one.)

Elizabeth

Julee said...

I love my muse, but as with some long-term relationships, I take her for granted. Currently, she sits in a chair beside me at my desk, dressed to the nines in high heels and snappy red skirt and white frilly blouse, long auburn hair perfectly coiffed, silently tapping her long, red manicured nails on the desktop awaiting me to pull my head out of my... uh... Mafia Wars

Alan Orloff said...

Elizabeth - If I ever come to visit you, I'm staying in a hotel.

Julee - Fashionable. But are you sure you're talking about your muse, and not Galen's? Please don't take your muse for granted--they need to be pampered (hear that, Elizabeth?) Thanks for visiting the blog!

Kerrie said...

My muse and I both have SOS (Shiny Object Syndrome), so we hardly ever see each other.