I need to complain about my muse.

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Not the usual complaint (you know, “where is that bitch!”). I mean, it’s tough to start a story without her, and there are always dry patches. But that’s normal.

Lately, though, when she shows up, she rips the stuffing out of me. I was working along, the last couple of weeks, make a little progress on a fanfic idea, then more substantial progress on something that’ll need to be posted as a serial. I had some free time this weekend, and it was good. Humming.

But I woke up this morning with a whole different story. A solo that I had to write, even though it left me in tears, time and time again. I got it posted, but my eyes are still swollen, my head hurts, and I feel like I’ve been beaten up. I’m a complete wreck.

I’ll be going on vacation in a week or so (“on holiday,” to my friends in the UK), so I probably won’t post another story for a month or so. Maybe by then, my muse will find her store of happy pills. I sure hope so!

Hugs!

Comments

Traditionally, Wild Geese……

D. Eden's picture

Were Irish mercenaries, although over time it has come to symbolize all Irishmen who serve outside of Ireland. It was I believe 1692 when some 14,000 of Irish soldiers sailed from Limerick to France and some French sailing Captain listed his cargo of Irishmen as wild geese, hence giving the, their moniker.

To those of us who have served with Irish troops, we will ever remember the name.

D. Eden

Dum Vivimus, Vivamus

Frankie Laine

I will always remember the best TV theme song . . . ever.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

I wonder if Eric Flint Erred

Emma Anne Tate's picture

Some of the stories in Flint’s 1632 universe follow Irish mercenaries fighting for Philip of Spain. The stories are set during the 30 Years’ War, so well before the incident you relate. Yet Flint and his co-authors have the troops refer to themselves as Wild Geese. He was usually careful in his research, but perhaps he introduced an anachronism there.

Emma

An anachronism.

The Wiid Geese, is what Louis XIV called the Irsh Catholics who fled William III after he took/held Ireland from James II, and entered French Service. Some went to Spain around the same time. And they were not totally, th8se regiments also had Scots Catholics and English ones too, but were majority Irish.

__

Estarriol

I used to be normal, but I found the cure....

Sounds like a case of industrial action to me

Your muse is wily. Instead of going on strike, as many others', your muse uses another tactic: Work-to-unrule.

Have you considered your muse's working conditions?
Pay is the least of it. What about work environment, vacation and other forms of leave, encouragement, recognition?

Remember that a good muse is someone worth cherishing.

/Bru
Whose muse recently has returned from some mutually agreed leave of absence

Work-to-Unrule

Emma Anne Tate's picture

Oh, that would be evil!

Honestly, though, my muse really has little to complain about. She vanishes whenever the mood hits her. Though near as I can tell, she just flashes her charms at some other writer for a while rather than sitting by the shore, relaxing and waiting for the Tequila Sunrise.

I do give her credit, though. She’s responsible for my best ideas, even though she tends to wander off before the longer ones are done.

Emma

Inconsiderate She Is

BarbieLee's picture

She's selfish, greedy, domineering, totally inconsiderate of your feelings, your emotions. She rules the roost as head mistress. As her slave you have no choice but to do as she demands or you get no comfort nor peace until you've submitted totally to her.

Her redeeming quality is she does have the best ideas and you must admit it feels wonderful after you completed the task she set before you.

Hugs Emma, don't get too contaminated visiting with our kin across the pond. They talk funny and have weird ideas about the English language we gave them. Try as we might to teach them how to drive, they still got it wrong. I have some thought on that. Dodging the cannon fire from the French Ships of War, the bombs from Germany they took to driving on the wrong side of the road. That way the enemy would believe they were returning when they were yet to arrive. One must lead the intended target if said target is on the move. Thus instead of leading because the English were on the wrong side of the road the enemy actually shot or dropped bombs way behind the vehicles. How wickedly smart were they to deceive the enemy that way by driving on the wrong side of the road.

Last bit of knowledge about our weird cousins. They never learned English no matter how hard we tried to teach them so just smile a lot. A boot isn't something you put on your foot if you know what I mean. Silly buggers thinks it is something on their car. A bonnet doesn't go on the head to keep the sun off. A tap isn't something you do if you're on the other side of the door to announce yourself. I think it is something on the lavatory or kitchen sink? If you need help, call me. I can't understand them either but I'm great at making things up I think they should have said.

Have fun and don't bring home any plants or anything else for that matter. They have some kind of green monster they imported and it's eating up their country a little bit at a time. They never learned to leave well enough alone. I believe if they saw something on Mars they liked they probably would drag that back home too before questioning if it was alive or not.
Hugs Emma
Barb
Stick close to me Doll, I'm the only sane person on this big Blue Spaceship hurling through space.

Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl

And don’t forget York, dear!

Emma Anne Tate's picture

Where the streets are “gates,” the gates are “bars,” and the bars are “pubs!”

Thanks for the encouragement, Barb!

Emma

Oh, man!

Emma Anne Tate's picture

Maybe I need a shrink!

Thanks for the Huggies, Dot. You’re the best!

Emma

I identify with that

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

My muse, when she deigns to show up, often ignores the stories I have in the pipeline and reveals yet another work that she will abandon when the mood strikes her.

I have two stories I was working on. One of them was started over 20 years ago. The other, only a couple of year ago. I'd been stuck on both of them and had shelved them in favor of easier projects. But when I posted a couple shorter finished works (in the other genre I write in) I looked through my bone pile and decided to reread these two stories and got inspired. I started working on first one and when I reached a point where I needed to work out some point in the plot, I shove it to the back of my mind and let my subconscious deal with it while I worked on the other. It was great. I got several thousand words in each of them and was nearing the final chapter in each. Getting anxious to actually finish one of them, I decided to work on only one of them until it was finished. Easier said than done. I remember thinking, "What I need is more discipline." To which my muse replied, "More discipline, you mean like 'Petticoat Discipline?' and promptly started a story line about a volunteer for petticoating.

Then Melanie E, bless her heart, put up the "Take Your Daughter to Work" April challenge and my muse jumped up and said, "OOUUU, OOUUU, I've got and idea for that one," and I was off to the races. It should have been an easy piece and it was until I reached a crisis point where problem for my MC occurred at which point my muse backed of and in essence said, "How you going to get them out of this one?" and left me hanging. Hopefully I'll get it finished before the end of the month and can get back to work on the two original pieces that only a chapter and an epilogue to get them finished.

Hugs
Patricia

Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt

I feel your pain!

Emma Anne Tate's picture

And honestly, I don’t real mind when the muse interrupts whatever I’m doing. It would be nice, though, if the little minx got herself some antidepressants and came up with some ideas that didn’t flat out hurt!

Emma

Oh dear,

I must enquire: Have you been feeding any stray Muses lately? Perhaps even by accident? Maybe left chocolate, or any other comestibles laying about that were in easy reach of a door or window, or accessible via a ley line portal perhaps? Sometimes a stray Muse can cause a scheduling conflict with your primary Muse and overburden the creator of the art of that muse. Their actions tend not to double up the work, buther causes a squaring of the work, sometimes called the Squaring of the HyperMuse...
Or so I have heard...
Best of luck finding a resolution. All you can do in the meantime is write and consume copious amounts of caffeine and confections. Take care,
Hugs
Diana

The sum of the square of the other two sides . . .

Emma Anne Tate's picture

Let’s see . . . the two “sides” in this case being fried green tomatoes and beets, truly a “square” meal for a clean-living Vegan, their sum, if properly puréed, should be a starchy concoction with a vaguely Christmas theme. Right now, I’m thinking that might, indeed, be equal to the Squaring of my HyperMuse!

Hugs, Diana. Thanks for the laugh!

Emma

Muses are their own beast

I was talking with three crime writers yesterday at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation(Lesley Thompson, Domenica De Rosa (aka Elly Griffiths) and Grahame Bartlett) and they all said much the same thing about their muse. When the idea for a scene later in the story comes into their mind, the don't fight it but let it direct them towards writing that scene even if it is a very different one that appears in the finished work.

I am with them on that point. I'd just written a scene from my crime novel that takes place SIX years after the first chapter. The idea was there and getting it down was the only way I could go back to finishing a total re-write of the first chapter (to be presented as part of my Crime Writing Course).

Don't fight your muse. let her guide you towards telling your story. Muses are fragile beasts and easily take offense. Once they do, they can go AWOL for months.
Samantha

A little kindness . . .

Emma Anne Tate's picture

I’m happy to report that the muse stopped by again this morning. Maybe she was contrite over how much she beat me up yesterday, or (more likely), she was tired of hearing me bitch about it, but she gave me a much easier task for the day. Another short, in a completely different vein (praise be!). I’ll be sure to post it before I skip town. Thank you all for your indulgence at my mini meltdown, and for your good wishes!

Hugs,

Emma

So True!

I'm now so deep in interrupted stories that I'm not sure I'll ever get back.
It's got to the point that my muse has now demanded a cameo!
Maybe one day I'll finish that story and get it posted here, at least.

Meanwhile, have fun on your vacation, and don't come back with too many new story ideas. Oops!

Thanks, Cornelius!

Emma Anne Tate's picture

Sounds like your muse needs to give a little thought and make up your mind!

Hugs,

Emma