Do you believe in muses?

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Jamesaritchie

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I see no reason not to believe in muses. From several drunken conversations with other writers, I think many claim they don't because they're afraid others will make fun of them. Enough alcohol often brings out true feelings and beliefs.

A dwindling bank account is enough of a muse for me. Still, I have no idea. As Sir Arthur Eddington said, Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.
 

Lissibith

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No, I don't. Because if I did, it would be too easy to think, "My muse isn't cooperating, so I can't write. Guess I'll play Diablo instead."

And I don't believe in them because I've *seen* people say that (only insert play WoW, play Civ, watch TV, etc).

I just can't credit an invisible force that's supposed to help people work creatively but which, in practice, usually just gives them excuses *not* to. :)
 

Rhoda Nightingale

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I once wrote a revenge story after a really painful breakup. It was cathartic, but it was also shit, which became increasingly obvious after enough time passed. So into the trunk it went.

Revenge stories written as a reaction to real life events can work depending on the execution (see also: The Crow), but I'd hesitate before going down that road if this is a real person you're talking about.

That said, that situation was definitely not the only thing that's ever inspired me to write. So no, I don't believe in muses. Plot bunnies on the other hand? Hells yes.
 

angeliz2k

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. . . like the ancient Greek muses? Nope.

I don't much believe in the modern analog, either. You shouldn't be reliant on any one thing/place/person to inspire you. Your ideas and motivation need to come from yourself and be triggered by the things around you--whatever they may be.
 

Phaeal

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Plot bunnies on the other hand? Hells yes.

I know plot bunnies exist. I can hear them behind me, in their pen, plotting a revolution. Ungrateful little bastards, after all the lettuce and hand-peeled mini-carrots I've fed 'em....
 

Little Ming

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I believe in myself...

...which probably explains the bulk of my problems.
 

WeaselFire

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Do you guys believe in muses?
I do. They're very fun to write about or to write into your work. I also hear they taste good with a mustard sauce. :)

A muse is just an inspiration. It could be a loved one, a passed away relative, a spirit guide, an imaginary six foot white rabbit or just the need to pay the mortgage. Whatever trips your trigger.

Personally, I have a panther that slips in and out when needed. She protects and heals me, distracts me, spurs me to action, hates the Beach Boys and loves salmon. Even when she's not there she's still by my side. That's enough for me. Plus I need to pay the mortgage.

Jeff
 

gettingby

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Just to clarify I am fine writing without him, and I don't feel like I was ever using him. I just seemed to get a lot of ideas from being around him. And he is a nice guy.

I am surprised so many of you don't believe in muses. Our life experiences help our writing experiences. They give us stuff to draw from. I made loosely based a few short story characters on him. Nothing that actually happened, but I just thought about what he would do in the situations I created like how he would handle being held up in a robbery and some stuff like that. He made for a fun character (probably because he is a fun guy). I don't feel as though I did anything wrong wondering how he would handle certain situations and then writing about it.

I feel like we are almost debating if art imitates life or if life imitates art. Thanks for all the posts.
 

Little Ming

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Just to clarify I am fine writing without him, and I don't feel like I was ever using him. I just seemed to get a lot of ideas from being around him. And he is a nice guy.

I am surprised so many of you don't believe in muses. Our life experiences help our writing experiences. They give us stuff to draw from. I made loosely based a few short story characters on him. Nothing that actually happened, but I just thought about what he would do in the situations I created like how he would handle being held up in a robbery and some stuff like that. He made for a fun character (probably because he is a fun guy). I don't feel as though I did anything wrong wondering how he would handle certain situations and then writing about it.

I feel like we are almost debating if art imitates life or if life imitates art. Thanks for all the posts.

I separate inspiration from muse. Sure, I get a lot of ideas from music, TV, movies, books, people I know and general interactions with society. But I don't call that a muse.

I think what the other people in the thread are objecting to is the idea that a muse is one person (or thing, or habit, or place, or whatever) that is the primary source of your writing, and that can be unproductive.
 

quicklime

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I am surprised so many of you don't believe in muses. Our life experiences help our writing experiences. They give us stuff to draw from. .


they absolutely do. On the other hand, that isn't how i'd define "muse." I always considered the notion of a muse something separate from simple experience. And I have plenty of experience....just no muse.


again, edited to point out Imay have edited/softened my initial stance a bit. A BIT.
 
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bearilou

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they absolutely do. On the other hand, that isn't how i'd define "muse." I always considered the notion of a muse something separate from simple experience. And I have plenty of experience....just no muse.

and from my experience, I draw great inspiration. still not a muse.
 

OJCade

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I don't believe in muses. I believe in work.

Most days I'd prefer to believe in muses, because work is hard, but preference isn't belief.
 

thepicpic

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Yes there damsure are. I had two of them menacing my vegetable garden just yesterday, big suckers with long noses, just itching to eat my cabbages and broccoli . . . . . .

Oh, wait . . . those were mooses.

My bad.

caw

You're my hero.

I suppose I sort of do believe. I have this invisible force that sometimes drops plot bunnies off, shows me where I'm going and then disappears when I have some questions. That's not a muse to me, though. I call it my subconscious. He's an insufferable bugger, always coming in and claiming credit for the things that I write on impulse and then claiming it was part of the plan all along...

Yeah, I have no muse. Inspirations, yes. Muse, no.
 

kkbe

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I got lots of musies. They take different forms, like this :roll: and this :wag: and this :Wha: and this :e2moon:. Ergo, I know if I look to my musies for inspiration, I'm pretty much s.o.l.

:)
 

seun

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Not in the slightest. I believe in working hard, in taking inspiration whenever it comes and aiming to improve with every thing I write.
 

Rhoda Nightingale

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@gettingby: It's not so much that I don't believe in the value of drawing inspiration from a great number of things, but the word "muse" conjures up this image of, like, a magical writing fairy who sprinkles creativity dust on writers, whereas the work of writing--as seun said--is much less glamorous than that.
 

Axordil

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I think there are specific moments and environments that can make writing feel much less like work and more like you really are channeling a supernatural force. I also think you have to be careful whenever something is too easy. :)

Sometimes one's unconscious really does do most of the heavy lifting, and sometimes it's off on vacation and you have to think your way through things.
 

iron9567

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I don't believe in a single muse that inspires a person to write the project they are working on at that given moment. I think it's more of a combination of everything going on around them. Inspiration is like a jigsaw puzzle begging to be put together. That last piece to the jigsaw puzzle if different to each person looking for inspiration to write. At least that's how I view the topic of this thread. I hope everyone has a blessed day.
thanks
iron
 

Andrhia

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It's totally possible that there are people (or drinks, or rooms, or situations) that make you feel inspired. But whether or not you feel inspired is beside the point.

When you make a meal, maybe sometimes you're into it and sometimes you aren't, but that doesn't have much of an impact on the final result. I've been super-excited to make a recipe that failed, and I've tossed together a few things that wound up being delicious beyond all measure. It's a matter of discipline and craft that determines the quality of the finished product, not your emotional state during the cooking process.

It's the same way with writing. I've written words the flow fast like water, and I've written words that had to be chiseled hard one by one. But nobody else can tell which are which... and a year later, I can't tell, either.
 

April Days

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I'm very close to (okay, married to) a talented songwriter who tends to credit "the muse" for his best writing. And I think, why do you want to give somebody else credit? I think he just likes the romanticism of it.

He got me into songwriting, too, and when he'd ask if the muse had visited me today, I'd say, no, but my imagination did.
 

robynmackenzie

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External things can certainly be inspiring. Call them whatever you want. Muses, catalysts, or hey, just things that inspire you. Awesome that there's someone in your life that, for whatever reason inspires you. And if that ever stops happening, there are plenty of other inspiring things. And they don't even have to be external.

I think the term "muse" is used pretty loosely. For me, my "muse" is the part of my brain that occasionally wakes up and starts jumping around chaotically with ideas. "Hey, it's almost time for bed! You should start writing a song about hippos. Good, now add some synth loops. Hey, did you know you haven't worked on your novel in two weeks? I have a great idea for the next chapter. Write that. Ooh! And a comic too. You should do a comic about long train rides. Hey, look at that it's 3 am now."

For other people, it can be something external, or a mythical sort of being they feel they interact with, or whatever.

Do I need my muse in order to write? No. But sometimes it can kickstart me when I'm in a slump. Which is cool.
 

FluffBunny

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I know plot bunnies exist. I can hear them behind me, in their pen, plotting a revolution. Ungrateful little bastards, after all the lettuce and hand-peeled mini-carrots I've fed 'em....

The plot bunnies can hear you....

Whenever I've been tempted to believe in muses and examined why I wasn't writing, it all came down to me and my own behaviors. Plot bunnies, though, are irrefutable.
 
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