Muses & Writing by Diane Burton

Apollo and the Muses on Mt. Helicon by Claude Lorrain

Back in March, I wrote a post on Paranormal Romantics about The Muses. Here’s a little backstory about them. In Greek mythology, Zeus created The Muses to celebrate the victory over the Titans and to forget the evils of the world. Zeus was a prolific father. According to myth, he laid with the goddess of memory nine times to create the nine Muses, goddesses of literature, sciences, and the arts. Two of them are directly related to literature—Melpomene (tragedy) and Thalia (comedy). Although I claim Thalia as my muse because I’d rather write humor than tragedy, But, I can’t ignore Melpomene. A good book must contain both. Tension and danger need the comic relief.

In the past, I’ve groaned and complained about my Muse having gone on vacation or that she deserted me. Then, I read this quote from J.K. Rowling:

"The Muse works for you. You don’t write at her beck and call—you train her to show up when you’re writing.”

I find that an interesting perspective. It’s easier to blame the Muse than myself when I'm stuck. Yesterday, Mac Crowne wrote about Writer’s Block. I identified with her feelings back in February when I had a lot of trouble with Numbers Never Lie. At that time, I blamed my Muse for deserting me. Now, I have to wonder.

Have I trained my Muse to show up? I think it’s much like training a puppy. I wasn’t very good at that. Inconsistent at first. Then, I learned to be more vigilant . . . and consistent. I guess that means I need to be consistent with expecting my Muse to show up each time I sit down to write.

However we write, whatever we think of Muses, our job is to get the story out of our heads and onto the screen (or paper). Some of us need inspiration. Reading favorite books, as Mac is going to do (and as I do), reminds us of excellence in writing. 

If I want my Muse to show up when I do, I guess I’d better train her better.

Here’s the blurb for Numbers Never Lie:

A shocking secret brings danger to Jack Sinclair and his sister Maggie. 

As kids, they were the fearless threesome. As adults, Jack's an accountant; Drew, a lawyer; Maggie, a teacher and camping troop leader. Returning from a weekend camping trip, Maggie receives horrifying news. She refuses to believe her brother’s fatal car crash was an accident. If the police won’t investigate, she’ll do it herself. Convincing Drew Campbell to help is her only recourse.

Drew Campbell was too busy to return his best friend’s phone call. Too busy to attend a camping meeting important to his teen daughter. Too busy to stay in touch with Jack. Logic and reason indicate Jack’s accident was just that—an accident caused by fatigue and fog. Prodded by guilt, he’ll help Maggie even if he thinks she’s wrong.

A break-in at Jack’s condo convinces Maggie she’s right. Then her home is searched. What did Jack leave behind?

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction, and romance into writing romantic fiction. She blogs here on the 16th and 30th of each month. She shares snippets from her stories every weekend on her blog.