Musing on Muses

A few months ago Tabby reached out to all us Nocturnal bloggers and asked us if we wanted to participate in a blog about muses. She was interested in hearing how we felt about our muses, if they had a name, and if we had a picture of what we thought the pesky devils looked like.

At the time I tried to find a way of expressing my muse, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I’ve never been one of those authors that personify their muses. I’ve heard of authors that have names and whole back stories for their muses. I’ve never gotten that close to my muse. Mine had always been more mysterious, dropping ideas into my mind at random times in random different ways from a far. No Goth angel in the corner or crazy demanding dominatrix.

But over the course of the last month I’ve come to an all new realization for my muse. I understand her better now. I’ve even found a picture that represents her to me. My muse is a temptress.

She dangles ideas in front of me when I’m already busy with another project, or I’m knee deep in edits. She tempts me with ideas I know I shouldn’t follow through, convincing me to leave the idea I’m currently working on to try something new. She finds the worst times to sashay in front of me with another great idea. And my muse doesn’t enter the room quietly. Oh no, she makes a scene. She slams into my head loud and outrageous and impossible to ignore.

But she’ll just as easily say nothing to me. She’ll stay silent for long periods of time, and I’m not sure what I’ve done wrong but I keep trying to make her happy. I give her everything I can think of to satisfy her. I give her lots of sleep, reading material and time. Yet she remains silent, until she wants to talk and then I’m overflowing with inspiration again.

She gives me ideas at the most random times, from the most random places, to make sure I stay on my toes. I can never predict what’s going to give me that idea I need now. The book I’m reading, the quiet drive home, the walk to the cafeteria. It’s all a mystery. As soon as I think I’ve figured it out, my muse changes it up. She doesn’t like me feeling comfortable or predictable.

I can’t really complain. Though my muse does give me plenty to work with, she’s never abandoned me for long, nor is she as temperamental as some other muses I’ve heard of (some other writers have horror stories for how long their muses stay away or how much they fight with them). She gives me everything I need, while often in over abundance. Which is why I’ve been able to have to releases within two weeks of each other this month, Heart’s Ultimatum on February 14^th and Snow Day on March 1^st. And there’s definitely more to come. My muse is tempting me with another story even now, while I furiously try to work on the next story in my series, trying to show me all the possiblities.

For all these reasons I've decided to name my muse, Jessica. After the greatest temptress of all.

Hopefully by understanding her better, my muse and I, might be able to come to a better working agreement. One that will allow me to explore more of the ideas she gives me, will still staying track on the projects I'm working on. But only time will tell. A temptress always has a way of knocking you on your ass and have you coming back for more.