THE Group for Authors! discussion

Who or what is your muse - does it have a face, a name; is your muse gay ... tell us about your muse and perhaps why they suddenly cancel your lunch date citing a headache.

My muse is currently inhabiting the body of a female green turtle; she drags herself out of the sea at night, digs her way into my head and lays a clutch of ideas to hatch during the day ...

I've always been fascinated by the creative urge but is it just energy following intention or are there other powers at play?

Serious questions from a man with a hangover today. Don't shout ...

I also have a hangover - I blame last night's cheap 1.5l bottle of cheap Shiraz. My muse is a hideous pterodactyl with red eyes that perches on my monitor and screeches Infodump! Typo! Bad style! Infelicitous phrase! Trite! Trite! Now and then I throw it a small dead furry animal or a copy of J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy and it takes it into the corner and chews it for a while, but it always comes back again, flapping its foul leathery wings.

My wood-stove

I find that most commonly my muse is my dreams. My tales are primarily development from something that past through my head during the night. Whether it be a simple remembrance of past life events or a complete illusion.

Life and its influence on my dream state.

My muse is that other voice that shows up in my head.

Mike wrote: "I also have a hangover - I blame last night's cheap 1.5l bottle of cheap Shiraz. My muse is a hideous pterodactyl with red eyes that perches on my monitor and screeches Infodump! Typo! Bad style! I..."

perhaps the beast would be happier with J K Rowling herself

I have three sister muses: the ghost of laundry unfolded, the ghost of dishes unwashed and the ghost of meals uncooked. Nothing motivates me to write like the thought of having a few moments free of these harping phantoms, but in a sad twist of fate, these are the very three spirits who keep me from writing. And sometimes, they have the same voices as my kids. Especially the ghost of meals uncooked.

Alp wrote: "Mike wrote: "I also have a hangover - I blame last night's cheap 1.5l bottle of cheap Shiraz. My muse is a hideous pterodactyl with red eyes that perches on my monitor and screeches Infodump! Typo!..."

Er, possibly, Alp. My thoughts on that topic are here http://tinyurl.com/nfkvxk5 ...book was tasty but oddly unsatisfying, author might be likewise.

Mike wrote: "Alp wrote: "Mike wrote: "I also have a hangover - I blame last night's cheap 1.5l bottle of cheap Shiraz. My muse is a hideous pterodactyl with red eyes that perches on my monitor and screeches Inf..."

I was going to read it when it first came out but saw it on the charity shop shelf too soon thereafter and took the hint.

Anyway, I have a turtle to bathe and cookies to bake ...

My muse is The Hour of the Wolf.

I'm not entirely sure if she counts as a muse per se, but there is definitely a "writer" me who is very different from ordinary, every day me. While normal me is talkative, given to coming out with non sequiturs and ever so slightly scatty, the one who writes is half a foot taller, Byronic and likes cravats. I strongly suspects she sleeps in a Habitat coffin when she isn't writing (which is undoubtedly done with a goose feather quill).

My muse isn't so much an image as a feeling. I go to sleep thinking about my characters, and when I wake up (sometimes at 3 am), they're ready to tell me what they want to do next. That sensation of processing in my subconscious while I sleep is the place where I believe my best ideas turn up. Of course, I have to feed that subconscious often, through fun in other mediums and distractions. Otherwise, falling down that rabbit hole doesn't work!

Yvonne Kohano
Love and the Christmas Tree Nymph