Keeping the Muse

By Neva Bodin

I spoke at a writers conference a couple of years ago about keeping the muse. I’m thinking all writers must have one.

What is a muse? One source said the word originated in Greek literature and was introduced by Chaucer in his writings. It is “Any of the nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, each of whom presided over a different art or science.”
(https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Muse) One website listed women as the greatest source of muses.

However, Merriam-Webster said it comes from the anglo-french verb muser, bringing to mind a person so absorbed in thought, to the point of abstraction, that their mouth hangs open. (I hope I don’t drool when I muse!)

It could be a dreamy state of mind with a singular theme in the thoughts. And a writer will usually muse about a situation before writing about it (or her or him). I often have people with stories that want to be told running through my head. I become distracted. I have to quit musing about those stories when I’m driving!

“Muser” may come from a Medieval Latin noun, musus, the source of muzzle, referring to the mouth of an animal. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muse)

So that begs the question, does your pet muse? A person who claims to be able to let you know what your pet is thinking has a website. I wonder if that person asks the pets if they muse—meaning thinking about or concentrating hard on some subject.

Perhaps a cat’s muse would be: Mona is sitting on the couch. I should get in her lap and look in her face. (The pet will be thinking this while watching Mona through squinty eyes.)

I wonder where my food is. Mona didn’t give it to me. I’m hungry. I will catch a bird if I go outside. I will eat it under the steps. Mona makes loud, screechy noises when I take birds to her. I will eat it, and Mona won’t see.

I will take a nap before I catch a bird. Maybe Mona will bring me food before then. I will pretend I don’t want it.

Many people apparently find their pets are their muse for writing (think Cozy Mysteries) or other artistic endeavors. I can understand that.

But what happens when you lose your muse? It may be hard to write or finish a story. Muses have a terrible habit of getting lost.

There are steps to take to recover a muse. Start with a prayer or invocation. Ask God for help in recovering it. You will be surprised at what thoughts may come to trigger your lost muse or to start a new one.

Remember where or when you found it. What were you doing? What triggered the muse?

Write your muse down and any thoughts that relate to it. And look at it often. Add to it.

Join a writer’s critique group or find a writing partner. They can help you remember it and even enrich it.

Is it a character you are writing about? Interview the character. You’d be surprised the information you will discover, along with your inspiration to keep musing about the subject.

When your muse is in place, you will find it easy to write and share your talent with the world.

The late Ray Bradbury, a science fiction writer, is quoted as saying, “I’m not in control of my muse. My muse does all the work.” Wish I could say that.

What is your muse? What does it do for you? Leave me a comment!

Neva Bodin writes to entertain, promote laughter, love, and faith through fiction and nonfiction. She writes short stories, newsletters, poetry, and freelance articles. Writing for all ages, she draws from her life of nursing and growing up on a farm in rural North Dakota.