Thursday, May 17, 2012

Introducing... my muse

Charis, protecting her identity.
Photo by Jiri Hodan, courtesy of Public Domain Pictures
This is Charis, my muse. As you can see, she wouldn't allow me to show her face. (I don't know--something about a wild night in Vegas, an ex-boyfriend, and a car chase.) Regardless, she is allowing me to say a few words about her in honor of Blog Me MAYbe's "May I tell you something about someone else?" Thursday. Be happy. She's usually quite shy.

So I've known Charis for several years now. She's been with me since my days of adolescent angst and teenage trauma, which means, of course, that she knows a lot about me. (Note to self: weigh your words carefully here.)

Charis and I have a love-hate relationship. We have days when she calls me boring and I accuse her of being annoying. Some days I just wish she'd go away, but others--when deadlines loom and I sit for hours idly staring at the blank computer screen--I wish I had her phone number.

She's unlisted.

Of course she is.

Charis claims to work only for me, but I don't know if I believe her. I once saw her with a suitcase in one hand and a first-class ticket to Bermuda in the other. She claimed they belonged to her sister, but we all know what liars--er...storytellers--muses can be.

Charis is fickle. Sometimes she'll stay away for weeks--even months--at a time. Once she was gone for three months, and when she came back and I asked her why she had left--"abandoned me" were my exact words, I think--she said that she'd had to go because she was offended by my flip-flops. Coincidentally, those shoes disappeared right around the time she did. (Hmm...maybe it's time to apologize to the husband now.) I have no idea where she goes or what she does, and she's not telling. I've noticed, though, that she often returns looking suspiciously tan.

Could this be where Charis has been spending her time?
Photo by Darrell Goode, courtesy of Public Domain Pictures

Once Charis hung around here for two months straight. She took over my bed and rearranged my underwear drawer and proclaimed my kitchen a dairy-free zone. I would have thrown her out, but she was spending all her non-organizing time feeding me awesome story ideas. (And I'll let you in on a secret: I kind of liked my smaller, dairy-free derriere. Just don't tell her I said that.) Still, I refuse to let her control my life. I keep my ice cream at the neighbors' house now.

Most of the time, though, I'm on my own, and--dare I say it?--I miss her. It's not just because she gives me story ideas and organizes my medicine cabinets. No, the real reason is this: she's become--and I can't believe I'm saying this--a friend.

But she'd better stay away from my ice cream.



I've love to hear a little about your muse. If you don't have one, tell me about the people in your life who inspire you.

41 comments:

  1. My muse is even more reticent with her identity than yours is. She has no name or face to show. :)Other than her I have my sons and daughter who inspire me. My sons are writers too and they come up with phenomenal ideas all the time. I think - Why can't I come up with ideas like that? Then I'm tempted to steal their ideas - but that would be wrong! So sometimes I ask if I can borrow them instead! ;)

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    1. How wonderful that your sons are also writers! My kids are young (2 and 5), but they both love to read, and I keep hoping that at least one of them will also love to write. I would love to share that interest with them!

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  2. Charis may be fickle, but she was right there with you today. She didn't let you down. I obviously have no Muse. I'm inspired by my mother to keep digging into my family history because she wanted to prove SOMEBODY in the family was a patriot so that she could join the DAR. Sadly that never happened. Oh, we have several patriots, but we haven't done the footwork to gather ALL the documents needed.

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    1. Thanks, Wendy.

      I really admire your passion for family history. I've been trying to sort through my own, but I haven't gotten very far. I hope you're able to find the proof you need. :)

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  3. I don't have a muse - and no one that I've actually met inspires me to write (as far as I can tell). However, there are a few authors that really stand out in my mind, and although I'm a billion light years away from them in talent, they do inspire me a lot.

    Some of them are Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, Bill Bryson and Mark Twain. Read there books and wow... great stuff!

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  4. Clever, cute and funny! :)

    I've never really had a muse, per say. I write non-fiction. If anything, mine's my guardian angel. I have to get in the right frame of mind where I can get beyond my ego and see the bigger picture before he will help--LOL! ;)

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    1. Thanks, Rita. :)

      I like what you said about your guardian angel. I write some nonfiction as well, and that makes a lot of sense to me.

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  5. What a fun post! I know all about fickle and stubborn muses. Mine has turned into an action hound lately. She'll abandon me at the sweet and slow bits. I worry about my ice cream too.

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    1. Thanks! It's good to know mine isn't the only fickle muse around. Do you think maybe we share the same one? Is that where she is when she's not here? ;)

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  6. Aww! I love your Muse story. So much fun.

    I think mine likes to tantalize me with too many ideas.

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  7. my muse is my past and relatives especially from the past--great post!

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  8. Very interesting to read about Charis; I think we all have muses, I am not particularly fond of the ones that come to visit at times, its almost embarrasing to admit them, they are so many, Anxiety Annie, Distrust Debbie, Fearful Freda, Unsure Ursulla, oh my gosh, I had more than I thought I did! And you are right, they can be like friends.......maybe not the best of friends.....but we do like them, that's why they come and vist every so often. Very good reflective type of post!

    betty

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    1. Yes, despite my complaints, I really like having Charis around. :)

      Thanks, Betty!

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  9. LOL, She sounds like my kind of girl :)

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  10. I'm wondering why her name is Charis? Very interesting personification.

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  11. "She's unlisted.

    Of course she is."

    Aaaaand right there is where I cracked up! You know, I haven't ever really thought about my own muse. I usually find inspiration from my closest writing friends. They cheer me on and push me when I need it :)

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    1. LOL Thanks!

      Writing friends are definitely good inspirations. :)

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  12. Muses are so fickled, aren't they? That's why I rely on my critique group for encouragement when my muse takes a vacation(which happens frequently - hey, maybe my muse and your muse can hang out on that beach!)

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    1. Maybe our muses are one and the same... ;)

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  13. I gave you an award. I know you already have one so play along please.

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  14. I gave you an award. I know you already have one so play along please.

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  15. HA! Very cute. I don't think I'd keep anybody around who ate my ice cream. :-) Don't know that I have a muse...maybe the Holy Spirit. I kind of write according to what I'm grateful for, what draws me to God, what worries me (and therefore drives me to God). When I wrote fiction, my characters drew me to the computer. They were alive to me! ps. how was the portobello tortellini? (email me, cuz I might not get back to this post.)

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    1. Writing out of gratitude: that's a wonderful reason to write!

      I know what you mean about your characters drawing you to the computer. Mine do that as well--even at the worst possible times.

      I e-mailed you about the recipe. :)

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  16. Your muse is hilarious! :) I don't think that my muse has a name. I'll have to find her... somewhere...

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    1. LOL Thanks! When you find her, let's introduce her to Charis. She needs some muse friends I can grill when she goes on one of her "vacations." ;)

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  17. Oh man do I love this post! I don't know my muse :( I guess I haven't paid much attention to her/him. I only seem to be in touch with my inner critic. He's a jerk!

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    1. Aww, thanks!

      Sorry about your IC, and good luck finding your muse. :)

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  18. I want to go to her beach!

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  19. No icecream! I don't know if I like Charis, Dana. Procrastination with a bowl of icecream is much more fun.

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  20. My muse cracks the whip and makes fun of me. Unless we're sitting down and reading in peace and quiet.

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  21. I've always thought of my muse as the Moon. I call her Luna. She's been hiding her sorry self for quite awile. Need to put her on America's Most Wanted...maybe Someone can find her! ;-)

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