My Mortal Gods of Writing

I’m perhaps in the minority of writers who—oddly enough, considering my whole metaphysical outlook on life—don’t really believe that you have to “wait for the Muse to strike” in order to write. In fact, if you’re a working writer, you can’t wait on the Muse.

That’s not to say I don’t believe that the Muse can—and does—strike when we least expect it, but working writers can’t afford to wait for her. We can’t rely on her, and we sure as hell can’t bank on her to be here for us during deadline hell. A lot of writing (as a career) is just forcing your butt in the chair, your fingers on the keys, and working whether or not you feel like it. Publishers and/or readers really don’t want to hear excuses like, “I don’t feel inspired.”

But, do I have a Muse? Yes, in many different ways. First, I credit the goddess Brighid as my Muse. But does she make it possible for me to write every day? No. That’s my responsibility.

And then we all have another Muse—the inner Muse. She/He may not be the Muse of Writing, but could well be the Cooking Muse, the Building Muse, the Mother Muse, the Athlete Muse, the Banker’s Muse, the Healer’s Muse.  And not everybody will be able to summon every muse. 

As adults, we have to face that fact that we may not have the ability to be everything we may dream of being.  I will never be an extreme athlete.  Even if I got into tiptop shape, I still wouldn’t have the constitution for it.  I will never be a rock star.  Even with voice lessons, I’d be best off singing in the shower.  And not everyone can be a good writer—the gift for words isn’t something you can necessarily learn. 

You can hone your talents and build your skill—absolutely no doubt about that. But you can’t create something that isn’t there.  How do you know if you have the talent? 

Your guess is as good as mine.  Don’t ask me—I won’t tell you what I think unless you’re a good friend.  In fact, if you have to go around asking people, then chances are you don’t have the grit to stick out the rough parts of the career.  I never once asked anyone if they thought I could make it as a writer.  I knew I could, I kept that vision, and I didn’t invite negative feedback (which is not the same as avoiding critique—I went through some intensive critique sessions both in school and out of it). But the fact is that you must be your own strongest cheerleader and you have to persevere or you run the risk of valuing your worth based on the opinion of others and that’s a rocky road that often leads to burnout, breakdowns, and inferiority complexes.

So how does this relate to the Muse?  Because, you see, our inner Muse is a must if we want to keep working toward our goals. Without her, we feel adrift. We have to nurture our inner cheerleader, because you can’t just sit around hoping she’ll appear on the sidelines.  The inner Muse won’t do the work for you.  She won’t make it easy.  But properly nurtured, she will keep you sharp, alert, and on the lookout for opportunity and idea.

I’m often asked if I ever get writer’s block.  Not in the traditional sense of the phrase.  I’m never wanting for something to write. When asked where I get my ideas I, like so many writers, want to throw up my hands and say, “What kind of a question is that? Are you serious? How can you not have a dozen ideas a day? Look around you—look at the world—there are stories everywhere!” I see the world as a smorgasbord of comedies, tragedies, love stories and fantastic quests. For me, my muse is there—everywhere, within me, without me, found in everything and everybody.

That said, I do have my Mortal Gods of Writing. All I have to do when I’m feeling down is pick up one of their books and I remember why I love writing so much, I remember to dream, to think, to dare. These Mortal Gods have moved me to wonder, to laughter, to fear, and to tears with their ability to turn a phrase, to craft an idea, to evoke emotion.

My personal pantheon of Mortal Muses…these Mortal Gods of Writing…consist of the following (and you’ll notice some of them do double or triple duty):

The Muses of Wonder: Ray Bradbury, J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter S. Beagle, Anne McCaffrey, Greg Bear

The Muses of Language: Ray Bradbury, Annie Dillard, Kenneth Grahame, Richard Adams, Garrett Hongo, WB Yeats, William Blake, Tennyson

The Muses of Suspense & Mystery: Daphne du Maurier, Stephen King, Diane Mott Davidson, JA Jance, Bram Stoker

The Muse of the Human Condition: George Elliot, Jane Austin, the Brontë sisters, William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, Samuel Beckett, Erica Jong

The Muses of the Epic Quest: J.R.R. Tolkien, Richard Adams, Guy Gavriel Kay, Tad Williams,

The Muses of Mythological Reference: Joan D. Vinge, J.R.R. Tolkien, Neil Gaiman

The Muses of Urban Fantasy: Charles de Lint, Kelly Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, Anne Rice, Jim Butcher, Anne Rice, my dear departed friend, Rachel Caine (And yes, I’d like to add my name to the list but I’m not going to because…I do have some self-control).

The Muses of the Story: Amy Tan, Michael Crichton, John Crowly, Daphne du Maurier, Ray Bradbury

Yes, I have other Mortal Gods of Writing, but this list will give you some idea of from where I draw my inspiration in the literary world. These Mortal Gods, unbeknownst to them, have encouraged me to keep going, have inspired me when my mind felt parched and tired, and taught me through their own work, how to write. I thank each and every one of them, and can only hope to pass on even a fraction of that inspiration to other aspiring writers.

So, do you have mortal gods, whether it be of cooking, business, writing, painting?

~Yasmine