Welcome to Biting-Edge, a blog shared by authors and vampire experts, Mario Acevedo and Jeanne Stein. We’ll cover urban fantasy, vampires, pop culture, and all things Joss Whedon. Unlike other fantasy blogs, we don’t insist on body cavity searches (unless you ask politely). Snarkiness is most welcome...though we won't promise not to bite back!

Sunday, January 28, 2007
  Oh muse, call me. Collect if you have to.
I'm deep in yet another rewrite of the draft for the third Felix Gomez novel. I like to think I'm close to finishing but everytime I go over the manuscript, it's, "What is this mess? It's not even fit to wrap fish."

I thought we writers had a muse to help us out. Mine must have been outsourced to Asia because I can't understand a thing she says.

When I think of the muse, this is what I imagine she looks like (pre-outsourcing).



Actually, this is the painting "Circe Invidiosa" by John Waterhouse. The muse gazes across her bowl of magic water and dares me not to write crap. She better have a lot of magic in that bowl. I like to think that writing is tapping into the supernatural creative spirit. Mostly though, it's more like making sausage.

If you like quirky angst about writing, check out Caitlin Kittredge's blog.

For all you creative types out there--writers, musicians, painters--how do you wrestle with the desire to make something great when your brain seems to fat finger everything?
 
Comments:
I'm sure its fit to wrap fish, assuming the fish has already gone bad.
 
Mario, I like to consider myself a seasoned photographer, well, up until I GOT MY DAMN ENLARGEMENTS BACK FROM THE LAB!! My fault, not their's. I neglected to calibrate my new computer monitor so the contrast and saturations would be true. I love to forget about those things so I can just flush money down the damn drain on under exposed enlargements!!!!
 
My technique has always been to just give the writing space and let the muse calm down from whatever's pissed her off. Or at least, that's what I did when I was just writing books on my own time. With real live deadlines now, she and I might have to have a little talk.
 
I thought we in your critique group were your muses-- we tell you not to write crap all the time! :-)
 
Physical activity (take a walk?) shoots adrenaline throughout the body so the muse can sneak in the side door ... or so I've heard.

For me, when the muse has taken a powder, I refocus using music. I start putting together a soundtrack for the book. My werewolf book has a mixture of the Lakehouse sound track, the Eagles, Sting and Jim Brickman. My London West End vampire story gets an eclectic soundtrack, musicals like "La Cage aux Folles" and "Wicked," Al DiMeola guitar music, Dave Grusin, and a little Nora Jones. When I need something to instill "action" in what I'm writing, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" soundtrack gives me a fight scene no matter what I'm working on.

Of course, I'm still pre-published so ..... maybe I'm spending too much time playing with the music. *LOL*
 
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