Do you have a Muse?

[Brutal_One]

I have been writing erotic fiction for many years. Principally Extreme BDSM. I have not published in Literotica yet but 2 pending stories. One is actually in the Fan Celebrity category (still BDSM) but there was this one Celebrity who after writing the story became something of a real Muse for me. Meaning the majority of my writing either has her as a central character or she is the inspiration for other stories.

The question is do any of you other authors have a Muse, and if so whom and what does it translate into the stories you write?

Brutal One

 

[vanmyers86]

Not a conscious one. Stories pop into.my head and I do my best to write them down.

You should check out Bramblethorn's avatar, though. It's hilarious and speaks to your question.

 

[KeithD]

Yes, I have a muse that's inventive, prolific, and insistent. If it didn't also work out much of the theme and plotting before informing me "we" have a story to write, I'd drown it in a pond.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Not as such. My stories tend to be inspired by people of my acquaintance: what if X was more like Y and had been through the experiences of Z, and then they met A...

A slight giveaway is that my characters often end up being named in alphabetical order during initial drafts. Some keep them. Maybe Alice and Bob will get together, eventually...

 

[SimonDoom]

Not exactly. My story ideas and characters are influenced and inspired in some ways by real women I have known, but I wouldn't call them muses.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

Muse or accomplice?

 

[Damoiselle]

Kind of. I mean, my partner does inspire me a lot, but I need movies and songs to make this storytelling thing work

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

Kind of. I mean, my partner does inspire me a lot, but I need movies and songs to make this storytelling thing work

I still love his stew analogy!

 

[Bramblethorn]

Not a conscious one. Stories pop into.my head and I do my best to write them down.

You should check out Bramblethorn's avatar, though. It's hilarious and speaks to your question.

Source:

https://www.oglaf.com/blank-page/
https://www.oglaf.com/muse/

 

[Damoiselle]

I still love his stew analogy!

He's really good at puns too. He just churns them out at a rate I'm super jealous of. He's like Ted from Schitt's Creek...but a lot less wholesome.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

Because people are always bellerin' in PMs and reviews about what I need to do next in a story, or else.

My Muses are finding it very crowded and feel threatened, they told me so.

Think of the 1964 movie 'Zulu', which I believe was Michael Caine's first big role. In the movie, which concerns the Battle of Rorke's Drift, 150 mostly drunken Welsh soldiers must fight off 4,000 Zulus, wave-after-wave of crazed warriors and their terrifying battle-cries.

And after each assault, the British soldiers are forced a little farther back into their compound, getting more cramped and desperate.

And this is how my Muses say they are feeling, with the relentless press of unbidden voices.

This does, of course (for me, anyway), bring on images of young Greek maidens in diaphanous robes, holding a perimeter of burlap sacks while firing Martini-Henry rifles at oncoming hordes of thirsty smut readers, calling out for ammo and singing 'Men of Harlech'.

That's SO going in my parody story.

Now, granted, I don't have 150 Muses, nor do I have 4,000 Smut-Zulus to fight off, but the principle applies. It's somewhat irksome to get peoples demanding "DO THIS WITH THESE CHARACTERS I LIKE OR I'LL HATE YOU FOREVER AND GIVE YOU ONLY 1'S!!!" and other peoples shrieking "IF YOU DO THIS I'LL HATE YOU FOREVER AND NEVER READ YOU AGAIN AND GIVE YOU ONLY 1'S!!!"

And yes, I have indeed invoked the Ivan Drago Clause of 'I WRITE FOR ME!' on many occasions, but I freely admit, I'm happy to receive feedback and constructive criticism. Unfortunatement, you cannot get those things in PM or as Comments, without also enduring the screeching demands of the parched and thirsty mob.

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Calliope: (leaning on sacks and shooting at Smut-Zulus) "Dammit! I'm out of ammo! Erato! Where the Hades is the box with the ammunition in it?!"

Erato: (looking up from nearby while between Terpsichore's thighs, her chin glistening) "Iono."

Calliope: "YOU'RE ON AMMO DUTY, YOU DEMIURGIC DUMBASS! QUIT CHOWING DOWN AND BRING ME BULLETS!!!"

Thalia: (calling out) "They're attacking a different wall now!"

Calliope: "Which wall?"

Thalia: "The Fourth Wall!"

*ba-dum-tsssss!*

Aoide: (drunk and singing atop the sack wall) "Men of Harlech, lie ye dreaming, can't ye see their falchions gleaming!"

(she stops singing as a broad-bladed spear punches through her torso. She looks down in at the gory red hole in astonishment, reaching in and wiggling her fingers out her back)

Calliope: "WELL DONE, GENIUS! THAT DRESS WAS A RENTAL! THE DRY-CLEANING COMES OUT OF YOUR PAY!!!"

Melpomene: (sobbing and reloading) "We don't get paid, we're Muses! We just suffer! Everything is tragedy and suffering!"

Rhodia: (firing her rifle) "You really need to stop hanging out and having casual sex with Sophocles, dude. You're not even his mom."

Smut-Zulus: (storming over the wall) "ZULUZULUZULUZULUZULUZULU!"

Calliope: *frantic* "BAYONETS!!!!"

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Okay, not sure where all of that came from, but perhaps it is in some twisted way indicative of how my Muses feel- 1) about being stuck in my head as MY Muses, and 2) how annoyed they are by the people constantly PMing and bitching about what I need to do next. I have a big skull, but there's not THAT much lease space.

I think I was venting about free smut consumers capriciously making demands. Me being me, I need to make it funny. So let's run with that.

This is what happens when I'm isolated and bored and get annoyed about PMs and Comments.

Keep your stick on the ice!

 

[Blind_Justice]

My lady love and I share some sort of weird creative symbiosis. I'm not exaggerating when I'm crediting her in my notes for inspiration and critique - I may come up with ideas, she flogs me until these ideas are fully realized. For example, my idea for "Nikym's Predicament" basically was a steamy elf-on-half-dragon sex scene. When my lady love read the first draft, she said "and how did he get there?" A few iterations later, I ended up with another cautionary tale about wishes gone wrong. The monster in the cellar is her idea as well.

Or in my latest, "Express Delivery", she felt the ending didn't provide enough resolution. If I had my say, the story would have ended on a cliffhanger (second wormhole jump), but my dear better half demanded I give everyone their due. About 15k words later, she got what she wanted. I'm pretty sure most of my red H's are due to her interference and insistence I can always do better.

 

[Brutal_One]

It’s great to hear that some of you credit your own Muse. And no it’s not an accomplice. Kudos to BiscuitHammer for the Tirade and the list of the classic muses with Calliope, Erato, Polyhymnia or Thalia maybe most relevant.

Don’t feel absurd also to call on any of these tropes if you need them for inspiration. Or if like me you do have your own then treasure them.

Also as another reference Neil Gaiman of The Sandman and American Gods fame writes cleverly in one of the Sandman stories that it was a Muse who gave Shakespeare his ideas.

That may be another thread topic too. What Shakespear work is most like your current or greatest story. I trust arrogance does not lead you to suggest the answer is none. Back to Gaiman remember Lucien already has all your stories past, present and future in his library.

Brutal One

 

[BiscuitHammer]

Also as another reference Neil Gaiman of The Sandman and American Gods fame writes cleverly in one of the Sandman stories that it was a Muse who gave Shakespeare his ideas.

Brutal One

American Gods. Hah! I worked on Season 1 of that show...

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

It’s great to hear that some of you credit your own Muse. And no it’s not an accomplice. Kudos to BiscuitHammer for the Tirade and the list of the classic muses with Calliope, Erato, Polyhymnia or Thalia maybe most relevant...

Well, "accomplice" was a joke, but why isn't a muse an accomplice? Does the muse not aid and abet in the commission of writing?

 

[Blind_Justice]

American Gods. Hah! I worked on Season 1 of that show...

And don't forget Good Omens, ye heathens!

Shakespeare may be a big shot in the English-speaking world, but as a German I can feign limited ignorance. The only Shakespeare I've read/seen/experienced was a rather weird rendition of Julius Caesar - with all actors dressed like Wall Street yuppies and big JayCee being shot with a gun. Strange that. Oh, and the Animaniacs doing that Three Witches thing. But that's it for me and Willy. I should have read Goethe, but our German teacher insisted we do Fontane instead. Didn't read that either, too busy reading Lovecraft at the time. HP, not 68

 

[KeithD]

Well, "accomplice" was a joke, but why isn't a muse an accomplice? Does the muse not aid and abet in the commission of writing?

More a task master than an accomplice for some of us.

 

[sweetdreamssss]

I'm my own muse as I write myself into my stories. Some of my stories are semi fictional where I overblown an incident of mine. I tried to write 2 series as third person and I'm finding it tough to write as I feel disconnected from the characters.

However,I'm the Muse of Russ who goes by rustyoznail and he liked my characters in my landlord series that he developed a story where the main character (me) travels to Australia and meets a local Aussie white boy named Russ.

He is yet to complete it but I'm helping him in fleshing out the difference between the Indian and Aussie culture.

You might see them soon for the summer story contest.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

More a task master than an accomplice for some of us.

That reminds me of characters who are just champing at the bit to get out or get to their next part of the story, or refusing to conform to the plot. If they're going to get all bossy about it, they should stop the backseat writing and do it their own damned selves.

 

[TxRad]

That reminds me of characters who are just champing at the bit to get out or get to their next part of the story, or refusing to conform to the plot. If they're going to get all bossy about it, they should stop the backseat writing and do it their own damned selves.

Characters write more stories than you might believe. Especially good solid characters.

My Muse is based on the old redheaded lady with black stockings and high heels from the old Playboy jokes page. (Yes, my memory is long) Add in a lot of pictures and you have my main Muses. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In my case, it's a whole lot more than that.

 

[ElectricBlue]

That reminds me of characters who are just champing at the bit to get out or get to their next part of the story, or refusing to conform to the plot. If they're going to get all bossy about it, they should stop the backseat writing and do it their own damned selves.

I depend on my characters to do exactly that - demand to be written. I don't bother with pre-conceived plots for that reason. They stand, impatiently drumming their fingers on the table, when I try to ignore them. Funnily enough, I know exactly the colour of their nail polish, even if it doesn't make it into the story .

 

[Brutal_One]

Well, "accomplice" was a joke, but why isn't a muse an accomplice? Does the muse not aid and abet in the commission of writing?

Ha we dance with words. Accepted! The dictionary definitions would be stricter. There is after all one author.

 

[Brutal_One]

And don't forget Good Omens, ye heathens!

Shakespeare may be a big shot in the English-speaking world, but as a German I can feign limited ignorance. The only Shakespeare I've read/seen/experienced was a rather weird rendition of Julius Caesar - with all actors dressed like Wall Street yuppies and big JayCee being shot with a gun. Strange that. Oh, and the Animaniacs doing that Three Witches thing. But that's it for me and Willy. I should have read Goethe, but our German teacher insisted we do Fontane instead. Didn't read that either, too busy reading Lovecraft at the time. HP, not 68

Lovecraft is class. When people say it’s all Greek anyway the classics have a huge part. The Philosopher’s have a lot to answer for. Isn’t it all solved already!

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

And don't forget Good Omens, ye heathens!

Shakespeare may be a big shot in the English-speaking world, but as a German I can feign limited ignorance. The only Shakespeare I've read/seen/experienced was a rather weird rendition of Julius Caesar - with all actors dressed like Wall Street yuppies and big JayCee being shot with a gun. Strange that. Oh, and the Animaniacs doing that Three Witches thing. But that's it for me and Willy. I should have read Goethe, but our German teacher insisted we do Fontane instead. Didn't read that either, too busy reading Lovecraft at the time. HP, not 68

I'm not a tremendous Shakespeare fan, so forgive me if I say the Animaniacs did MacBeth best. They did entertaining "translations" of Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, too. And now I've got Yakko's voice in my head. Argghh!

 

[UsuallyPresent]

-snip-
Now, granted, I don't have 150 Muses, nor do I have 4,000 Smut-Zulus to fight off, but the principle applies.

ROFL! I wish I had that good a ratio!

-snip-
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Calliope: (leaning on sacks and shooting at Smut-Zulus) "Dammit! I'm out of ammo! Erato! Where the Hades is the box with the ammunition in it?!"

Erato: (looking up from nearby while between Terpsichore's thighs, her chin glistening) "Iono."

Calliope: "YOU'RE ON AMMO DUTY, YOU DEMIURGIC DUMBASS! QUIT CHOWING DOWN AND BRING ME BULLETS!!!"

Thalia: (calling out) "They're attacking a different wall now!"

Calliope: "Which wall?"

Thalia: "The Fourth Wall!"

*ba-dum-tsssss!*

Aoide: (drunk and singing atop the sack wall) "Men of Harlech, lie ye dreaming, can't ye see their falchions gleaming!"

(she stops singing as a broad-bladed spear punches through her torso. She looks down in at the gory red hole in astonishment, reaching in and wiggling her fingers out her back)

Calliope: "WELL DONE, GENIUS! THAT DRESS WAS A RENTAL! THE DRY-CLEANING COMES OUT OF YOUR PAY!!!"

Melpomene: (sobbing and reloading) "We don't get paid, we're Muses! We just suffer! Everything is tragedy and suffering!"

Rhodia: (firing her rifle) "You really need to stop hanging out and having casual sex with Sophocles, dude. You're not even his mom."

Smut-Zulus: (storming over the wall) "ZULUZULUZULUZULUZULUZULU!"

Calliope: *frantic* "BAYONETS!!!!"

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You missed a couple opportunities. The SmutZulus shouldn't be chanting 'Zulu', they should be chanting 'Fuck you'!, and they should call for dildos, not bayonets! (Yes, I'm playing into your stereotypical SmutZulu role... )

Okay, not sure where all of that came from,

Isn't that really the point? Ideas show up. From somewhere. Sometimes they're tied to a specific experience - this person, that book, the other song - but in my personal experience are much messier and less well defined - like this person if they'd written that book and used the plot of the other song in the critical point of the tale. At best, it's confusing, and I've generally given up trying to figure out where they come from, instead just getting 'em down in black & white so they can stop haunting twixt my ears...