To Muse or not to Muse

Today we have Lola with us. She will try to explain how she keeps Barbie Jo Mahoney focused and writing.

MPV (Muse point of view)

Agent: Lola

Target:  Barbie Jo Mahoney, author

Mission: Get her to finish the damn book!

Hey, this is Lola, and I happen to be Barbie Jo’s muse. We’ve all been there, right? Our authors happily click away, feeding us fantastic food and beverages of choice, playing
the best music ever, there’s lots of chatter going on and we think we are home free.  And then it stops. No more clicking, no more music, no more creativity, no nothing.

And WE get blamed!!

How many times have you heard “My muse isn’t cooperating today” or “Ugh, my muse disappeared” and there’s the ever popular “How do I get my muse back?”

Technically, we haven’t gone anywhere…although a hammock in the tropics might be just the thing…Because you know what? Sometimes we need a break too.  When the going gets tough, the tough pull out the blender and whip up a batch of margaritas!

Do authors really think it’s easy trying to keep them on track? I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how authors can be persnickety and down-right stubborn, yet still we persevere to
help them and make their books sparkle. This is our mission and we will not falter. Well, we might take a hiatus from time to time, but hey, they bring it on themselves! (hence the reason why we need margaritas) If they would just listen when we’re trying to tell them something key about their work, everything would be fine. But noooo, they have to get all Prima-Dona-like and think the publishing world revolves around them and that they know what’s best.

Yeah, we all know how that goes, now don’t we? Once we shut the factory down…THEN they ‘get it’.  While if they would have listened from the get-go, everything would have worked out. There’s a method to our muse-ness and the author needs to hone in on that.

We muses understand our authors have lives. Barbie Jo has 3 active kids, an alpha husband and a lovable Labrador who tries to be the alpha when the big-guy travels. She has a day-job too, so her writing time can be pretty sparse. I’m trying to get her to take
advantage of any extra minute she has (even at work!) because a page is a page
no matter WHEN you get it done, which puts her closer to the magic words “the
end”.  For as easy going as Barbie Jo is, she can be a little on the selfish side and easily distracted. Once she’s off track, it’s hell getting her back on. She’s been working through a rough-patch and I’m happy to report after a little help from ME, she’s feeling her groove
coming back.

Barbie Jo has been working on a couple of e-books. Gamble on
Love and In the Name of Love will be ready and available in the very near future. Not to mention the fact she has her hand in some middle grade fiction and adult romance and cozy mysteries. My Barbie Jo, she’s a jack of all trades in the writing world. Patience is a
virtue and she should be a flippin’ saint!

So go forth fellow muses and push, prod, poke and cheer your authors! Let them know you care with a little time off for good behavior. Then crack the whip and put them back to
work. They have books to write and best seller lists to make!

Thanks to Lindsay for having us on the blog today. If you want to know how to find Barbie Jo, you can follow her on twitter @BarbieJoMahoney, check out her website: www.barbiejomahoney.com, or find her every Friday on www.mysteriesandmargaritasblogspot.com
.

Cheers,

Lola

Advertisement