“O Muses, O
high genius, aid me now!
O memory that
engraved the things I saw,
Here shall
your worth be manifest to all!”
- Dante Alighieri,
in Canto II of The Inferno
"And so,
have them for yourself, whatever kind of book it is,
and whatever
sort, oh patron Muse
let it last
for more than one generation, eternally."
- Catullus in Carmen I*
I’ve always been a big fan of the Muses: Greek goddesses of
inspiration in music, literature, science, and art. According to mythology, the
nine goddesses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, each of which had a
specialization like Comedy (Thalia), Tragedy (Melpomene), Epic Poetry
(Calliope), and so on. The ancient
writers often prayed for inspiration from the Muses and credited them with their
success.
As modern-day writers, we often joke that our Muses give us too many plot ideas or, on occasion, leave us hanging in the wind. But the
reality is that our stories, whether inspired by a Greek deity or by personal
experiences, require effort on our part in order to actually breathe life. Inspiration
is the spark to create, but we are the ones who must then stoke the fire,
fanning the flames until we’re ready to present our words to the world. We’re
creatures of art that must sweat and toil in order to translate our vision from
an ethereal idea into a tangible product.
Writing is a hard journey. It’s a long, uphill climb to take
a concept, mold it, then polish it until it shines. Along the way, there are
plenty of speed bumps. Real life, work, kids, and any number of distractions
that threaten to slow us down. But eventually, if we’re tenacious, we can create
something great. Something that, like Catullus wrote, will leave a lasting
impression.
And the entire trip is one that starts with just a little inspiration.
So, what inspires you?
-Josh
*Note: Both quotes are courtesy of Wikipedia
Always nice to know more about the Muses! Mine loves purple and bling and she's demanding - I tend to be superstitious about her LOL. Good post!
ReplyDeleteDo you tithe purple bling to her, V? :D
DeleteMy inspirations tend to be the results of the muses: a striking photo or piece of art; a particularly atmospheric set of notes from a song. The only thing about writing that I could consider muse-inspired are single lines that come to me, unbidden, that have nothing (as far as I can tell) to do with what I'm doing or writing. And then they won't leave me until I write a story around them. That's a kind of divine magic. :)
Thanks for the quotes--it's nice to be reminded that everyone runs into inspiration issues. The surefire way for me to get inspired is to find a song that evokes the scene I'm trying to write and play it over and over and over (and over) until something sparks. Preferably while taking a long walk. ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's incredibly like what I do too. Wow.
DeleteSome of my muses are people, whose spirits resonate with me and reflect as characters in stories. Music is my biggest source of inspiration, since I have a form of synaesthesia - it helps me fantasise worlds and experience the emotions in my stories. I also am inspired by art and by folktales and legends.
ReplyDelete