Though it was nice to go on vacation, the lack of internet really threw me. It appears that some people in Europe think that having internet flowing through the guest rooms is unhealthy. So while I was skiing and visiting my husband and friends, my muse decided to take a semi-vacation as well. But the minute I arrived back home, she started jumping all over the place.
I am a liner writer. I don’t like to write scenes out of order. I also research as I go along. So while I’m researching Innsbruck, Austria and the best route for my H/H to get to Nancy, France. My muse skipped a head to Nancy and insisted I write a scene that happens there. This caused some consternation on my part and digging in of the heels on the part of my muse.
So now I’ve written my hero’s black moment, (yes, I gave in) but I have no idea what he did to make everyone so angry with him. Things are going so well in Innsbruck. Oh, and somewhere along the line, his groom got married.
What do you do when your muse starts acting up?
Here is an excerpt. Huntley’s aunt, Horatia, has decided to take a hand in his romantic problems.
Shaking her head, Risher went to the wardrobe and took out one of the dressing gowns. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Horatia smiled wryly. “So do I.”
Several minutes later, she heard a door down the hall open and close again. Booted feet ran down the stairs and the muted sounds of people getting out of the way drifted up. Risher glanced at her and Horatia nodded. “It won’t be long now.” Taking a seat at her dressing table, she waited.
Horatia turned at the loud and insistent banging on her parlor door. She raised a brow at Risher and tried to keep her lips from twitching.
“Where is my wife?” Huntley roared.
Good Lord, he sounded just like his grandfather. “You may as well come in. I have no intention of holding a conversation with you through the door.”
The door slammed open and bounced against the wall. He stood in the door. Anger and concern warred in his darkened face. “Where is Caro? I searched all over the inn. She wouldn’t go anywhere without telling you.”
She raised a brow. “Caro has left.”
His jaw clenched. “When?”
Horatia glanced away from him and back into the mirror, signaling Risher to continue dressing her hair. “A few moments ago.”
He groaned and the sound of his boots echoed in the hall. “Well, maybe he’ll finally realize what he needs to do.”
“I certainly hope so, my lady,” Risher agreed. “I would like to see them settled before we leave for Paris.”
ellaquinnauthor
Ella Quinn ~ Author 
Great post! What do I do when my use starts acting up? I tend to tie her to the nearest chair and demand she dictate what I need to write. Otherwise she’d be running circles around my room and neither of us would get anything done.
LOL. I have a vision.
Go with it! Great post! Love it when my muse is talking and I always listen 🙂
Thanks, Jennifer. Writing backwards, oh my.
I give in as well, lol. Not a very good muse parent but sometimes you just got to get the words on paper, even an outline might help. In addition to this, sometimes it can help motivate you to write the previous scenes faster. I usually start off with a real rough draft so the rushed writing doesn’t bother me. Great post.
Outlines don’t work for me. I’m strictly a pantser.
“I have no intention of holding a conversation with you through the door.” Hilarious!
Loved the take on the muse as well.
Angelyn, Thank you.
Very nice post, Ella! Muses are devilishly tricky creatures, aren’t they?
I tend to be a bit of a pantser (can you be a BIT of a pantser?), and so it doesn’t bother me to write out of sequence. But usually I just throw it on a word doc, unconnected to the rest of the story. Or I record it on my iPhone recorder- my Muse likes to show up while I’m driving, lol! I find that the scene never makes it into the story the way I first imagine/write anyway. By the time I have progressed that far, it usually requires re-writing or major tweaking to fit in. But, it’s okay, because it gives me direction without a confining structure. Something to work toward without killing my creative flow, the way an detailed outline would. (And has!)
LOL. I’m a total pantser. I just like to write in a straight line and you’re right the sceen written ahead, always needs to be revised. Maybe that’s why she’s trying to get me to write backwards.
I’m currently wrestling with my muse as well. I’m a total panster and have always written out of order in the past, but it makes for a huge mess of editing when I finish the first draft. This time I’m trying to force a linear progression, but my muse is on strike and there are a lot fewer words going on the page.
LOL. You might just have to give in to her.
First, I love your excerpt. Second, muses can be nothing but a pain in butt. I’m like you, I do not like writing out of order. But, there have been certain scenes that have come to me so clear I had to write them down–*gasp* out of order.
Thank you. It’s so true about muses.
Awesome post! Ah–yes–good old muse. 🙂
Interesting about the lack of Internet in Europe. Hope you had a blast!
I did have a great time, but I have too many uber-health conscious friends.
I give in not always entirely. I’ll jot down notes–okay sometimes it turns out to be pages and pages of notes. Ha! When a good idea hits up along side of the head, you just gotta, get it down fast!
My muse and I have been on good terms recently. She skipped out on me when my current WIP was a mere baby. But I coaxed her back, and now the book is finished, and ready for me to edit it. So I gave a her some PTO.
Usually I’m pissing off my muse, and when that happens, my muse doesn’t talk to me. So then I have to grovel and figure out how to give in… So, just like you, we have to spoil our muses, don’t we? lol
We do.
Nice scene.
Maggie,
Thank you.