Here's to Muse

As readers of this blog may know, my ever-faithful muse packed up and left me at the beginning of my latest project. Not that it matters. I can write without my muse. Really. Don't look at me like that! I'm not lying.

So, while my Muse is on what I am beginning to suspect is a permanent hiatus to Greece (read, while the semester continues and I must devote my precious writing time to the slave-driver called Renaissance Drama), I've decided to feature the thoughts of a few prominent authors on the subject. Enjoy!

1) A very practical view on muse, if I do say so...

"Health is the first muse, and sleep is the condition to produce it."--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

2) He didn't think his regular muse was good enough. Sounds familiar.

"O! For a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention!"--Shakespeare

3) I think his muse must be related to mine...

"I would especially like to recourt the Muse of poetry, who ran off with the mailman four years ago, and drops me only a scribbled postcard from time to time." --John Updike

3rd Sort of Annual Stupendously Ultimate First Paragrah Contest, anyone?

As you may have inferred from my stupendously long title, I am an entrant in agent Nathan Bransford's 3rd Annual 1st Paragraph contest. And you thought I was going to say I liked big words and run-on titles, didn't you?

Any writers out there, I highly suggest entering the contest. It is a chance to get either a query or a partial critique from an energetic and competent literary agent.

I'm looking forward to seeing the results on this one even if I don't win. I'm just satisfied that my paragraph was posted on the first page of comments...

Yes, cough cough, it is that time of the year again...

If you will kindly note the date of my last post (August 23rd), you may correlate that date to the beginning of the school year. This is no coincidence.

Consider the last two sentences my excuse--or lack thereof--for my serious blog neglect. Thankfully, I have at least got some writing progress to show for it: I have reached the 20% mark on my mystery novel, I have conducted lots of research (I have read several genre books), and, I have written a short story featuring Sherlock Holmes and time travel which is pending publication in my campus literary journal the El Portal.

However, I have nothing whatsoever clever or enlightening to blog about today. Therefore, you should consider this your warning, or notification, that I will be attempting to post once more on a regular basis--be it "mundane" posts on the intricacies of Renaissance Drama, or relevant posts about mystery and writing in general.

Remember, I warned you...