Calliope the Muse

I like to say I have a muse, and her name is Calliope (Καλλιόπη). So many famous writers have mused about their muse. For me, the muse is shorthand for the cause of those lightning strikes of inspiration, large and small, that make a story magical to write and read. Where those strikes come from is a discussion for another time. A famous poet once talked about having nothing to write on when the muse hit. When this happens, and it happens to us all, it is maddening. For this reason, I am never without something to jot down notes.

“I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house … The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it … But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don’t know how many branches it’s going to have, they find out as it grows.” – George R.R. Martin.

I am definitely of the gardener variety, but first, I plan the hell out of every story. I research everything and then research some more to make sure every key element, place, theory, and idea are realistic and possible. I craft long bios for every character that extend well beyond the story. I craft detailed scene-by-scene outlines that are like beat sheets. I then pour it all into timelines.

After many hundreds of pages of background material, timelines, bios, scene summaries, outlines, and research are done, I finally start writing. It is not unusual for my background material to be longer than the story. In a very real sense, my background material is the soil in which I plant my seed, and the water is imagination.

I think most gardeners write stories that are character-driven. I certainly do. Early on, my characters start to come to life for me. Once that happens, things I never imagined start to take place, and things I carefully planned fall out of character. By the time I’ve typed The End, I have likely thrown out far more than half the scenes, the characters have evolved, and the scenes that remain have radically changed. Thus is the life of a gardener writer.

Calliope (Καλλιόπη) is the Greek muse of epic poetry. Calliope is also Dana’s and my miniature Schnoodle.

I know everyone says this about their puppy, but Calliope really is the sweetest smartest dog in the world. Judge for yourself. She was almost pure black when she came home with us, but then changed to gray as she aged as we all do. Like many muses, Calliope is wildly cute but also has a wild streak.