(As a verb, to muse is to contemplate something. As a noun, it means a person — especially a woman — who is a source of artistic inspiration.)

I am a writer who spends more time thinking and talking about writing than actually doing it. I have a writing coach, a woo-woo yoga lady, a physical therapist, and several zoom groups, and I have been enjoying a creative writing class through Bellevue College. I am going on a writing retreat and creative arts camp where I will practice my art. Have you noticed? Coaching, retreating and talking about writing. When do I write? BINGO.  

Now I am committed to a 21-day writing challenge. I am already behind, being only on lesson two, and the class is on lesson six. We are told it is OK to take time and miss a few days. 

That would mean I can shelve it with the dozens of workbooks from previous workshops. I am going to do this. I completed lesson two last night. It is called “automatic writing.” No, not an automatic pen or keyboard. Automatic as in write and be open for inspiration. And it came. My muse did arrive. I did get inspiration!

I want to write about my mentors.  

When people ask me about my writing, I usually say it’s like Erma Bombeck or Nora Ephron. Here are some snippets of their writing.  

Erma Bombeck:

“Seize the moment. Remember the women on the ‘Titanic’ who waved off the dessert cart.” 

“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.”

“It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.” 

“Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.”

Nora Ephron:

“A successful parent raises a child who grows up and can pay for their own psychoanalysis.”

 “And then the dreams break into a million tiny pieces. The dream dies. Which leaves you with a choice: you can settle for reality, or you can go off, like a fool, and dream another dream.”

 “Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.”

 “My point of view happens to be faintly cynical or humorous—and that’s how I see things, and that’s how it comes out when I write it. It is not anything I am conscious of, though. A piece about a “heavy” subject can be written a little bit light, so the piece doesn’t seem quite as heavy. You’ve mainly got to trust yourself to write how you feel about something.”

See why those two are my muses? “…a woman who is a source of artistic inspiration…” Yes, I am inspired, and those Muses woke me up at 4 am, practically screaming at me to write. You can find many quotes online. So now I am up? Muses, take over.

My goal is to inspire you. 

Yes, you can start a new career whatever your age. Yes, you can take that trip you’ve been dreaming of even though you will go alone. Yes, you can go to a spa all by yourself and get renewed. Yes, you can get up and face another day.

That is my goal. I share with you that I don’t always meet it. There are days I do not want to get out of bed and face another day. I shudder to think I do this; one should not waste a day at my age. Shall I share with you what my kitchen looks like or the laundry? Boring. Right? 

But human. Isn’t that what this is about? I share with you the triumphs and tragedies. Well, not so much the tragedies. 

Not on Facebook anyway. Isn’t that where everything is sunny? Do you get a case of FOMO? I sure do. Are you on a riverboat on the Rhine? I’ve done that. Or are you with the love of your life and your family? (I miss that.)  

That’s it for me for today. My timer of required writing time just went off. Muses will appear another day. You are welcome to share mine.

Who are your muses? 

What do they tell you?