Tag Archives: muse

HONOR TO THE MASTERS

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Honor To the Masters

“I love that story!  It’s my all time favorite!”  You have the story almost word for word, almost every dot of punctuation embedded in your heart, and you still can’t get enough of it.  You’ve probably read the book and seen the movie a thousand times a piece, and it still thrills you to the core.

There are a ton of reasons that particular story calls to you over and over. It could be the high concept, or a perfect plot with no loopholes. Maybe the voice is comfortable and striking at the same time. Maybe the world and the atmosphere bring you exactly the feel you are looking for, or any number of other traits of a great story.  But actually, it all boils down to plain good writing.

A master of words can take any theme, any plot (no matter how weak) and make it fascinating.  He can make you hear the words as if they fall out of his mouth.  She can set the tone in the first sentence, with the first couple of words on the page.  A master can weave a spell around you with very little effort, and you are helpless to break free until you see the words, “The End.”  And then you are left feeling lonely and know that it won’t be long before you must open that book and read it again.

These masters of the craft feed our desires to be just as good at writing as they are.

Study your favorite book and analyze exactly what it is that stays on the edge of your consciousness when the book is closed.  Then you can give them the ultimate homage by emulating their eloquence.

Congratulations.  You have just received a post card from the muse.

Nandy Ekle

Killing Me Softly

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Killing Me Softly

It’s that song!  You know the one I’m talking about.  When you hear it on the radio it commands your attention and pulls you in, ears first, then your head, followed by your soul.  It’s the words, the tune, the voice, the chords.  There’s just something about that song.

Music is a wonderful place to find a story. It’s not always obvious, in fact sometimes you have to dig for it.  But you know it’s there.  It’s hiding between the words and the notes.

Over and over you listen to the piece and over and over you fall into the score searching for the real story behind the lyrics. A single phrase fogs your imagination further and the mystery grows deeper.

Listen closely to your music and piece together the story.

Congratulations! You have just received a post card from the muse.

Nandy Ekle

The Moon

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Postcards From the Muse

The Moon

You’re riding in the car late at night.  The sky looks like black velvet with tiny rhinestones dotted around the darker inkblots of clouds.  You admire the dark shapes the clouds make and notice a bright sliver working its way out from under the edge of the blackest splotch in the sky.  The moon struggles for attention.

As you watch the contest, you notice that as the cloud moves at just the right angle, the illusion of a frowning brow is created over the face of the moon morphing it into a giant eye watching the earth below.  You can’t take your eyes away.  A fuzzy line of fog forms around the silver disk morphing the illusion further.  You suddenly feel certain that a being observes and takes notes of the night life on the planet.

Who or what does this eye belong to?  Does it spy on a crime taking place?  Has a lover’s tryst caught its attention?  And why does it choose to appear angry?  What story can you find here?

Congratulations.  You have just received a postcard from the muse.

Nandy Ekle

WELCOME

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Welcome –  Nandy Ekle

Homer, in Book I of The Odyssey:

“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns

driven time and again off course, once he had plundered

the hallowed heights of Troy.” (Robert Fagles translation, 1996)

Ideas

As a writer one question I hear all the time is, “Where do you get your ideas?” The theme of my part in this blog is to find all the writing ideas hiding in plain sight all around us. Think of those old hidden picture puzzles and all the objects hiding in the tree bark and grass blades, a face hiding in the wrinkles of a tablecloth, and the shadows which hide the most interesting pictures of all.  Finding ideas to write about is like that. You just have to sharpen your eyes and think outside of the norm.

Traveling Muse

Some of my writer friends and I have often complained and mourned during the dry times when our muses seem to leave us in the middle of a project without so much as a so-long, see you later. Ignoring the irony of the situation, we have actually written some very poetic and profound articles about life during a muse’s vacation. During these times, I occasionally receive extremely coded messages from my muse, but must wait for her reappearance to know what to do with it. This idea of a traveling muse brought the title for my part in this blog, and I am making the pact to stick with the theme.

Who am I?

My name is Nandy Ekle and I love to write horror, suspense, paranormal and humor, but I have also been known to dabble in a little fantasy and memoir.

Join Me

So join me in searching the postcards sent from the muse to find the cleverly hidden objects in her words.

Click on the author page above to connect with Nandy.