Post by Hidden on Dec 28, 2009 20:18:15 GMT -5
INTRODUCTION
Either you're new to the concept of Muse, have no idea what it is, or hate your Muse thoroughly. Let's start with the basics, shall we?
What is a Muse? It's your inspiration. The thing that gives you ideas and lets you write. If you can't post, then your Muse is sick. If you're writing posts 1000 words long and are feeling very happy, then your Muse is feeling very fit. Your Muse is everything, and everything is your Muse.
Muse is very important to a role player or writer. You need it. Because it is so important, you must spend lots of time caring for it. But there is a technique to caring for your Muse. Actually, there are lots of different techniques, but not all are very effective. In this post I shall be teaching you all about Muse, how it works, how to care for it, and much, much more.
CHAPTER ONE
t h e M u s e
Imagine that Muse is a dog. It has a personality, it looks cute, needs lots of love and attention, and must be trained from birth. Everybody has a Muse, but not everybody has discovered theirs yet. Most people go their whole life writing books, and never once even getting a hint at their Muse. Other people go their whole life without writing and their Muse never gets a chance to be used. Only the lucky ones who stumble upon the world of role play ever really learn about Muse, and even then, some never hear the word.
When did you first hear about Muse? The very second that you understood what Muse was is when your Muse is truly born. From that moment on, your Muse becomes your life. You will rely on your Muse to be able to post, so your role play life depends on the mood swings of your Muse. Everybody's Muse has its own personality, which is shaped by it's training from birth. But most Muses have foul personalities and enjoy tormenting you - not allowing you to post when your forum needs activity, and torturing you by giving you tantalizing ideas for posting but not allowing you to put those ideas into words.
This is because the owners of those Muses have not trained their Muses, and so we shall call them "Feral Muses".
But some people consciously work on training their Muse - and so their Muse becomes much kinder and easier to manage. People with a well-trained Muse are very good at role playing, and they are also very active people because of it. We shall call these Muses, "Tamed Muses".
It is unknown exactly when the Muse was first discovered, but our best guess is that it started when the Internet became a resource for all. Specifically when forums and roleplaying was first discovered.
CHAPTER TWO
c a r e f u l !
Like any puppy, your Muse needs lots of loving attention. There are three types of Muse:
1) Pet-Muses - the Muse works for petting and love
2) Fud-Muses - the Muse only works for chocolate and nice foods
3) HC-Muses - Hopeless Case Muses don't work for anything. They're easy to keep, but almost completely useless.
Because there are three types of Muse, there are three methods of care. Let's start with the first.
Pet-Muses are the rarest Muse and are the result of a well-trained Muse. Assuming that it was the right training, of course. If your Muse loves you, it will work for you to be patted. Such Muses are fairly easy to keep - all they require is for you to have a very easy lifestyle. Generally only people with lots of time on their hands and living a very serene lifestyle can keep this kind of Muse. This is because all attention given to your Muse must first be given to you. This is because your Muses moods are based around your own mood. If you feel happy and relaxed, so will your Muse. Taking a stroll through the park and thinking about the post you want to write is like taking your dog for a walk and talking with him - he likes it and it makes him feel loved. When your Muse does something right (such as helping you write an excellent post), then be sure to reward it by taking it for a walk or something nice like that.
If you feel happy, so will your Pet-Muse.
Fud-Muses are easier to keep than Pet-Muses. Fud-Muses work for food, and so often you will find that you write better after or while eating something. These are more common Muses because they are easy to keep. If you expect to make a good post, then the best thing is to eat something - this will make your Fud-Muse happy and will allow you to make a good post.
HC-Muses are nearly useless. Basically all newbies start out with an HC-Muse - it's like the lowest class Muse. HC-Muses don't work for anything because they are for beginners. As the beginner gets better, her Muse may upgrade to a Fud or Pet-Muse. If it doesn't, then it will always remain an HC-Muse but might be marginally more helpful. Marginally. These Muses require no upkeep, and although they are reliable, they are extremely boring, slow and indifferent.
CHAPTER THREE
t h e B a s i c s
Although you may have a Fud-Muse or an HC-Muse or a Pet-Muse, they all require basic upkeep. Except perhaps for the HC-Muse.
All Muses need the basics, such as regular food, exercise and attention. However, the sorts of basics that the Muse receives affect the Muses behavior and personality. A Muse that is given junk-food all the time will be less happy than a Muse who eats healthy. A Muse that sits in front of the computer all day will be less happy than a Muse who exercises regularly. A Muse who does not socialize enough simply won't be happy.
So eat healthy, exercise regularly and socialize and your Muse will be much happier.
But it also requires other things. All Muses have their healthy and unhealthy times, but the thing about Muses is that their health is very erratic. One minute your Muse will be as healthy as an olympic runner, and the next it will be sick as anything. During these times, it is important to remember yourself.
If your Muse is feeling very elated and happy and you're creating posts up to 3500 words long, then stop! Keep your word count steady and keep ideas swirling in your head, else your Muse will very suddenly lose all ideas and die. So long as you keep ideas in your head and don't get carried away, your Muse will remain healthy for longer.
But when it's feeling very unhealthy, that's another matter. During these times you must be very wary of your Muse, and take your time. At these times you must be kinder to your Muse, keeping your posts short. To keep your word counts up, you should reread your posts and work on them bit by bit. It may take you a few days to write a 500 word post at these times, but so long as you take it easy your Muse will be healthy again in no time.
Be careful with your Muses health and fitness - it is very fragile.
CHAPTER FOUR
t r a i n i n g
The only way to get a Tamed Muse is to train it from birth, lest it become a Feral Muse. Of course, you can always start training at a later date, but the longer you leave the training, the harder it will be in the future. Most newbies discover their Muse but just consider it to be their inspiration to write stories - this is not true! Muses are beings that live inside of you and require upkeep to help them grow. Your Muse grows as you grow - or more specifically, as your roleplay level gets higher, so your Muse grows with it.
Training requires three things:
1) it requires you to learn how to Roleplay
2) it requires you to learn more about your Muse
3) it requires you to work on shaping your Muse to your best interests
Firstly, lets look at the first aspect of training your Muse. The first step when you first discover your Muse is to increase the level of your roleplaying. Most newbies start out writing one-liners with excessive chatspeak, terrible spelling and no regard for Netiquette. In order for these people to begin training their Muse, they must first begin raising their RP level. They do this by joining a forum and learning from more experienced role players - this is also where a beginner can learn more about Muse. As they raise their level and get better, their Muse becomes better along with them. But it also becomes more moody.
Thus we move to step two.
Learning about your Muse. You learn more about your Muse by looking at your own habits as well as by trial and error. If chocolate makes you feel happy and gives you ideas for writing, then this is one way to influence your Muse. However, just using chocolate all the time certainly won't work, so you try other things. Putting yourself into a specific mood works a treat when writing and helps give you ideas - all Muses like music! After all, it was named after them - MUSic
However, every Muse has it's own particular favourite. My Muse can be very moody at times, and I have found that going for a walk with my mother and the dogs helps. My Muse is a Pet-Muse, in that it is nicer when it gets attention rather than food.
Your Muse might be a little stranger, and it will help you get ideas if you go into the bathroom and brush your hair or teeth. Others might get ideas from lying back on the bed in a patch of sunlight with a brown teddy-bear in your arms. Things that make you relaxed or happy will give you more Muse. Don't stress yourself out - it only stresses out your Muse and thus you have no ideas for writing. Try it out - I'll bet you that you write better and have more ideas when your happy rather than stressed out or sad.
Once you have your Muse nailed, you can begin the next step.
Actually training your Muse. Once you know all about your Muse and everything about your own habits, you can start shaping it. Of course, this is very difficult to do and even more difficult to put into writing. If your Muse loves chocolate and teddy-bears, use those to your advantage. If it loves those things, then your Muse loves relaxing and feeling happy. So use that to your advantage by keeping yourself in that state of mind. Cleaning your room leaves you with a sense of accomplishment, and you feel much happier in a clean room. Write while you're cleaning, and you'll feel good.
Helping your parents with the housework is another good idea. Wash the dishes and help put away washed clothes, do some vacuuming and tidy up the bookshelf. At first you may not like the idea of doing these things, but that's only because you're told to do them. If you choose to do these things, you can enjoy them much more, and the job is done better.
Keeping yourself happy and contented in these ways not only improves your life, but it also improves your writing and your Muse. Your Muse takes after you - remember that. It moves with your mood. So if you stay happy, it will remain happy and obliging. The first step to training your Muse is to train yourself.
If your Muse is very moody indeed and rather erratic, but loves you listening to rock music, then your personality will be more like your Muse's personality. But when your Muse likes you to feel angry or sad or to listen to depressing music about rape and drugs and suicide, then please don't oblige it. Try and change, for my sake and for your parents and friends and especially to help your Muse! Your Muse won't appreciate it, but you must train your Muse and don't let it train you! Your Muse may try to punish you for it, but eventually it will have to give in and submit to your will. Try listening to music from Japanese Anime such as Kaze no Machi he or I Talk to the Rain, or even Ship of Fools. These songs from Anime can be very depressing, but generally they are bouncy very fun songs, usually without much singing. If they have singing, it will usually be in japanese with a touch of random english here and there. This will help to brighten your mood, especially when played in the background while you read, write or help around the house.
Using these things will help you to train your Muse to be more obedient and easy. You'll be happier overall with a well-trained Muse, and your Muse will be happier too.
CHAPTER FIVE
p e r s o n a l i t i e s
Your Muse has it's own personality. Whether that personality be bright and bubbly or dark and morbid, it is your Muse itself. Your Muses' personality is what guides your style of writing. If your writing is very bright and funny and cheery, then that is what your Muse is like. If your writing is very descriptive and you like to state your mind in your writing, then that is what your Muse is like.
Everybody has their own style of writing. What strikes people is where they get their style from. You develop your style by reading - if you read lots, your style will be made up of a bit of every style. If you only read a little, then your style will mostly take after your own mood and your favourite book. If you don't read at all, then your style will be completely useless. Some people come into the world of roleplay as experts from the beginning - these are people who love to read and write, and are usually very intellectual people. The majority of people will come into this world using chatspeak and writing one-liners - these people will be the type who hate reading. But they can be taught to develop their own style by them reading other peoples posts and by being helped along by experts.
In the end, you shape your Muses' personality. It is based off your life and what you read, more than anything, and it is your Muse that rules your role play life.
But a Muses' mood is another thing altogether. Everybody has their good days and their bad days. And their writing, no matter what the style, will always reflect this. If you come home in a bad mood, it puts everybody else into a bad mood - especially your Muse. Thus, your writing will reflect your mood. If you go home in a sky-high mood, that mood reflects back from everybody - including your Muse. And thus your writing will be much better and happier than usual. This is why stimulants such as music and such are so important to a roleplayer - this way, they can put themselves into the correct mood for roleplaying, as well as their Muses' mood, and they can write in the way that reflects the correct mood for that post.
In every way, your Muse is based off you.
Especially in your feelings. If you get very attached to a character, then so will your Muse. It would tear you apart to kill that character, and this is why people can be so thrown about in the world of roleplay. It is not your Muse that makes you sad, but your Muse communicates that back to you and to your writing. This is why people write so well when they're upset about their character. If they are writing their last post with that character, and the writer is in tears, then this emotion will be communicated strongly. If the person is very good at roleplaying, they can even communicate this mood to other members of the forum, and thus other members may cry as well. Beginners usually just write sop-stories that just sound petty instead of sad.
Either you're new to the concept of Muse, have no idea what it is, or hate your Muse thoroughly. Let's start with the basics, shall we?
What is a Muse? It's your inspiration. The thing that gives you ideas and lets you write. If you can't post, then your Muse is sick. If you're writing posts 1000 words long and are feeling very happy, then your Muse is feeling very fit. Your Muse is everything, and everything is your Muse.
Muse is very important to a role player or writer. You need it. Because it is so important, you must spend lots of time caring for it. But there is a technique to caring for your Muse. Actually, there are lots of different techniques, but not all are very effective. In this post I shall be teaching you all about Muse, how it works, how to care for it, and much, much more.
CHAPTER ONE
t h e M u s e
Imagine that Muse is a dog. It has a personality, it looks cute, needs lots of love and attention, and must be trained from birth. Everybody has a Muse, but not everybody has discovered theirs yet. Most people go their whole life writing books, and never once even getting a hint at their Muse. Other people go their whole life without writing and their Muse never gets a chance to be used. Only the lucky ones who stumble upon the world of role play ever really learn about Muse, and even then, some never hear the word.
When did you first hear about Muse? The very second that you understood what Muse was is when your Muse is truly born. From that moment on, your Muse becomes your life. You will rely on your Muse to be able to post, so your role play life depends on the mood swings of your Muse. Everybody's Muse has its own personality, which is shaped by it's training from birth. But most Muses have foul personalities and enjoy tormenting you - not allowing you to post when your forum needs activity, and torturing you by giving you tantalizing ideas for posting but not allowing you to put those ideas into words.
This is because the owners of those Muses have not trained their Muses, and so we shall call them "Feral Muses".
But some people consciously work on training their Muse - and so their Muse becomes much kinder and easier to manage. People with a well-trained Muse are very good at role playing, and they are also very active people because of it. We shall call these Muses, "Tamed Muses".
It is unknown exactly when the Muse was first discovered, but our best guess is that it started when the Internet became a resource for all. Specifically when forums and roleplaying was first discovered.
CHAPTER TWO
c a r e f u l !
Like any puppy, your Muse needs lots of loving attention. There are three types of Muse:
1) Pet-Muses - the Muse works for petting and love
2) Fud-Muses - the Muse only works for chocolate and nice foods
3) HC-Muses - Hopeless Case Muses don't work for anything. They're easy to keep, but almost completely useless.
Because there are three types of Muse, there are three methods of care. Let's start with the first.
Pet-Muses are the rarest Muse and are the result of a well-trained Muse. Assuming that it was the right training, of course. If your Muse loves you, it will work for you to be patted. Such Muses are fairly easy to keep - all they require is for you to have a very easy lifestyle. Generally only people with lots of time on their hands and living a very serene lifestyle can keep this kind of Muse. This is because all attention given to your Muse must first be given to you. This is because your Muses moods are based around your own mood. If you feel happy and relaxed, so will your Muse. Taking a stroll through the park and thinking about the post you want to write is like taking your dog for a walk and talking with him - he likes it and it makes him feel loved. When your Muse does something right (such as helping you write an excellent post), then be sure to reward it by taking it for a walk or something nice like that.
If you feel happy, so will your Pet-Muse.
Fud-Muses are easier to keep than Pet-Muses. Fud-Muses work for food, and so often you will find that you write better after or while eating something. These are more common Muses because they are easy to keep. If you expect to make a good post, then the best thing is to eat something - this will make your Fud-Muse happy and will allow you to make a good post.
HC-Muses are nearly useless. Basically all newbies start out with an HC-Muse - it's like the lowest class Muse. HC-Muses don't work for anything because they are for beginners. As the beginner gets better, her Muse may upgrade to a Fud or Pet-Muse. If it doesn't, then it will always remain an HC-Muse but might be marginally more helpful. Marginally. These Muses require no upkeep, and although they are reliable, they are extremely boring, slow and indifferent.
CHAPTER THREE
t h e B a s i c s
Although you may have a Fud-Muse or an HC-Muse or a Pet-Muse, they all require basic upkeep. Except perhaps for the HC-Muse.
All Muses need the basics, such as regular food, exercise and attention. However, the sorts of basics that the Muse receives affect the Muses behavior and personality. A Muse that is given junk-food all the time will be less happy than a Muse who eats healthy. A Muse that sits in front of the computer all day will be less happy than a Muse who exercises regularly. A Muse who does not socialize enough simply won't be happy.
So eat healthy, exercise regularly and socialize and your Muse will be much happier.
But it also requires other things. All Muses have their healthy and unhealthy times, but the thing about Muses is that their health is very erratic. One minute your Muse will be as healthy as an olympic runner, and the next it will be sick as anything. During these times, it is important to remember yourself.
If your Muse is feeling very elated and happy and you're creating posts up to 3500 words long, then stop! Keep your word count steady and keep ideas swirling in your head, else your Muse will very suddenly lose all ideas and die. So long as you keep ideas in your head and don't get carried away, your Muse will remain healthy for longer.
But when it's feeling very unhealthy, that's another matter. During these times you must be very wary of your Muse, and take your time. At these times you must be kinder to your Muse, keeping your posts short. To keep your word counts up, you should reread your posts and work on them bit by bit. It may take you a few days to write a 500 word post at these times, but so long as you take it easy your Muse will be healthy again in no time.
Be careful with your Muses health and fitness - it is very fragile.
CHAPTER FOUR
t r a i n i n g
The only way to get a Tamed Muse is to train it from birth, lest it become a Feral Muse. Of course, you can always start training at a later date, but the longer you leave the training, the harder it will be in the future. Most newbies discover their Muse but just consider it to be their inspiration to write stories - this is not true! Muses are beings that live inside of you and require upkeep to help them grow. Your Muse grows as you grow - or more specifically, as your roleplay level gets higher, so your Muse grows with it.
Training requires three things:
1) it requires you to learn how to Roleplay
2) it requires you to learn more about your Muse
3) it requires you to work on shaping your Muse to your best interests
Firstly, lets look at the first aspect of training your Muse. The first step when you first discover your Muse is to increase the level of your roleplaying. Most newbies start out writing one-liners with excessive chatspeak, terrible spelling and no regard for Netiquette. In order for these people to begin training their Muse, they must first begin raising their RP level. They do this by joining a forum and learning from more experienced role players - this is also where a beginner can learn more about Muse. As they raise their level and get better, their Muse becomes better along with them. But it also becomes more moody.
Thus we move to step two.
Learning about your Muse. You learn more about your Muse by looking at your own habits as well as by trial and error. If chocolate makes you feel happy and gives you ideas for writing, then this is one way to influence your Muse. However, just using chocolate all the time certainly won't work, so you try other things. Putting yourself into a specific mood works a treat when writing and helps give you ideas - all Muses like music! After all, it was named after them - MUSic
However, every Muse has it's own particular favourite. My Muse can be very moody at times, and I have found that going for a walk with my mother and the dogs helps. My Muse is a Pet-Muse, in that it is nicer when it gets attention rather than food.
Your Muse might be a little stranger, and it will help you get ideas if you go into the bathroom and brush your hair or teeth. Others might get ideas from lying back on the bed in a patch of sunlight with a brown teddy-bear in your arms. Things that make you relaxed or happy will give you more Muse. Don't stress yourself out - it only stresses out your Muse and thus you have no ideas for writing. Try it out - I'll bet you that you write better and have more ideas when your happy rather than stressed out or sad.
Once you have your Muse nailed, you can begin the next step.
Actually training your Muse. Once you know all about your Muse and everything about your own habits, you can start shaping it. Of course, this is very difficult to do and even more difficult to put into writing. If your Muse loves chocolate and teddy-bears, use those to your advantage. If it loves those things, then your Muse loves relaxing and feeling happy. So use that to your advantage by keeping yourself in that state of mind. Cleaning your room leaves you with a sense of accomplishment, and you feel much happier in a clean room. Write while you're cleaning, and you'll feel good.
Helping your parents with the housework is another good idea. Wash the dishes and help put away washed clothes, do some vacuuming and tidy up the bookshelf. At first you may not like the idea of doing these things, but that's only because you're told to do them. If you choose to do these things, you can enjoy them much more, and the job is done better.
Keeping yourself happy and contented in these ways not only improves your life, but it also improves your writing and your Muse. Your Muse takes after you - remember that. It moves with your mood. So if you stay happy, it will remain happy and obliging. The first step to training your Muse is to train yourself.
If your Muse is very moody indeed and rather erratic, but loves you listening to rock music, then your personality will be more like your Muse's personality. But when your Muse likes you to feel angry or sad or to listen to depressing music about rape and drugs and suicide, then please don't oblige it. Try and change, for my sake and for your parents and friends and especially to help your Muse! Your Muse won't appreciate it, but you must train your Muse and don't let it train you! Your Muse may try to punish you for it, but eventually it will have to give in and submit to your will. Try listening to music from Japanese Anime such as Kaze no Machi he or I Talk to the Rain, or even Ship of Fools. These songs from Anime can be very depressing, but generally they are bouncy very fun songs, usually without much singing. If they have singing, it will usually be in japanese with a touch of random english here and there. This will help to brighten your mood, especially when played in the background while you read, write or help around the house.
Using these things will help you to train your Muse to be more obedient and easy. You'll be happier overall with a well-trained Muse, and your Muse will be happier too.
CHAPTER FIVE
p e r s o n a l i t i e s
Your Muse has it's own personality. Whether that personality be bright and bubbly or dark and morbid, it is your Muse itself. Your Muses' personality is what guides your style of writing. If your writing is very bright and funny and cheery, then that is what your Muse is like. If your writing is very descriptive and you like to state your mind in your writing, then that is what your Muse is like.
Everybody has their own style of writing. What strikes people is where they get their style from. You develop your style by reading - if you read lots, your style will be made up of a bit of every style. If you only read a little, then your style will mostly take after your own mood and your favourite book. If you don't read at all, then your style will be completely useless. Some people come into the world of roleplay as experts from the beginning - these are people who love to read and write, and are usually very intellectual people. The majority of people will come into this world using chatspeak and writing one-liners - these people will be the type who hate reading. But they can be taught to develop their own style by them reading other peoples posts and by being helped along by experts.
In the end, you shape your Muses' personality. It is based off your life and what you read, more than anything, and it is your Muse that rules your role play life.
But a Muses' mood is another thing altogether. Everybody has their good days and their bad days. And their writing, no matter what the style, will always reflect this. If you come home in a bad mood, it puts everybody else into a bad mood - especially your Muse. Thus, your writing will reflect your mood. If you go home in a sky-high mood, that mood reflects back from everybody - including your Muse. And thus your writing will be much better and happier than usual. This is why stimulants such as music and such are so important to a roleplayer - this way, they can put themselves into the correct mood for roleplaying, as well as their Muses' mood, and they can write in the way that reflects the correct mood for that post.
In every way, your Muse is based off you.
Especially in your feelings. If you get very attached to a character, then so will your Muse. It would tear you apart to kill that character, and this is why people can be so thrown about in the world of roleplay. It is not your Muse that makes you sad, but your Muse communicates that back to you and to your writing. This is why people write so well when they're upset about their character. If they are writing their last post with that character, and the writer is in tears, then this emotion will be communicated strongly. If the person is very good at roleplaying, they can even communicate this mood to other members of the forum, and thus other members may cry as well. Beginners usually just write sop-stories that just sound petty instead of sad.