More from my Muse, Laura:

When you ask Laura what does she want, be prepared to give her everything.

Give me your fear, says Laura. Slice it like a loaf of bread and feed it to me, one slice at a time. Spread it with guilt jam and honeyed hatred, sprinkle it with granulated anger. Serve it toasty hot or moldy cold, pour the gravy of suspicion over it, dip it in soft-boiled cowardice.

Give me your fear, says Laura. Fry it up like a hamburger patty, float it in grease laden with lust. Dust it with hot spices from jealous southern countries, and top of it, lay a couple of spiteful onions.

Give me your fear, says Laura. Mash it into puree and serve it, iced, in bejeweled dessert dishes, and garnished with a sprig of minted greed. Brew it like strong Turkish coffee, concentrated terror to make the heart race, presented daintily in tiny porcelain cups.

It doesn’t matter, says Laura, I will eat it all, and it will be delicious.
©2000, Eating Mythos Soup: poemstories for Laura

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Recently there was a discussion on Twitter about folks who have others write their tweets for them – Twitter ghostwriters.  Some people have ghosts write their blog posts for them, too.  Is this kosher?

I’m a ghostwriter. I make my living writing books for others. I believe strongly that this is a perfectly legitimate way to get thoughts, ideas, and stories out into the world where they can do some good. Why should only those with writing talent (or the time to write) be able to share their stories in written form?  You can hire decorators to help you beautify your house, and mechanics to keep your car running smoothly, and gardeners to prune your roses at the right time.  It’s just as okay to hire writers to help you put your thoughts and stories down on paper in a way that other people will enjoy reading about them.

But that doesn’t mean that I think anything and everything written could be done by ghosts. For instance, I’m not so sure about hiring ghostwriters to tweet for you.  A tweet is only 140 characters. It’s a tiny snapshot of what’s going on in your head at any given moment.  Its purpose is to build relationships with other tweeters. I don’t think this is the kind of communication that lends itself to ghostwriting.  Another obvious no-no for ghostwriters is term papers or other schoolwork.

What about blogs?  Hmm, this is kind of gray area for me.  I often ghostwrite articles, and blog posts are often short articles, so maybe this is sorta okay. But some people outsource articles and blog posts and all they do is give the ghostwriter a topic to write on – say, eagle nesting habits, or the history of Watergate, or how to grow tomatoes. But the thing is – ghostwriting is only okay – for any medium – when the ideas and stories actually come from the author, not the ghostwriter. They must be the author’s stories, ideas, tips, methods. If you outsource your articles and blog posts, you still need to tell the ghostwriter what you have to say about these eagles or tomatoes or Watergate.  Otherwise you have no business claiming that article or blog post as yours.

By the way – I never outsource my writing. These blog posts are always written by me. Always.

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During the 1980s and 90s, I was a prolific short story writer.  I have dozens of them cluttering up computer disks (some of them on those old 3×5 floppies – my God, I’m old. Luckily I have hard copies too.) Only about a third of them have been published, most in small literary magazines that are probably out of business by now.  Another third I had never even tried to have published. I was more chicken back then.

I’m a better writer now than I was then, but still – some of these stories are really quite good. They just need a bit of tweaking here and there. (In the eighties there was no Internet. Few people had cell phones. Mr. Rogers was still alive.  It’s surprising how much these cultural changes can impact a story.)

Recently I took one of my old unsubmitted, unpublished stories to my writing group and asked for critique. I was amazed at how positive they were, and how many good suggestions they had about how to rework the story so it didn’t seem dated. Suddenly I saw that my stash of stories could come alive again; with just a little work I could send these stories out into the world.

It’s a good thing I no longer cluck.

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More about my Muse, Laura:  Laura lives in a shadow box you have hanging on your wall. Inside the shadow box is a perfect tiny replica of a fourteenth century farmhouse kitchen. The walls are cool blue plaster, the floor is flagstones and through the open window the afternoon sunlight streams, bringing with it the smell of the sea. On a wooden table sits a wicker basket filled with red cinnamon pears and soft speckled peaches. Laura sits at this table and circles the basket with her arms. She cradles it against her breasts and rests her round brown chin on the fruit. Her bare feet slide back and forth on the worn flagstones as she breathes in a lush and tender French smell. Laura closes her eyes and dreams of you working in the orchards that bore these fruits. You have not allowed yourself to have this peace of a long-ago life, so Laura keeps it for you; she holds it in the shadow box of memory you have hung upon your wall.
©2000, Eating Mythos Soup: poemstories for Laura

Technorati Tags: muse, Laura, writing, poemstories, Eating Mythos Soup, shadow box, fourteenth century, memory
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