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Lola & Me: Embracing my Muse

8/11/2014

2 Comments

 
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Like most writers, I have an inner critic.  Unlike most critics, mine has a name. I named her Lola many years ago when I was writing my first round of poetry for submission into an anthology. Lola would sit there, in the recesses of my brain, shouting mean things at me: “You suck at this. Why are you bothering? No one’s going to care or read it anyway!”  I didn’t like Lola very much.

But eventually, as I grew more confident in my work, Lola would sit on my shoulder reminding me of simple rules: where to put an apostrophe, that towards is not a word, it’s toward, and so on. Her reminders, though annoying to someone who really could care less about syntax and punctuation, actually became helpful.

I have spent the past two weeks rewriting nearly 300 pages of a book I have the better part of three years into. Lola has been by my side every step of the way. Lately, she’s taken on a kinder voice. My editor, who also has a critic, said the best thing a writer can do is befriend their Lola. Reading that, with hours and hours of work ahead of me, I wanted to tell my editor to go hang out with her critic permanently and leave me alone!

But around 3 a.m. on day three, it happened. Drunk on lack of sleep, I realized the only way Lola and I were going to get this over with was to get through it. And we made peace. She kept her mouth shut just long enough for me to get the skeleton of what is now a much better novel out.

Now, with the first round of a content edit under my belt, I hold my breath waiting to hear how many pages of rewrite are in my future. But this time, when I hear “your book starts on page 89” from my editor, I’ll have Lola on my side. Together, she and I – now my muse – will get it done and Katherine and all her amazing clients will be better for it.

Until then? Me, Lola, our carpal tunnel:  We finally sleep.


2 Comments
Rita
8/13/2014 15:36:33

Where did you come up with the name Lola as your muse's name? Are you drawing these cartoons yourself? Are you an illustrator, too?

Reply
Erin
8/17/2014 11:48:12

I like to draw, but certainly not as much as I love to write. I wish I could do all my own artwork for blogs, but it wouldn't leave me time for writing. ;-)

Lola is a nickname a friend in college gave me. We were living in Australia and wanted to create "alter egos." I had originally planned to use the name in the book for a client but ultimately gave it to Katherine's cat.

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  • Home
    • Circus Freak Series
    • Lusus Naturae
    • Crazy Ink Anthologies
    • Daddy's Girl
    • The Ranch Moving On Series
    • Just Things
    • Lola, Party of 8 Series
    • Crazy Talk Blog
    • When I'm Dead
    • Wave to Papa >
      • Wave to Papa Blog
    • Escape From Reality Series
    • Losing Faith
    • Crazy Like Me
    • i am JOURNAL SERIES
    • Authors Sharing the Love
  • EL George
  • My Crazy Life
  • The Village Series
  • Erin's Writing
  • Love Like Crazy
  • Anthologies
  • Her Name Was Sam
  • Nine Lives
  • 99 Bottles
  • Take Me As I Am
  • From Russia, With Love
  • The Morning After
  • Something Blue
  • Once Upon a Reality Series