As I said above, I get to choose the books for reviews and I like it that way.moderntimes wrote:I don't have that luxury, as my editor sends me a box of books per month and aside from their all being mysteries, I've got no real control on their merits ahead of time. But of course, not just good books need a review -- anything that's published should get a couple of reads and reviews, so that others might better judge whether to buy.
Muses
If you have spelling or grammar questions, please post them in the International Grammar section.
If you want feedback for poetry or short stories you have written, please post the poem or short story in either the Creative Original Works: Short Stories section or the Creative Original Works: Poetry section.
If you have a book that you want reviewed, click here to submit your book for review.
- gali
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 53652
- Joined: 22 Oct 2013, 07:12
- Currently Reading: The Suite Life
- Bookshelf Size: 2287
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gali.html
- Reading Device: B00I15SB16
- Publishing Contest Votes: 0
Re: Muses
Pronouns: She/Her
"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
- jrmoore081
- Posts: 5
- Joined: 17 Oct 2014, 13:08
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- moderntimes
- Posts: 2249
- Joined: 15 Mar 2014, 13:03
- Favorite Book: Ulysses by James Joyce
- Currently Reading: Grendel by John Gardner
- Bookshelf Size: 0
I do in fact get partial choice, as my editor emails me and other reviewers on her "staff" a list of books and we can choose which ones to review. But other than the author's name, title, and 10-word synopsis, I'm in the dark regarding the merits of the book. So I'd say that it's about 70% "assigned" and 30% my choice.gali wrote:As I said above, I get to choose the books for reviews and I like it that way.moderntimes wrote:I don't have that luxury, as my editor sends me a box of books per month and aside from their all being mysteries, I've got no real control on their merits ahead of time. But of course, not just good books need a review -- anything that's published should get a couple of reads and reviews, so that others might better judge whether to buy.
I can of course refuse to do the review, and did so last month for the first time. I myself write modern American private detective novels, they're adult oriented, and therefore my books may have some strong scenes of crime violence, a couple of sexual encounters, and rough language, but I also try to make this flow properly and not put in stuff that's egregious, things that are for shock value only.
But the book I received was, in my estimation, trash. It seemed to deliberately use graphic and dark situations that were absolutely egregious and it turned my normally very hard-edged stomach. So I emailed my editor, told her I was tossing the book into the garbage, literally, which I did. She said that was just fine and has never pressured me to read a book that I didn't want to. Nor has she ever edited or refused any of my reviews.
But occasionally, trash bubbles up and I poked it down into the cesspool where it belonged.
- Gravy
- Gravymaster of Bookshelves
- Posts: 39044
- Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 02:02
- Favorite Book: As many as there are stars in the sky
- Currently Reading: The Ghost Tree
- Bookshelf Size: 1027
I think having a talent to believe is pretty much a prerequisite for the abilty to write.
If you can't convince yourself how can you convince anyone else?
This is why I choose to believe in Muses.
Or if you'd rather...Musae...
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
- ALynnPowers
- Posts: 8536
- Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 07:14
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 417
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alynnpowers.html
- Latest Review: Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird
- Reading Device: B0051QVF7A
- Publishing Contest Votes: 13
Thanks! I thought we had gotten off topic on this thread and I wasn't quite sure how to steer us back. Was trying not to make myself sound like a jerkface.Graverobber wrote:It seems to me that creative minds are more open to the extraordinary than non-creative minds.
I think having a talent to believe is pretty much a prerequisite for the ability to write.
If you can't convince yourself how can you convince anyone else?
This is why I choose to believe in Muses.
Or if you'd rather...Musae...
And you're definitely right. Non-creative minds probably wouldn't be as open to the possibility of a muse. WAIT! Does that mean I am not creative?!?! Oh, wait, I knew that already! Different thread!
Jk
- Gravy
- Gravymaster of Bookshelves
- Posts: 39044
- Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 02:02
- Favorite Book: As many as there are stars in the sky
- Currently Reading: The Ghost Tree
- Bookshelf Size: 1027
The idea holds water if you think about it...
And have an open mind
But what would happen if your muse/tulpa got out of control...?
You know...like an evil imaginary friend but with more power...?
In other words...what if your muse was a jerkface?
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
- ALynnPowers
- Posts: 8536
- Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 07:14
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 417
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alynnpowers.html
- Latest Review: Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird
- Reading Device: B0051QVF7A
- Publishing Contest Votes: 13
Graverobber wrote:Has it ever occured to anyone else that a persons muse could be an unmanifested tulpa?
The idea holds water if you think about it...
And have an open mind
But what would happen if your muse/tulpa got out of control...?
You know...like an evil imaginary friend but with more power...?
In other words...what if your muse was a jerkface?
That sounds like the start of a story you should be writing! You just mused yourself. And somehow I must used the word "muse" as a verb? Is that allowed?
- LivreAmour217
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 2043
- Joined: 02 Oct 2014, 12:42
- Favorite Book: Ditto
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 294
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-livreamour217.html
- Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer
Graverobber wrote:
Has it ever occured to anyone else that a persons muse could be an unmanifested tulpa?
The idea holds water if you think about it...
And have an open mind
But what would happen if your muse/tulpa got out of control...?
You know...like an evil imaginary friend but with more power...?
In other words...what if your muse was a jerkface?
If I do have a muse, then mine is a total jerkface because he/she is ignoring me!!!
- moderntimes
- Posts: 2249
- Joined: 15 Mar 2014, 13:03
- Favorite Book: Ulysses by James Joyce
- Currently Reading: Grendel by John Gardner
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Although I don't believe in supernatural creatures at all, I do believe that in our complex minds we often "create" various entities and personalities with which we can have dialogues, most being subconscious. Believing in an ACTUAL muse is likely promulgated by such internal mental churning, and quite understandable in creative minds.
- Gravy
- Gravymaster of Bookshelves
- Posts: 39044
- Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 02:02
- Favorite Book: As many as there are stars in the sky
- Currently Reading: The Ghost Tree
- Bookshelf Size: 1027
Or maybe mused somebody else!ALynnPowers wrote:That sounds like the start of a story you should be writing! You just mused yourself. And somehow I must used the word "muse" as a verb? Is that allowed?
Yeah...totally should...
Stupid, jerkface, musesLivreAmour217 wrote:If I do have a muse, then mine is a total jerkface because he/she is ignoring me!!!
I think it would be a fun experiment to try to create a muse...
Take a little while each day to just imagine what your muse would be like.
Would it be male? Female? Would it even be human-like?
It could be anything. You could have a wolf muse or a black panther.
Or any mythical being you can think of. Gorgons, gryffons, a unicorn for crying out loud!
How would it speak? What would it sound like?
Would it be like you? Or the opposite? Somewhere in between?
I could get lost in this subject...
What is grief, if not love persevering?
Grief is just love with no place to go.
- Carla Hurst-Chandler
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 8227
- Joined: 24 Feb 2012, 20:10
- Favorite Book: Zen and the Art...
- Currently Reading: The Lost Landscape
- Bookshelf Size: 124
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
- RussetDivinity
- Posts: 398
- Joined: 04 Jul 2014, 13:44
- Bookshelf Size: 44
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-russetdivinity.html
- Latest Review: "Heart of Flint" by Scott Stricklen
- ALynnPowers
- Posts: 8536
- Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 07:14
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 417
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alynnpowers.html
- Latest Review: Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird
- Reading Device: B0051QVF7A
- Publishing Contest Votes: 13
This made me LOL so hard! I thought I was the only one in the world who used the word "jerkface" yet somehow I have spread it to multiple people!LivreAmour217 wrote:Graverobber wrote:
Has it ever occured to anyone else that a persons muse could be an unmanifested tulpa?
The idea holds water if you think about it...
And have an open mind
But what would happen if your muse/tulpa got out of control...?
You know...like an evil imaginary friend but with more power...?
In other words...what if your muse was a jerkface?
If I do have a muse, then mine is a total jerkface because he/she is ignoring me!!!
-- 03 Nov 2014, 18:46 --
And characters as muses sounds like a good idea!
- SharisseEM
- Posts: 273
- Joined: 30 Sep 2014, 04:32
- Favorite Book: Stinger
- Bookshelf Size: 34
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sharisseem.html
- Latest Review: "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper
- pretzelsnow
- Posts: 355
- Joined: 13 Nov 2014, 11:37
- Favorite Book: Long Time Coming by Edie Claire
- Currently Reading: Silas Marner by George Elliot
- Bookshelf Size: 2
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-pretzelsnow.html
- Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
— Walter Lippmann