  Fantasy
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"When two poets produce a hymn, the Muses are wont to work strife between them." [Maidens of Phthia. Euripides, Andromache 476]
"Happy is he whom the Muses love: sweet flows speech from his lips." [Homeric Hymn to the Muses and Apollo, 1]
The world needs fantasy. It can be an escape from daily life, a means for finding the hero within, a landscape to inspire the imagination. Enter the world of Fantasy. In my newsletters you can expect thorough looks at different aspects of fantasy writing, and a publisher spotlight.
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The nine muses of Greece. There are four different versions of their parentage, so I won't go into their origin. It is said that all tales and songs, all inspired knowledge, come from the Muses. Each has their own specialty and associated emblem. These are the most common names and attributes:
Calliope, muse of epic song, carries a wax tablet. Clio, muse of history, carries a scroll. Euterpe, muse of lyric song, plays a double flute. Thalia, muse of comedy and bucolic
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Mousa, in addition to being the greek word for "muse", literally means "song" or "poem".
In modern day, the word muse has a much broader meaning. It no longer refers to the original nine. Much more personalized, everyone can have their own muse, the source for his/her inspiration.
The muse comes in different forms. For some, it is a creature – perhaps a fairy or a dragon. For others, it is something specific in their life that inspires them – nature, walking, music. Perhaps it is an actual person – a friend, sibling, or spouse that you speak to and come away re-enthused and inspired.
My muse is more likely to show up if I play Celtic music. It can come in the form of a woman, or a dragon, or merely magic in the air that blocks out the rest of the world.
Stephen King has a muse, which he writes about in his book "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft."
"There is a muse, but he's not going to come fluttering down into your writing room and scatter creative fairy-dust all over your typewriter or computer station. He lives in the ground. He's a basement guy. You have to descend to his level, and once you get down there you have to furnish an apartment for him to live in. You have to do all the grunt labor, in other words, while the muse sits and smokes cigars and admires his bowling trophies and pretends to ignore you. Do you think this is fair? I think it's fair. He may not be much too look at, that muse-guy, and he may not be much of a conversationalist (what I get out of mine is mostly surly grunts, unless he's on duty), but he's got the inspiration. It's right that you should do all the work and burn all the midnight oil, because the guy with the cigar and little wings has got a bag of magic. There's stuff in there that can change your life."
Later he writes about the importance of having a regular writing schedule, and how it is for the muse as much as for yourself.
"Don't wait for the muse. As I've said, he's a hard-headed guy who's not susceptible to a lot of creative fluttering. … Your job is to make sure the muse knows where you're going to be every day from nine 'til noon or seven 'til three. If he does, I assure you that sooner or later he'll start showing up, chomping at his cigar and making his magic."
If you're always waiting for inspiration to write, you won't get much done. Is it not better to exercise your writing muscles while you wait for your muse to come to you? Even if all you do is stare at a blank screen, you are opening yourself for it to come.
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 Publisher Spotlight
Publisher: Ballista
Location: U.K.
Website: http://www.mucusart.co.uk/ballista.htm
About: (taken from their listing on Duotrope's Digest) "BALLISTA is the new short fiction magazine from Mucusart Publications, bringing you new and original writing exploring the realm of the supernatural. Ballista will be published twice a year from October 2006. Issue 1 features the work of John Light, Rosie Lugosi, H.Ann Dyess, Dermot Glennon, Andrew Myers & Neil Deadman amongst others. We openly welcome your submissions. Your muse is free to roam, so long as it touches upon the paranormal, horror, Gothick, psychological, occult & macabre - even SF, dark fantasy or just the downright bizarre will be considered."
Guidelines:
 no previously published, or simultaneous submissions
 send one story per submission, email only, as main body text or attachment to paul@mucusart.co.uk, with subject Ballista
 include postal address (for contributor's copy)
 authors welcome to include brief bio
 formatting – underline italics; favour single quotation marks for 'speech'
Be sure to read guidelines on website for further guidelines on formatting and submissions: http://www.mucusart.co.uk/ballistasubsinfo.htm
Length: no minimum; max of 3500 words.
Payscale: £5.00 per story, plus contributor's copy. overseas payment via PayPal.
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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What is your muse like?
Reader Comments
From anodein:
Wow, I've never thought about the bags I always left that particular detail out, thanks so much for pointing that out! and thank you for mentioning my story!
I'm glad I increased your awareness of characters' bags.
From IGWOOTEN :
Hi emerald,
Very useful and fascinating information, especially the era these words were used. Now I know how to be more descriptive of my characters carrying a suitcase, uh luggage?
IGW
Thanks! Glad I could be of help.
From BreenaRose :
I always have a problem remembering if my character is carrying anything around. Like one time I had one of my character's shopping and I later had them do something that required two hands when they were supposed to be holding a bag. Yikes! Thanks for the definitions of all those bags/knapsacks.
I'm glad I'm not alone in sometimes forgetting who's carrying what when. If you don't keep track in the initial writing, you can always fix it in later drafts. 
Thank you for all the comments. Remember to leave feedback or ideas for future newsletters.
We editors love to hear from you!
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Fantasy: February 13, 2008 Issue [#2220]
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