Muse Struck

The Writing Muse: A Timeless Source of Inspiration

We know the Muses originate in Greek mythology. Nine beautiful, ethereal goddesses; each one presided over a different art and science, bestowing brilliance on human creators. Most writers are familiar with Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry, or perhaps Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy.

Although this idea of a mystical force guiding genius dates back to ancient times, it’s one that still intrigues modern writers. Elizabeth Gilbert believes that creative genius is not something internal to a person but an external force or entity, a muse, that visits and inspires them.  Creativity is unpredictable and whimsical. Rather than expecting constant brilliance, she says, artists might instead dial down the internal pressure as they work. Relax, knowing that the muse will appear if and when she’s ready.  

Waiting for the Muse to Strike

At the height of creativity, when brilliance or originality flashes, we’re transported almost into an altered state. There is a heightened sense of awareness, excitement, power, and potential as we flex our creative muscles. When getting ready to channel inspiration into a new work of fiction, there is, for me, a definite sense of being struck by an outside force that is gifting me with brand-new insight or direction. I especially felt this while writing “The Angel Scroll”, as I reached across time and space to study ancient and sacred site in Jerusalem, Glastonbury Tor, Rome, and Siena.

And I’m not alone. The world’s greatest artists have paid homage to the muse that imbued them with genius.  Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci believed they were tapping into something beyond themselves, a higher force that resided not only in the heavens but lived alongside them on earth, a personal companion that guided their hands. 

 Poets such as William Wordsworth and Lord Byron often described an even more intense and personal connection to their muse, which spoke to them through the sublime beauty of nature, life, and love.

 Mystical Beginnings

Celebrated contemporary songwriters such as Paul McCartney and Paul Simon talk of the music and lyrics of a song flowing effortlessly, or coming to them in a dream, delivered by a generous muse. Traveling back in time, Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed that his famous poem Kubla Khan, which reads almost like a mystical incantation, came in a dream, an inspired eruption from the subconscious. He woke up and wrote feverishly, desperate to capture the ephemeral experience and set the words down on paper, but he was interrupted by a visitor and his muse fled, leaving the poem unfinished.  Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, credited his muse with forcing him to lock away his clothes, so he wouldn’t venture outside and abandon his writing.

One Percent Inspiration, Ninety-Nine Percent Perspiration

Most writers admit to sometimes sitting around, waiting for the muse to strike. All the while knowing that while inspiration can hit on a walk, in a dream, in the shower, or during a Netflix binge, it most reliably shows up when we sit at our laptop, in our favorite writing spot, ready to roll up our sleeves and put in the effort.

I’ve learned to invest equally in both sides of the writing equation. I do believe in the intangible but powerful experience of being blessed by a muse. The delight of a gripping idea that comes unbidden, and the excitement of wrangling it into an original work. I’ve also learned from professional writers like Hemingway, Stephen King, and Maya Angelou, who preach the gospel of discipline and sound writing habits. Writers write. Every day if possible. They show up and get to work even when their muse is a no-show.

Angel Scroll. Real Dead Sea Find or Hoax?

The Dead Sea Scrolls are intriguing. These scraps of ancient text written on papyrus and animal skins stored in jars that date back to the time of Jesus were first found in the caves in the Judea Desert by a young Bedouin shepherd. The initial find kicked off a ten-year search for scroll fragments in eleven caves, as well as the excavation of the Qumran ruin, a complex of structures between the cliffs where the caves are and the Dead Sea, located in Israel and Jordan, 15 miles east of Jerusalem. The Dead Sea scrolls were a sensational archeological find, and then in 1999 came this from the AP in Jerusalem about a more recently recovered text called The Angel Scroll:

”A religious text that has mysteriously surfaced in Israel and is being billed as one of the "lost" Dead Sea Scrolls uses some of the same phrases and imagery as the other 2000-year-old writings, a scholar said Monday after studying excerpts. But it's too soon to say whether the "Angel Scroll" parchment, which describes a believer's trip through the heavens, is a major find that will shed new light on Jewish mysticism and the origins of Christianity, or an elaborate hoax, said Stephen Pfann, president of the University of the Holy Land. The story of the Angel Scroll is shrouded in mystery. Rumors have circulated for years among scholars in the Holy Land that one of the scrolls - the religious writings of the Essenes found in caves near the Dead Sea between 1947 and 1954 - made its way to an antiquities dealer in one of the nearby Arab capitals.”

Since those early reports, however, scholars have increasingly dismissed claims that this new parchment exists, saying they rest on flimsy, unverifiable evidence. Real or false, the idea of a newly surfaced historical artifact became the jumping-off point for The Angel Scroll novel.

Check out more on the fascinating story of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the alleged Angel Scroll, and the amazing secrets they reveal about the Essenes, Jesus, and the early Christian church.